Make a Complete First Aid Kit For Koi and goldfish.

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There is a bit of kit that without it nothing moves should you loose power for any amount of time which most koi keepers have stood to one side ready and waiting and you wont find it on the list I've posted yet we allneed one and so few have .
What is it I hear you ask....?
Why a generator of course :) ,most important in the event of a power outage of any legnth over a few hour.
Ours is a Clarkes 700 watt generator 4 stroke with two electric sockets , which we have on standbye 24/7 365 days a year ( you never know )........

Dave:)
 
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awesome advice Dave

A generator is on our list of items we want/need at my house.

For now I have to rely on battery operated aerators for my fish in case of power outage (forgot to mention those in my list ;))
 
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Yes Maria its one thing that folks overlook to their cost and its so aviodable nowadays as you can buy generators for as £70.00 uk .
better a peice of mind than dead or dying fish .
We got into this way of thinking very early on in our koi keeping career mostly because of our indoor set up .
So its now second mature to have one at the ready sat by the kitchen door ready for action if need be .


Dave
 
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Yes, The list grows. Funny how that happens :LOL:

The main problem I had in the past was I kept several medications on hand but most if not all expired before I had the need to use them.

I also have a salt meter and a rounded end pair of tweezers that I feel are important to have on hand.

An extra airpump, heater, thermometer and hospital/quarantine tank are also in my fish emergency kit. I have used rubbermaid totes to keep a fish in temporarily. Works great and doubles as a place to store all the fishy stuff when not in use.

Maria yes the list continues to grow :LOL: Val had a spare sharps book left over from when she had her operation and guess what we have the syringes and the needles but no sharps box anyhow much to say the kit now has one.
There is no way I would ever use a needle to administer antibiotics on our koi then put it in the bin !!!!....... You hear horror stories of Dirt men getting jabbed by needles in rubbish bags and havng to go through all sorts of tests from Hepititus to HIV.
Our neighbour Jeff used to clean up after junkies who had been in social housing then either kicked out or put in prison....... he will tell you of the nighmares he used to have about getting stuck by one which he would find just about everywhere from inside chairs matresses basically anywhere you could think about putting one basisally they werent the cleanest of people , his worst ever job they collected from the knee high rubbish throughout the ground floor of a house over 400 used syringes OMG imagine ????? :(

Dave
 
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I don't think it makes you irresponsible. Everyone has their own ideas on how to care for their pets (wet pets included) some people are very attached to their pets and are willing (as well as have the means) to treat them.

I also think that with the larger fish like koi you get more of an attachment to them. They are big and live a long time. They can also be worth a lot of money (I personally don't have koi, it's just my opinion)

I do feel that everyone who keeps any type of fish should have at least a basic emergency kit with hospital/quarantine tank on hand. Just as you would for any type of pet.
 
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Dieselblower of course it dosent, the plain truth is that the medical side of fish keeping to some isnt a necessary way to go
We decided early on to do the best for our koi as a matter of interest Duncan Griffith in his book recomends a grand total of not one but five first aid kits .
We built up our's prior to buying his book which I may add is one of the very best around that you can buy.
So in a way we sort of shadowed him , so because we only have the one kit should I say say ditto my friend and the answer to that is no.
Why not take a serious look at this very interesting side of fish keeping then start to put your own kit together I promise you a very interesting subject indeed .

Dave
 
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One day I'll post what Duncan Griffith expects the America koi keeper to use inthose 5 first aid kits , he may be a brit but his book was written for the AKCA health forum medical officcers who tend members koi for free like our BKKS HSC teams in the UK (y)


Dave ;)
 
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One very important item missing!!!! A padded mat with a anti-mucus removal material for placing the fish on to be treated. £40 for a well designed one is nothing considering how much some of the fish cost. This is the one I would recommend to ALL koi keepers as it is designed to protect fish up to 30lb in weight, and has a 50mm deep foam padding inside the material & retaining flap to cover the fish up to stop it flapping about during any treatment as well as rolling up small.

http://aquaproducts.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_9&products_id=185

Surely our fish deserve more than being placed on the slabs, gravel, or vegetation around the pond during any treatment they might require?
 
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One very important item missing!!!! A padded mat with a anti-mucus removal material for placing the fish on to be treated. £40 for a well designed one is nothing considering how much some of the fish cost. This is the one I would recommend to ALL koi keepers as it is designed to protect fish up to 30lb in weight, and has a 50mm deep foam padding inside the material & retaining flap to cover the fish up to stop it flapping about during any treatment as well as rolling up small.

http://aquaproducts.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_9&products_id=185

Surely our fish deserve more than being placed on the slabs, gravel, or vegetation around the pond during any treatment they might require?

We have a baby changing mat for that with a wet towel, I would but they are like gold dust to buy get a koi cradle sady, the company folded which is sad and the last I bid on ebay wise I got gazumpt at the last moment:(
Our koi are not handled until Anethatized and only then with wet hands never dry which is a mistake many people make, the utmost care is given to the koi throughout the procedure and they are released from my hands into the pond as soon as they come round , I've seen people just drop them in the pond still out cold before now to sink to the bottom of the pond:mad:.
I'm acctually looking into prolonged anesthesia at the moment as I think its the way forwards (y).

Dave
 
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Over the years we have put together what we think is a pretty good first aid kit for our koi.
I think you'll find this just about covers it but if we have missed anything please let us know.
The interesting thing is that we put this together prior to reading Duncan Griffiths book Step by Step Advanced Koi Diagnoses and Treatments (Everything you need to know to successfully treat your koi)
Even though he recomends up to five kits we found that we had mirrored some of them in our our own kit.
Some things have been adapted from other uses
Aluminium case with divders
Arm length QT gloves.
Magnifying glass,with LED lights. >>>
x20-x40 pocket microscope, x60 Jem mocroscope ***
Infrared Thermometer(can give you a false reading if kept in your pocket)..........
Floating bath thermometer/clock (negates the above problem)>>>
Pen (note taking)
Note pad (note taking)
Tooth brush. >>>
Tweezers.(straight).
Pipette.
Card for taking mucus scrapes.
Tweezers.(angled).
Syringes & needles for injecting antibiotics.
Sharps Box for disposal of used Syringes
5 ml babyspoon and measure.
Latex gloves.
Rubber gloves in case of Latex alergy (shoulder Length)>>>.
Purpose made koi gloves (Arm Length).
5 ml syringe.
Potasium Pernanganate.
Antiseptic hand gel.
Superverm (organo phosphates Please note this is deadly to goldfish and is only used on koi)!!!!!!.................
Acriflavin.
Iodine.
Fish vitamins ( NTLABS KOI VIT'S).
Cotton buds.
50 ml syringe.
Orabase.(human/fish treatment cross over)
MS222 Fish anesthetic.
Propolis spray.
Acclimitol fish de-stress.
Aqua gel (direct Antiseptic gel).
Malachite Green.#####
Formalin.~#####
Melafix #####
Special powder.
Test kits.(whole range of).
ph Pen
Koi health booster.
Algazin P.
Digital scales.
Hand held digital scales (for weighing fish, baggage variety)>>>.
Weighing net (from course fishing equipment)>>>
Timer (for short term dips)>>>.
Scissor's.
Treatments chart.
Scalpels.
Bone cutters.
Slides.
Bicarbonate of Soda
PH Pill (Medical grade only)
Acetone bottle
Flubenol Flubendazole 5%
Hydrogen Peroxide
Koi Clear Gel (keep refridgerated)
Saline eye wash pods 20 ml x 3 (wound wash)
Set of metal messuring spoons .63 ml, 1.25ml, 2.5ml, 3.75ml, 5 ml, 15ml (for precise messurement of clays etc)>>>
Stytic Pencil to close off small wounds during surgery
Solar Powered Calculator
Bresser Biolux NG x40 - x1024 incl PC Ocular ***
Oral syringe for administering food or antibiotics orally ***

>>> = Adapted from other uses.
*** = Note. recently added/evaluating.......
#### replace every year the trick is dont buy more than you need use smaller bottles
The kit is being updated periodically as we find things that are of use to the welfare of our koi,


View attachment 51739View attachment 51740


rgrds

Dave
wow!
 
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Hi Jabaris you never know just when or what you'll need , last year we had to cut a small ball shaped infected section out of our Ochiba's left pectoral.
Weve had to wait till now to see if she'll be alright for showing this summer which she is , the biggest thing weve ever had to do was to remove a large part of a koi's tail due to damage (which grew back within a year) with no damage.
We have to do scrapes each year anethatize the odd koi for repaires like above mentioned ones (y).
Propoplis is one of our main allies when it comes to fighting infection especially after surgery .theres always water perameters to inspect , so its right to have tried to have come up with a bit of kit for every eventuallity :LOL: Val is now that used to using something, then I've spied it and thought I wonder and into the kit it goes :D after she's finished with it of course
But you yourself can make a good kit up yourself out of everyday household items if you try to see another use for it , you'll need buy in the surgical kit , digital weighing machine, Microscope etc :eek:
But the rest of the things are pennies or freebies :cool: .

Dave;)
 
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