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ill koi

 





 


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 10, 2007, 10:54 PM

Post #1 of 18 (1763 views)
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ill koi Can't Post
Hi, i just joined the group in hopes of helping my Koi and Butterfly Koi's.
My oldest butterefly koi ( he's about 5 years old) has developed some serious problems and everytime I go to the pet store , .........well their advice almost killed him. He's sick enough as it is. So i decided to look for help from people who know more about Koi and Butterfly Koi.


Houdini-he's my sick butterfly koi is 5 years old and lives in a 55 gallon fish tank with two other butterfly koi's and one koi. They all have the some blood in their fins and Tail, but Houdini is the worst. Wish I could send a picture of him so you can see what i am talking about.
His appetite is not good and Flash eats all the food ( Flash is my white Koi).

I went to a pet store to see if they might have anything to help my Koi's and they gave me Melafix- antibacterial Fish Remedy. I took out the carb filter and administered the medication. It threw Houdini for a loop and I was afraid I might have killed him. He was acting very funny, leaning to the left then right, back again and staying at the bottom of the tank. He survived the night at least but still not eating.

I want to improve life better for all my Koi's, so if anyone can advise me what is the best course of treatment I would appreciate it.
plus my Koi didn't seem to like the food I was feeding them and I was wondering if that might have caused the problem. What IS the best food to feed Butterfly Koi and Koi? Feeding them tuflex worm and koi flakes right now as I threw the other food out.
Lecia


Scout
Koi Lover

Mar 11, 2007, 6:15 AM

Post #2 of 18 (1756 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
You need to post your water perameters, what size the fish are, water change schedule, etc....
I would say you have way to small of a tank to keep 1 Koi let alone 4. My guess would be poor water quality is the main contributer.


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 13, 2007, 7:33 AM

Post #3 of 18 (1734 views)
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Re: [Scout] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
That's a start. THank you


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 13, 2007, 8:02 AM

Post #4 of 18 (1733 views)
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Re: [Scout] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Tried to send pictures but couldn't. The tank is 55 gallons. About 6 feet long by 3 feet high and a foot and a half wide.
Two of my Koi's are 1 1/2 feet long, one is a foot long and the littlest is 6 inches.

I usually change the water twice a month. I have a whisper filter that handles up to 60 gallons per second.

I feed them twice a day with tuflix worms and flakes until I can find better food.

I want to do better for my Koi's, so any advice will be helpful. trying to find a way to get a 125 gallon tank, but so far nobody sells them close to me.

I know a pond would be the best for them, but I don't own my own place.

Lecia


zoul
Member

Mar 13, 2007, 7:29 PM

Post #5 of 18 (1711 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Dear lecia

I think your best bet is to give atleast 2 of your fish away to good homes.

Do 25 % water changes about once a week. And cut down the amount of food you feed.

Get yourself some water test kits and test once every week for ammonia nitrites and nitrates.

Seeing as you don't have a garden why not get a quarintiene tank with a filter fitted then when you get a garden and pond you can use it for any new fish you might get. they are pretty compact and you can get them as small as 200 gallon nearly 4 times bigger than your tank and alot cheaper then glass tanks.


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 15, 2007, 5:55 AM

Post #6 of 18 (1702 views)
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Re: [zoul] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
I'll look into the quarintiene tank, but get rid of two of my koi .........no. Selfish it sounds, .............I can't. They mean the world to me. That is why I went looking for help. To better my care for these and future Koi's.But I will not let them suffer either.
Will seriously take your advice on the water test, changing 25 % of the water, I'll do it three times a week if needed, till I either get the tank or another 55 gallon or 150 gallon tank for them. And find a better filtration system.

Thank You so much for your advice.

Would you or anyone else know the best mediction to use on my fish that has the blood in his fins?

Lecia


zoul
Member

Mar 15, 2007, 10:24 AM

Post #7 of 18 (1693 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Dear lecia

I don't wish to panic you or anything but visable blood in the fins is never a good thing, septosemia springs to mind. see if you can get some antibiotics from a vet to mix with the food.

But it could be stress. Over crowding underfilteration over feeding poor water quality ect can all lead to stress.

There are so many things we have to think about when keeping such beautifull animals. Try getting some Propolis to mix with the food you use. Get it from a health food shop as its cheaper than an aquatic dealer. 1 T spoon full to a hand full of food in a bag and shake well, should last your fish a few days. Dont feed for more than ten days and leave at least two weeks between the 10 days otherwise the fish build up an imunity to the antibiotic protentual.


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 16, 2007, 2:32 AM

Post #8 of 18 (1688 views)
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Re: [zoul] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
i was already panicing when they took ill................the medication Medflux i got from a pet store put panic into full range when my poor koi almost died. Stopped that med fast .
Not sure if there's any vet here that could take care of the Septicimia problem, but will look around. Maybe at Cornell U there might be someone.

Thank you for the advice. Really appreciate it.

Knowledge is best when having Koi. Thank you so very much!
Lecia


femme_artist51
Koi Lover


Mar 16, 2007, 9:50 PM

Post #9 of 18 (1673 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi, if you have a backyard, you can get a tank from the feed store. They are not as pretty as glass tanks, but they are much larger. You can put it on a porch?? It is a stock pond or tank. They use these to put out water for their animals. I believe they have different sizes. Then you can have a filter system for it. Put a pump, underwater one, in the bottom and run a line up to another tank, we use a 1/2 whiskey barrel that has a liner. We put an old hand pump with PVC pipe running up through the hand pump (so the water doesn't come in contact with the rusty metal of the hand pump). Then of course this water has to go through some filter material, and then back into the pond. You can put plants around the tank, even some in the tank to dress it up. Take care, hope your fish are still doing okay. Lynda


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 17, 2007, 6:56 AM

Post #10 of 18 (1663 views)
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Re: [femme_artist51] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Cool That sounds very interesting. i'll check into that. THere's a farm store near by.

My koi's are holding in there. I've been following all advice to the best of my ability and they're starting to perk up more.
Houdini is doing better, the blood in his fins are almost gone an he looks like he might be putting on more weight.

I need to find something else to feed them. They ate the tuflix worms up in one week. They still act hungry, but am only feeding them once a day. Changing the water frequently and all this appears to be helping. It's only a short term remedy and I will still look into everything else to see if I can find a better environment for them with a far better filtration systems.

So glad to have found this form.Cool
Lecia


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Mar 17, 2007, 7:28 AM

Post #11 of 18 (1661 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello, As a koi lover, I would say that you should start to think about other fish or a bigger space for your koi! I know that when most people start this hobby, a 55 gal tank may seem big, but it is not fair to a koi of all fish to keep them in such a small space. And a small space is harder to maintain compared to a bigger space! I believe that most of the koi lover here will agree! I know that your intentions are good, and if so, then try to give your koi the best enviroment you can!


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 18, 2007, 7:06 AM

Post #12 of 18 (1632 views)
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Re: [ayranjim] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Wink Yes i am working on getting a larger environment. They are improving each day and I wish i could send you pictures of before and after with houdini.

But I can't, and I love my koi and with the advice given will make life better for them.
LEcia


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Mar 18, 2007, 9:00 AM

Post #13 of 18 (1629 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello, Koi are like dogs in the sence that they have personalities! I am glad that your interested in their well being!


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 18, 2007, 10:53 AM

Post #14 of 18 (1622 views)
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Re: [ayranjim] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Cool You are right about the personalities. Houdini is the oldest and when I purchased each smaller koi they went to him and stayed very close, like it was a safe zone. the only one who did warm up to him was my smallest Koi -Hermine. Poor thing was terrorized in the pet store when I purchased her/him? must of had a bed experince somewhere else before I got her.
it was very neat watching them hang very close to houdini. And when sitting at my table carving they would all gang up in the corner of the tank nearest me waiting for me to give in and feed them more. Very cute.

But now I can do one better to make sure they live longer and are healthier.
Lecia


lecia
Koi Lover

Mar 29, 2007, 9:42 PM

Post #15 of 18 (1561 views)
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Re: [ayranjim] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Cool Up date on my koi health. houdini is doing very well, he has put weight on and is coming up to feed , like he use to. The blood in his fins are just about gone.

Still working on a larger home for them. The season is about to start and I hope to have better luck in finding a larger tank or something better for them.

Thanks for all the advice , if help a lot.

Lecia


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Mar 29, 2007, 11:33 PM

Post #16 of 18 (1558 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello, try to be creative!! This will help! Because there are very few places that sell something just for KOI, so look at what can be used to give them space! There are many things!! Spend an afternoon at the biggest hardware store around you and look at everything!! Something might comeup!
JIM


lecia
Koi Lover

Apr 18, 2007, 7:53 AM

Post #17 of 18 (1284 views)
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Re: [ayranjim] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Smile Fish are improving. and Hudini is doing very well. Have another ,bigger filter system in the tank which cleans 300gph.
I've also found a fish store that has a 125 gallion tank and will soon have that up an running.

Lecia


jtlee
Koi Lover


May 1, 2007, 9:45 AM

Post #18 of 18 (1120 views)
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Re: [lecia] ill koi [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Lecia,

1) TANK CAPACITY - based on your data, 6ft x 3ft x 1.5ft, your tank is 202 gallons (72"x36"x18")/231 = 202gals... and not 55 gallons. The medicine needed for a 200 gals tank and a 55 gals tank is quite different. So make sure what is your tank capacity first before you put medicine because under-dose will not cure your kois and over-dose might kill them all.

2) WHISPER FILTER - at 60gals per second, it should handle 3,600 gallons pond which is far greater than your supposedly 55 gals or 299 gals tank. Check the manual of the filter again if it.

Also what is a whisper filter? Does it comes with a pumps? mechanical filter that traps the poohs? biological filter that house good bacteria?

The lives and health of your kois is dependent on water quality... water quality depends much on your filter system... filter system depends on your equipments and filter materials.

3) FEED
a)TUBIX WORMS - if these worns were sold by backyard suppliers, they might carry bacteria that can make your kois very sick.
b) FLAKES - are usually fed to small kois that do not have mouth big enough for pellets.
c) PELLET - are most practical. You may want to give them high protein supplements and cheap source of color enhancer by feeding them dried baby shrimps... yummy, your kois will love them.

4) TWICE A MONTH WATER CHANGE - is not good enough. Do a weekly 29 to 30 % water change. Since you tank is small, you can afford to do it compared to those who have 5,000 to 10,000 gallons pond.

5) BLOOD STREAKS ON FINS & TAILS - are so far the easiest decease to treat. Some koi docs do not even consider them a illness but signs of high stress which, if not remedied will lead to more serious deceases.

a) FIRST AID - Try to put 1 teaspoon rock or sea salt (not iodize salt - it can kill your kois) for every gallon of water, dilute it in a bucket, then pour it into your tank. Again, you won't be able to give the correct dosage until you get the correct capacity of your tank. If the condition improves, make 25% water change and replenish 25% of salt that had been disposed. Repeat the process for a month.

b) IF SALT DOES NOT CURE THEM - combine it with METHYLENE BLUE (5 drops per gallon of water) or TETRACYLINE (one 500mg capsule for every 20 gallons).

Hope these help.

jtlee


3)
Happy Koi: Happy You!
jtlee

 
 
 



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