Why are my koi turning white?

[Evie]

We have a dozen 10-inch koi in a 200 gallon or so pond. They have been very healthy for years, but now some of them are turning white, starting with blotches, then completely white. Is this natural, or should we be concerned? -- Washington DC.

 

[Mmathis]

Do you test your water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH? And what kind of filtration do you have? Have you noticed any other changes is their behavior? Do you have any pictures of them, before and what they look like now?

And most of all, did you mean to say it was a 200 gallon pond?

 

[sissy]

Mine were black then turned into blotchy gold black and white and now some are splotchy gold and white and others are all white .Some even look pink and some look yellow .i think it is a water temp. thing because mine are always changing color .They are all mixed breeds .So not all pure koi .Some have very tinh barbels that you can barely see and the are over 9 years old .

 

[Lisak1]

And most of all, did you mean to say it was a 200 gallon pond?

!!!

Hoping that was a typo!

 

[sissy]

I figured she meant 2000 gallons as a koi 10 inch's long would be like sardines in a can

 

[Smaug]

The only color changes I have had occur are fish that are mostly white eventually turning all white. I have never had any koi or goldfish turn white or lose color if they started mostly a different color. iow,dark fish stay that way.

 

[Dave 54]

Are you saying that the red [hi] is fading out to white ?
I would sugest next summer giving the pond more shade to start with , let me know if its the red[hi] fading etc it may well be that your pond is far to open to direct sunlight .....


Dave

 

[Smaug]

Are you saying that the red [hi] is fading out to white ?
I would sugest next summer giving the pond more shade to start with , let me know if its the red[hi] fading etc it may well be that your pond is far to open to direct sunlight .....


Dave

That wouldn't be the solution to my pond. It sets directly under a big tree and after the lily filled out there was precious little sun hitting the fish.

 

[Mmathis]

I figured she meant 2000 gallons as a koi 10 inch's long would be like sardines in a can

I read back in some older posts -- it is 200-ish.

 

[Lisak1]

12 ten inch koi in 200 gallons? Whoa.

 

[sissy]

That is why it really has to be wrong some where .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I read back in some older posts -- it is 200-ish.

YIKES!!

 

[Dave 54]

Evie's very words were "We have a 200-250 gallon outdoor concrete Koi pond that was re-surfaced exactly one month ago. Our 14 fat Koi have been living in an 80 gallon Rubbermaid tank. They want to go back to their nice pond, but I want to make sure I set the water chemistry correctly and I want to make sure that the new concrete has completely leached".
Evie if this is the case then you are grossly overstocked in your pond and would need to get rid of all but a few koi.
The whitening I feel may well be Tricodena which gives your koi a whitish appearance
Tricodena normally appears at times of change to water temperature especially around fall/winter and is more often than not found in poorly maintained systems where detritus and sediment have been allowed to build up in both your pond and filters .
If you leave it untreated then fatalities may well occur but you need to cofirm this is Tricodena with a scrape/microscope first my diagnoses before thinking about treating them

Dave

 

[Mmathis]

@Dave 54 Just as a point of reference, that original post was -- I think -- made back in 2011.

 

[tbendl]

Tm are you talkingg about this post? It was started yesterday. Lol