[miles41]

Hi gang! with the winter now approaching I have a bit of a dilema on my hands. I have a pond with koi & shabumkins and a few (about 5)of the shabumkins have ulcers showing. They have been there all summer really and have never got any worse - and thankfully, my beloved koi's are clear.

The problem is this; with the colder water, these affected fish may get worse, or even die? I could 'off-load' them into a wild-life pond nearby, is this just cruel? I just don't want my koi's to be affected.

any thoughts at all

[dazlem]

Get rid save the KOI.......lol

Darren

[markf1fan]

hiya mate
can i just say that if they have had them all summer should they have not got better and gone by now. what i would be worryed about is if they have them then whats the chance of the koi having the same prob next year. have you treated the pond at all since you have known about it. mark

[miles41]

lol, that's what I was thinking!

[miles41]

hiya Mark, I did treat the water during the summer,(can't remember the name of the stuff) and not a great deal of change. They actually appeared to look better just because of the warmer water?

tested the water temp today (10.7°c) and had chance to study them closely, whilst I don't think they're any worse, I just worry with the winter coming on.

[markf1fan]

ok, i have always found that koi get ulcers in the winter when they sit on the pond bottom. let hope having treated the pond it will be ok. maybe steve could give some advise just incase.

[miles41]

thanks mark, yes, where is Steve when you need him! lol

[ogawa only]

lolz , ii'm hear

rightio first off , ulcers ........bad sign !! anywho , though i'm not supposed to say this as putting and moving fish into wildlife ponds is a legal no no .....

dumpem !!

concentrate on the koi , my only concern or should i say worry , would be next year , there must be something up in your pond , ulcers are a sign of bacterial infection , but its how the bacteria got through to the skin thats a more of a concern .

its getting a bit late to treat for any parasites as a whole as water temps are getting lower , and the majority of treatments dont like 12c and below .

what might be worth doing , is take a few koi out and do scrapes at random , or on each fish , upto you , if you do find something , and the temps are not to low a quick zap with pp , should knockem on the head , or atleast reduce the numbers .

another alternative , though i dont recommend willy nilly use of salt , is add 0.5-0.8 oz of salt per gallon , for the winter period , as salt can be used at any temp . just remember to check salinity levels before and after water changes .

if next year , you start to see signs of ulcers , fin damage through bacteria , you could then add salt , at medication levels . and when temps go up , add acriflavine aswell . as a mix of the two is a great parasite killer , but also a great healer/cleanser for infected wounds

steve

[markf1fan]

Originally Posted by ogawa only

lolz , ii'm hear

rightio first off , ulcers ........bad sign !! anywho , though i'm not supposed to say this as putting and moving fish into wildlife ponds is a legal no no .....

dumpem !!

concentrate on the koi , my only concern or should i say worry , would be next year , there must be something up in your pond , ulcers are a sign of bacterial infection , but its how the bacteria got through to the skin thats a more of a concern .

its getting a bit late to treat for any parasites as a whole as water temps are getting lower , and the majority of treatments dont like 12c and below .

what might be worth doing , is take a few koi out and do scrapes at random , or on each fish , upto you , if you do find something , and the temps are not to low a quick zap with pp , should knockem on the head , or atleast reduce the numbers .

another alternative , though i dont recommend willy nilly use of salt , is add 0.5-0.8 oz of salt per gallon , for the winter period , as salt can be used at any temp . just remember to check salinity levels before and after water changes .

if next year , you start to see signs of ulcers , fin damage through bacteria , you could then add salt , at medication levels . and when temps go up , add acriflavine aswell . as a mix of the two is a great parasite killer , but also a great healer/cleanser for infected wounds

steve

i will say this steve does know his stuff, once again good info mate.top guy.

[miles41]

Originally Posted by ogawa only

lolz , ii'm hear

rightio first off , ulcers ........bad sign !! anywho , though i'm not supposed to say this as putting and moving fish into wildlife ponds is a legal no no .....

dumpem !!

concentrate on the koi , my only concern or should i say worry , would be next year , there must be something up in your pond , ulcers are a sign of bacterial infection , but its how the bacteria got through to the skin thats a more of a concern .

its getting a bit late to treat for any parasites as a whole as water temps are getting lower , and the majority of treatments dont like 12c and below .

what might be worth doing , is take a few koi out and do scrapes at random , or on each fish , upto you , if you do find something , and the temps are not to low a quick zap with pp , should knockem on the head , or atleast reduce the numbers .

another alternative , though i dont recommend willy nilly use of salt , is add 0.5-0.8 oz of salt per gallon , for the winter period , as salt can be used at any temp . just remember to check salinity levels before and after water changes .

if next year , you start to see signs of ulcers , fin damage through bacteria , you could then add salt , at medication levels . and when temps go up , add acriflavine aswell . as a mix of the two is a great parasite killer , but also a great healer/cleanser for infected wounds

steve

thanks for info Steve....good advice as per....yes, i thought you weren't supposed to 'move them' to wildlife ponds, but in the interests of Koi

yes, i fear that something, somehow has got into the pond this last year for this to happen. Great advice as you say and I have considered PP, but it maybe too late now this year.