Sick koi?

pondlover

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I received this Koi from a friend who has a very small pond. He found this guy had jumped out of the pond and was flopping around on the mulch. I noticed that he has what appears to be white stuff on one side of him. Is this part of the healing process? I've had him in my pond for about 10 days now.

He is swimming around, as much as the rest of my Koi. Since the temps have dropped, I haven't fed any of my fish for weeks now. I don't have any place to quarantine him and don't know if I should just leave him and hope for the best. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
IMG_4395.JPG IMG_4396.JPG IMG_4397.JPG
 

pondlover

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Wendy that is what my husband said. Yes it does look kind of fuzzy. I don't know how long he was out of the pond when he was discovered. And I'm also assuming that this is a result of him jumping out of the small pond. Is it possible it is something else?
 

Ruben Miranda

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Hello
Yes it looks like the Scales dried out and died and now have peeled off.
Or it was sun burned and now it is peeling.

I have never seen this before.
But would think it is very prone to affection right now keep a close eye on it and the other fish.

Ruben
 
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Personally I would get this guy indoors and start treating him or he wont see the winter out, he appears to have a bad infection of some sorts here..
I know this fish is a friends koi but you should never put a fish from even a friends pond into your own, as you quite simply dont know what is wrong with him and your risking all your own fish too especially if this is fungal as fungal spores will be released into the water, personally direct intervention is needed here .
Never have I seen infection that has gotten a foot hold on a koi like this one but we have to ascertain what your friends koi has wrong with him ........
I'd hazzard a guess but dont like doing that especially as I cannot look at the koi up close.
First off we have the physical damage that the koi recieved whilst out of the pond can you describe what that was like when you got him ?
Secondly we have to look at the growth and my guess is the fussy white stuff isn't protecting him because the mucus layer would have been damaged whilst he was out of the pond........
It looks to be a bad fungal infection caused by the Physical damage.
First off you'll need to treat the damage caused by its spell on dry land or you'll be wasting your time and all your efforts to fix this guy wil be blighted by your attempts .
You'll need to put the koi under anesthetic cleaning the whole site with a cotton buds clean one area ditch the cotton bud and so on till the would is clear, then its best you cover the area with Malachite green and finally spray the wound with Propolis ( you can buy that at a health food shop they sell it in both spray and liquid), its cheaper doing it that way than going to a koi dealership who mark up the price for maximum profit.
Now if when you have cleaned the area and it looks ulcerated.... then this means you have a bacterial infection going on as well this is where the vet comes in you'll need antibiotics Baytril is the one we use either inject or feed at a dose stated by the vet ,.
Use the spray to cover wounds after treatment and the liquid as an additive with your koi's food
Have you ever anethatized a koi before ?
if you dont have any then I suggest using Oil of cloves at 10ml per 2 gallons imperial use more if the koi wont go under straight away.
Watch the koi till it goes over on its side lifting the koi out every few minutes to see how for under he is , once the tail stops moving get the koi into a damp bath towel , you have about 5 mins or so to treat your koi, so have all what you need to hand i;e cotton buds ( as much as you will need to clear all the infected areas up ) malachite green and propolis working towards the tail clean away as much fungas as you can then paint librally with the MG making sure you dont get any on the gills.finish off with the propolis spray return the koi back to water and hold the koi gently in a current with air bubbles till you feel strenght come back into the koi..

rgrds

Dave
 

pondlover

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I don't want any of my fish infected and I don't have any place to quarantine him. Are there any humane ways of putting him to sleep permanently?

Now I'm very worried about the rest of my fish. :sad:
 

DrCase

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You could put him in a bowl and put him in your freezer
I woulnt keep him in my pond
 

pondlover

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Thank you. I've decided I'm going to take him out of my pond. I don't want my Koi sick.
 
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I can only tell it as it is Pondlover and I'm sorry this has you worried but a lesson learned there eh ?
Another lesson learned is the need for a Quarentine Tank or pond so that when you buy any new koi you can QT them for a month whilst looking for anything that may infect your koi.
Have you any books on koi Keeping , if not I've posted a thread about books you can buy giving you Titles Authors names ( where possible) and ISBN Numbers your more than welcome to check it out.
I recomend The Interpet Book of Koi Health which will take you through all the basics right th way through to Diseases Bacteria's and Viruses, take the time to read it and you wont go wrong ever again perhaps have it bought as a Christmas present for you.
All the books have been reveiwed by us and its a library weve built up over the last 26 years .
It was another book The Salamander ( now Interpet ) Book of Fish Health that set us off collecting books about our hobby and the health of our charges......
Through and because of it, that over the last 26 years weve lost only eight koi during all that time.
Another way to look at this is to think yes I love keeping koi but I need to know the ins and outs of keeping them alive through thick and thin.
We are quite proud two of our own have been with us now the whole 26 years and will hopefully be with us for at least another 26 years provided our health doesnt worsen.
However if it does and we can no longer keep our koi we have a friend called Max who runs the UK's only Pond Goldfish and Koi Rescue Service and who has agreed to take our oldest on as her own and I trust her word and her knowledge {( the others would go to good homes of People she trusts .
Lacking any Anesthetic the good Dr is indeed correct about putting the koi in the freezer, the only other option is something I dont thnk you'd like to hear.
Remember when you get that book the sky is the limit for your koi's health needs , I would recomend the good Dr Johnsons book as yet however I dont have a copy, but fingers crossed my good lady will be getting it for me This Christmas .......

rgrds

Dave

PS keep a close eye on your koi just in case it spreads , if it does a Topical anti fungal treatment sould be bought and put in the ponds water paying attention to the gallonage of your pond, you'll need to get that right so as you dont Over Dose the fish ..
I say a topical anti fungal treatment as a cover all as I'm not sure of many of the names of your treatments in the US......
 

HARO

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The fish's skin dried out from being out of the water too long. This leaves the fish open to all kinds of infections. With antibiotics and a Q.T., there is a SLIGHT chance of recovery, but the fish would likely be scarred for life. If it was mine, I'd euthanize it. Sorry.
John
 
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The original post said it was found flopping about in the multch so it wasn't dried out I looked after a koi that was brought to me by a good friend that had dried out on one side some years ago it stayed bent no matter what treatment and all we could do was to euthanize it.
Had this koi had its side dried out it would have been bent in an arc and would not be able straighten out,thats why I suggested treatment for this fish as it couldnt have dried out and the fungal infection was worth a shot at treating plus if needs be anything Bacterial .
We dont give in easyly on our koi in the UK a life is a life whatever creature it may be....
Plus there are some astounding new treatments such as KoiKlear ozonated Gel that makes short work of ulcers and the like.
Last but not least lessons learned from this are priceless.

rgrds


Dave
 

pondlover

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Thank you all for your replies. We've decided to remove him from our pond and euthanize him by placing him in a bucket in the freezer. :sad:
 

Ruben Miranda

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Hello
Well it is sad and I am sorry for your loss.
But truly I feel it was the best thing to do (All though it is sad) but it would have been sader to see or here of that poor fish go threw all that
and still not make it. :sad: :sad:

Ruben
 
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Pondlover so sorry you couldn't turn him around but at least you learned from this , I hope you guys go on to buy that book I suggested and install a QT system believe me you cant go wrong if you do.
Keep a close eye on your remaining fish , should you see and white fluffiness aprearing on any of your other koi act fast and treat them and you should be ok.
Spring is when you may see problems occuring due to the water temperature lowering for winter though I'm not saying if it could happen anytime between now and then but remember if it does to use a topical anti fungal treatment ( might be an idea to buy that anyway)
Will keep our fingers crossed for you , I'm serious about that book it will help you out with many problems in the future and its a great way to educate yourself about what you can expect from Parasites bacteria and viruses but a thing to remember here is Fishkeeping is not always plain sailing those three nastys above can and will try to get at your koi if they can.
To give your koi a bit of a hand in the spring try adding some garlic extract to your koi's food.
Parasites dont like the taste, or alternatively you can buy ready made pelets of wheatgerm and Garlic here in the UK but not sure about the US
Best of Luck

rgrds

Dave
 

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