[Frambo]

Hi all, first post here so sorry for the lack of introduction but I have a feeling this is fairly urgent.

In recent months I've noticed that the pride of my collection's left eye has been having a problem.

I treated the pond with medifin and it seemed to get better but since I stopped it's got worse again. I'm not sure what to do as it's now looking really bad and I'm worried about the fish losing it's eye or worse.

I've attached a photo as it will save me describing the problem, just bear in mind that the photo is old, it is now a bit worse.

All other koi are fine so I doubt it's a problem with the water.

We're really fond of our koi but don't know much about possible problems/illnesses as thankfully they don't seem to get any. I've had this one since it was smaller than my little finger so I'm especially fond of it.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is and what the best way to treat it is?

Many thanks

[ochiba110]

Where's the picture Frambo?

[Bryan from Wymondham]

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket is your friend when it comes to getting photos up on the net.

[Frambo]

Sorry about that- didn't notice the attachment didn't show up. Now linked with PB. Took the photo to an aquatics store today and bought some Ulcer treatment- do you think that's what this is?

[Bryan from Wymondham]

Originally Posted by Frambo

Sorry about that- didn't notice the attachment didn't show up. Now linked with PB. Took the photo to an aquatics store today and bought some Ulcer treatment- do you think that's what this is?

It's nasty
It might be worth keeping it in a separate tank for a while, keeping the volume of water down that you may have to treat. What product did they sell you?

[Gazfish]

Hi,

That look a nasty bacterial infection and will not be an easy one to treat being around the eye

What if any medication and treatments do you have and can you set up a hospital system where you can treat and get to a good temperature ?

[schmike1976]

Some may not agree, but in my opinion you need to get the fish away from the rest of the healthy fish, get some salt in the hospital tank water and then try and source some antibiotics from your vet.

Baytril may hit the bacteria responsible, but better still see if the Vet will supply you Fortum Antibiotic. Both will need to be injected, and you will probably find that the vet will need to "inspect" the fish before releasing any drugs. I have just gotton over a SERIOUS Bacterial Infection that ended up hitting Ever fish in the pond, lost 5 fish, then managed to get the correct drugs after taking a sacrificial fish to Lincolnshire Fish Health who tested everything properly in their labs and found the exact strain of Bacteria causing me th problems......so keep your eyes peeled and try an inspect the undersides of the fish aswell as Ulcers have a habit of popping up on the underside and going undetected for far too long.

Good Luck

[Frambo]

Brilliant thanks. I'm using I believe medefin anti ulcer- one bottle into the entire pond. I'm apprehensive about taking it out due to concerns over stressing her out but if you think this is the best way then I'm happy to do that. Considering that the infection on her eye has been around for nearly a year in some form or another I'm after something that will 'remove' it. At the moment all these treatments seem to make it go away so it is just a faint outline and then come back a few weeks later.

[Gazfish]

Hi,

I am not sure how good/bad the treatment you are using will do as by the sounds of it its for fins so you may find its not doing very much for this fish apart from relieving you of a few ££

Personally i think you will need to have the fish out and give it a good clean up and treat it topically to give it a good chance of getting on top of this. Time may be against you depending on if you are heated or can get the fish into a hospital tank of some kind as we will be coming into winter very soon and these things are best done in warmer temperatures.

First off you will need to sedate the fish and work on it so a nice clean area with a baby changing mate or some wet towels all ready to go and a bowl to sedate the fish in. Make sure you have everything to hand ready before you start then you will not panic. Sedate the fish and place a wet towel over the eyes and tail which I find helps keep them calm.DON'T PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will need something to clean the wound like Rocal or HP (Hydrogen peroxide) if using HP make sure you do it with a cotton bud and only get it on the wound as it will damage other skin and position the fish in such a way you cant slip or drip into the eye. Just add some HP on a cotton bud and be very careful not to get it onto any good skin or the eye when on the wound you will see the HP fizz and once done dry off completely. You will need to remove any dead and decaying skin or damage making sure all that is left is clean wound and tidy and dry.

Once this has all been done too will need to no use a topical treatment which you will need to get from a dealer or on line dry good seller. There are many out there and I like to use Mecurochrome 2% and all you do is apply over the wound and then let it dry and if you can I like to do this a few times.Again try to position the fish so you don't get it in the eye.

I would also seal this off so I would then one the topical is dry add a sealer like lock and seal and also sprinkle Oraheasive powder on top of the seal while it is wet then blow off the residue powder and put another layer of lock and seal or a sealer over the top of the powder.Again keeping any treatments away from the eye.

The next thing for this to help heal is your water needs to be spot on and clean so making sure you clean the filters when required and carry out water changes is a must as the cleaner the water the more chance on the fish healing easier.

Heat is also a great help with these things so if you QT is nice and mature and you can heat it up this will also help and you could also if needed treat the QT with some CT (Chloramine T) which is a great tool at knocking back these types of bacteria in these situations.

Hope this helps and good luck and please keep us in the loop on how things go.