My Koi Are Flashing

[JakeKemp]

Hello,
I am new to koi keeping and my koi have started flashing recently.
I researched about it and people have said about taking a scrape of the koi and examining it under a microscope.
I’ve done this and have found the attached.
Can anyone help identify what it is please?

thanks
Jake
Jak

 

[Lisak1]

No clue - fish health is not my thing! But I wanted to say welcome and hopefully someone here will know.

In the meantime - tell us a bit about your pond and fish. How big is it? How old? How many fish? Are they all koi? What kind of filtration are you using?

 

[j.w]

@JakeKemp
No idea on whatever it is. Hope someone can help you here.

 

[Tula]

I would post these photos on koiphen.com. It's a koi only forum and they have an area devoted to health and illness.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Ditto what @Lisak1 and @Tula said. I never had any parasites to see when I would scrape and scope — which is a good thing — but I do seem to recall that it’s easier to ID them when they are moving.

And are you sure your koi are flashing and not spawning or just playing in the water? As @Lisak1 said, more information about your pond would be helpful.

 

[GBBUDD]

no expert here, but i believe its costia

 

[JakeKemp]

Hello and welcome!

Ditto what @Lisak1 and @Tula said. I never had any parasites to see when I would scrape and scope — which is a good thing — but I do seem to recall that it’s easier to ID them when they are moving.

And are you sure your koi are flashing and not spawning or just playing in the water? As @Lisak1 said, more information about your pond would be helpful.

I feel like they are flashing as I’ve noticed that it is more than one of them doing it. It’s a recently new pond around 3months since it’s been up and running

 

[JakeKemp]

no expert here, but i believe its costia

Thank you for the advise, I have a treatment that can medicate costia, Trichodynia & chilodonella. I will post on that other forum above and let you know what happens. Thanks Jake

 

[JakeKemp]

No clue - fish health is not my thing! But I wanted to say welcome and hopefully someone here will know.

In the meantime - tell us a bit about your pond and fish. How big is it? How old? How many fish? Are they all koi? What kind of filtration are you using?

My pond is 7ft Long, 6ft wide & 3ft deep.
The oldest fish is around 2 years old.
I have 6 Koi 3 goldfish & 1 grass carp
I’m currently only running the biosmart 14000 set which I know isn’t enough and on the minimum but looking to build my own filter system this week

 

[Lisak1]

Way too many fish @JakeKemp - you're under 1000 gallons. You have a great pond for goldfish, but it's not big enough for even one koi, let alone six.

Time to find new homes or start digging!

I know - "they've been fine up until now". But what's changed? Your fish are getting bigger and your filtration has stayed exactly the same. Adding filtration will help, but at some point you won't be able to keep up and your fish will suffer due to poor water quality. Does overstocking cause parasites? No. But it does put fish under stress which makes them more susceptible to all kinds of things.

 

[JakeKemp]

Way too many fish @JakeKemp - you're under 1000 gallons. You have a great pond for goldfish, but it's not big enough for even one koi, let alone six.

Time to find new homes or start digging!

I know - "they've been fine up until now". But what's changed? Your fish are getting bigger and your filtration has stayed exactly the same. Adding filtration will help, but at some point you won't be able to keep up and your fish will suffer due to poor water quality. Does overstocking cause parasites? No. But it does put fish under stress which makes them more susceptible to all kinds of things.

Hello @Lisak1, I’m looking to build my own filter system, look at a drum filter with the first side being mechanical then it follows into a biological side.
Can you give any advise on what mechanical and biologically media is the best? As I will be running my current filter and the new one at the same time.
Any help is appreciated and my largest koi is around 8 inches

 

[Mmathis]

@JakeKemp You might want to do a Google search for DIY bio/mechanical filters to see what different media is available. There are about as many opinions as there are DIYers out there. Personally, I prefer Matalla pads. There isn’t necessarily a “best,” but more what will work best for you and the system you come up with. Everyone swears by his or her own system.

But I hope you take to heart what @Lisak1 said about the size of your pond. Increased filtration will help keep your pond and your fish healthy.....up to a point. But you really need a larger space if you are keeping koi. Fish multiply and this can quickly lead to problems. Problems such as disease and illness.

Have you checked in on KOIPHEN.COM yet? They have a great topic entirely dedicated to koi illnesses and disease, and I’m sure they would be happy to help you.

 

[Lisak1]

You have a two year old koi that's only 8 inches long?

 

[CometKeith]

Hello,
I am new to koi keeping and my koi have started flashing recently.
I researched about it and people have said about taking a scrape of the koi and examining it under a microscope.
I’ve done this and have found the attached.
Can anyone help identify what it is please?

thanks
Jake

Hi Jake. So usually fish that are flashing is a pretty bad sign that there is some sort of bacteria or infection present. Typically poor water quality is the leading cause of this happening. It sounds like you are starting medication which is good, but if its recommended to do water changes at the same time it’s important to do that. Have you done any water tests? I’m guessing you probably have high nitrite or ammonia. I had an out break last year in my pond. I had a new bio filter and I thought my pond cycled but it didnt. I ended up losing about a dozen fish out of the 50 or 60 that I had. It was pretty sad to pullout a few fish every day for almost a week, but I followed all the directions and everything has been fine since. I think I probably did at least 5 or 6 very large water changes which were around 1/3 rd to 1/2 in order to reduce ammonia and nitrite. Good luck!

 

[Tula]

The OP has posted his pics to Koiphen and is getting advice.