My Koi ate a Four O'Clock seed!

[pamann]

I was moving the plant from around the pond and a seed rolled into the water and I saw one of my koi eat it. I know they are poisonous thats why I was moving it. Is there anything I can do now? It's been several hours and he looks sickly. He is not swimming, just sitting at the surface and the other fish are pushing him out of their way! Help!

 

[fishin4cars]

You can try seperating it and monitoring it in a seperate holding tank. Not much else you can do, I didn't know that those seeds were poisinus and it surprises me that a whole seed would react that quickly to a Koi, I don't think it could be chewed as 4 o'clock seeds are pretty hard, I have to wonder if it may have gotten caught in it's throat.

 

[stroppy]

apparently the whole plant is poisonous to fish sorry pamann ... im not sure there is anything yo can do, i hope she or he pulls through

http://www.cnykoi.com/articles/plantpoisonous.asp link

 

[pamann]

Thanks for your thoughts. Update: He (or she) is still alive but he is hovering over in a shallow corner of the pond and will not eat. He comes to the surface every once in a while but he is listless and barely moves. The other koi are very lively and he used to be the most active! He is a metallic yellow with black pinecone marking down his back, really pretty. I call him "Pinecone" for obvious reasons. I'll let you know how Pinecone is doing later.

 

[stroppy]

any news on pinecone ?

 

[pamann]

I didn't want to say anything until I was sure...but pinecone is back! He spent the last few days on the bottom of the pond under some water lettace, I didn't think he was going to make it. Late yesterday he came to the surface and ate with the other koi and this morning he seems to be perfectly healthy again. Poor guy had a rough week but he's acting like nothing ever happened. I'm so glad it turned out so well.

 

[stroppy]

thats very good news maybe the one only made him poorly ... but it might be an idea to move that plant away from the pond

 

[pamann]

I think you're right, the one seed was enough to make him ill, but maybe didn't stay in his system long enough to do lasting damage. The Four O;Clock plant is now on the far side of the yard, not even close to the pond. Now I'm checking out the other plants close by. I don't want a repeat of this week, and I'm sure pinecone dosen't either.

 

[taherrmann4]

Glad to hear he is doing better.

 

[addy1]

Congrats to you and your fish..........glad it is recovering

 

[pamann]

Thanks everyone for your response to pinecone's troubles. It's good to know there are kind and knowledgeable people here at this forum. I looked at the pictures you all posted of your ponds and I'm so impressed by them. I still love my pond, but after looking at yours I would lke to add a tew things.

 

[addy1]

Thanks everyone for your response to pinecone's troubles. It's good to know there are kind and knowledgeable people here at this forum. I looked at the pictures you all posted of your ponds and I'm so impressed by them. I still love my pond, but after looking at yours I would lke to add a tew things.

We all have that disease..........................wanna add more

 

[fishin4cars]

Great to hear he's doing better, You know it's good to post things like this. It helps others become aware and prevent similar things from happening to their pond. It's even better when it all works out and we all learn. I've always liked four 'clocks but reading up on them I don't think I'll add any to my yard as long as I have any pets.

 

[pamann]

Since this happened I read that Four O'Clock seeds have a bad taste to most animals. Birds eat them but pass them quickly, so it's not a problem. I guess that's what happened with Pinecone. I have a Boston Terrier and she has been sniffing at the leaves. I had to get rid of the plant. I love the fragence of Four O'Clocks in the evening. I will miss it but I love my pets more. I agree with the Mod.