Lost all my beauties!

[Mattr]

Hi guys! New member here. I’ve lost 4 koi in the past week! They all have the same type of injury or disease. What is this and what do I do? Never had a problem like this before!

 

[TheFishGuy]

holy cow! dont know what that is but I am posting this in hopes people that check my profile see this and respond! my best guess is flashing, which is a parasite, but that looks a lot more serious than that!

it could be something along the lines of a crodad eating the sides out of the fish, because in my area there was a largew crodad infested pond that they lost all of the fish to crodads catching the fish

 

[Mattr]

What’s a crodad!?

 

[WaterGardener]

Did this happen suddenly or have the fish had some redness that worsened over time?

Do you have testing kits to check your water quality? That would be my first step.

So sorry about these fish.

 

[TheFishGuy]

What’s a crodad!?

also known as cray fish, they are like mini lobsters that live in fresh water, they burrow under dirt in nature, and can be fun to have in a pond but the can tear liners, and also are vicous to some fish

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome @Mattr ! So sorry!

We would love to try to help you figure this thing out, but first we need some information from you:

• what size is your pond?
• how long has it been up and running?
• how many and what size fish do (did) you have?
• do you have any predators where you live — like herons, raccoons....?
• have you recently made any changes to your pond (such as adding new fish)?
• did you notice any unusual behavior from these fish — anything like flashing, top breathing...?
• do you test your water?
• can you test your water for us and tell us the NUMBER results for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, and KH? This needs to preferably be from a liquid test kit, like API master kit.

 

[Mattr]

Did this happen suddenly or have the fish had some redness that worsened over time?

Do you have testing kits to check your water quality? That would be my first step.

So sorry about these fish.

I have never had a problem like this and honestly never tested my water! I guess I should...

 

[Mmathis]

holy cow! dont know what that is but I am posting this in hopes people that check my profile see this and respond! my best guess is flashing, which is a parasite, but that looks a lot more serious than that!

it could be something along the lines of a crodad eating the sides out of the fish, because in my area there was a largew crodad infested pond that they lost all of the fish to crodads catching the fish

It’s called a crawdad! It’s not very likely that the fish were attacked by crawdads, mud bugs, crayfish, or crawfish, but sometimes an injury from a predator attack, or a parasitic attack will get infected and turn into an ulcer!

 

[Mattr]

Hello and welcome @Mattr ! So sorry!

We would love to try to help you figure this thing out, but first we need some information from you:

• what size is your pond?
• how long has it been up and running?
• how many and what size fish do (did) you have?
• do you have any predators where you live — like herons, raccoons....?
• have you recently made any changes to your pond (such as adding new fish)?
• did you notice any unusual behavior from these fish — anything like flashing, top breathing...?
• do you test your water?
• can you test your water for us and tell us the NUMBER results for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, and KH? This needs to preferably be from a liquid test kit, like API master kit.

[/QUOTE
Thanks so much! The pond is approximately 2000 gallons and has been established about 20 years.
Never tested the water. We have a LOT of birds and have had Heron problems before.
I did lose a lot of fish over the winter, but they just disappeared and I assumed it was a predator. I had found a fish quite a distance from the pond and realized I never put my net up this winter. Terrible mistake on my part!
A friend gave me a bunch of his fish and these are the ones that are dying!
I used Melafin when I noticed injuries on the first fish and he died immediately after dosing
Reading this I guess I can see that the fish from my neighbors pond might have had an infection

 

[Mmathis]

@Mattr We always like to start at the beginning when someone has a fish problem. That means getting a history of your pond. There is nothing we can help you with from just a picture. Please go back and look at the list of questions above, and if you could add a few things like where you live — and add anything else that other members might ask you about your pond.

Also, please don’t worry when members make snap judgements! Doesn’t mean that is your problem.

We have found that in most cases of fish death or illness, poor water quality is the problem, so we like to find out what we have to work with.

 

[Mattr]

I thought maybe ulcers or a predator but the injuries are never ragged looking

 

[Mattr]

@Mattr We always like to start at the beginning when someone has a fish problem. That means getting a history of your pond. There is nothing we can help you with from just a picture. Please go back and look at the list of questions above, and if you could add a few things like where you live — and add anything else that other members might ask you about your pond.

Also, please don’t worry when members make snap judgements! Doesn’t mean that is your problem.

We have found that in most cases of fish death or illness, poor water quality is the problem, so we like to find out what we have to work with.

Got it! Thanks!
so I am on Long Island NY. We have 2 ponds and this is confined to only one. I have always had an issue with tea colored water as the pond is near a massive pine tree and gets a lot of debris. I net it all out often and have just started using activated carbon and UV light (both of which I removed from the pond when I dosed with melafin)
I will get a water test kit first thing in the morning

 

[Mattr]

Oh I had about 10 fish all between 5 and 10 inches give it take

 

[Mmathis]

Oh I had about 10 fish all between 5 and 10 inches give it take

How many gallons is the pond in question?

 

[Mattr]

About 1600

 

[Tula]

Sorry for the loss of your fish. You've already received good advice, asking you basic questions so we can help you.

 

[j.w]

@Mattr
Can't help w/diseases but that does look horrid and I sure hope you can figure out what it is so it doesn't keep happening to any fish you have left or any new fish down the road.

 

[Mattr]

Thank you all for the kind wishes and excellent help! Hopefully we can figure this out!

 

[IPA]

Sorry about your fish. Ulcers are generally caused by bacteria. Koiphen forum has an emergency koi health thread, I recommend checking them out. A a Get a test kit (not strips) ASAP. The API Pond Master is an affordable and good one, also get the GH/KH test kit. Order from Amazon, Chewy, etc or get it locally if you can find it. Until you know the water quality issue I would hesitate to begin any treatments, but you need to do that ASAP also. Maybe a good pond store or pet store can test your water and the important test needed are pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, KH and water temperature. If all those levels are good (pH is reliant on KH so if KH is at least 100 whatever pH is is likely acceptable. KH of 150-200 is what you would like.)
You can test for O2 but those test are harder to come by and can be pricey. Ensure you have good aeration and not an excessive amount of rotting material in the pond and filters and there shouldn’t be an O2 issue.
google “koi ulcers “ , do a photo search and you will find a lot of helpful websites. The ulcers on your fish, fatal, are more severe than most I saw. Likely some of the remaining koi have ulcers and need treatment ASAP but again you want to address the water quality issue before you begin treatment. Don’t just trust the miracle treatment even reputable pond dealers will sell you, do the research and decide which of the treatment options are going to be best for your particular situation and ability to manage the treatment.
Kophien is a dedicated Koi forum more focused on the purest Koi pond than the mixed plant and fish water gardens we keep. Check them out, do some research on some of the koi health sites, address the water quality issue and treat for the infection.

edit: to add, if you do not have many plants a test for nitrate and possibly phosphate would also be recommended.

 

[Mattr]

Thanks very much for this help! Are these in fact ulcers?