So I have a common koi I got from petsmart. I was trying to get my pond in the backyard working and while I was out getting supplies I couldn't resist getting a koi. I got the largest one they have. Well... Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the pond working... Something to do with the wiring and there's something wrong where the outlet won't work anymore. I have him in a thirty gallon tank until I can find a proper home. I have been keeping an eye on him, like I do with all my fish, and noticed after his first night that there is a dent in his skull on the side of his head by his gill and the middle of his lip is all cut up... I proceeded to keep a closer watch on him, spending as much time observing the poorthing as possible. I noticed that almost daily, he would get spooked or something would touch his mouth and he would freak out, thrashing his head around spurratically, crashing his head into anything that gets in his path as hard as he can... I have also noticed that he is not eating, probably bc his mouth might be hurting him... Before tonight it was just his lip but now it seems as if his whole mouth is starting to get infected to the point where he can't close his mouth... It scares me and have considered taking the poor guy back to the store but he has grown on me and I want to help... I have searched far and wide on the Internet for some answered and have even gone back to the store and questioned those in charge of the fish and so far have not gotten any definite answers. If anyone has any idea what could be going on, please help! I also would like to note that I have smaller koi in the tank that I was planning on keeping till they got bigger for the pond (now most likely going to donate them to a local aquarium store with a large indoor pond) and none of them have any issues. They all eat fine and swim at a regular pace.
Somethings wrong
- Thread starter Breedoh
- Start date
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
Turn the lights out! I don't know why but when they start freaking in the aquarium they run into everything, I've seen them break their jaws, get facial damage, get fungus's. all kinds of things when they get like that. make sure you tank is as cool as possible, 65-70 would be ideal. next make sure it has a plastic plant, piece of pipe dark cave somewhere to feel secure. next other than Koi are there any other fish? If not add salt, I would add about 1/4 cup of aquarium salt. there are other salts than can be used such as plain ice cream rock salt but DO NOT USE IODINE TABLE SALT. For now I would stick with aquarium salt to keep things simple. make sure and get your water tested, Ph should be between 7.0-8.0 or close to that. If it's in that range or close, leave it alone. Ammonia, needs to be almost if not completely reading zero. the higher the reading the more stress, the more stress the more the fish freaks out, the more it freaks out the more likely it will get hurt, the more injuries the more chances of infections. get the other readings too, nitrites, nitrates, Gh and KH. post them back along with information about how long the tank has been running, anything you have added, what kinds of filter, How many total inches of fish are in the tank, tempature readings, and most of all what the readings are when you test the water. (Everything tested good is not good enough, I have seen folks at petsmart test water and say everything is ok and have no clue what they are readiing! Seriously! It's a need to know the information in order to help.)anything you think will help us help you. A introduction to the forum would be appreciated and Welcome aboard. We will see if we can help out. Larkin
Does it look like anything like the fish in the following link? Take a look at the smaller Koi picture on the bottom left of the link. http://www.ponddoc.com/koihospital/Diagnostic/Bacterial/MouthRot.htm