Keeping our fish healthy

Few raised their hand to the question of "Do you check your water quality?" Most of us raised our hands for "Do you make water changes?" although I doubt that we make as many changes as they were indicating, like 20% once a week.

"Topping it off is not a water change," Wendy said. Use a sump pump to take water off the bottom of the pond if you don't have a bottom drain.

Wendy said that this winter and spring have been especially bad for water temperature fluctuations, which is a problem for our fish. She said do not feed the fish until the water temperature (not air) has reached 50 to 55 degrees consistently. She said that parasites are very active in water temperatures between 60 and 69 degrees.

"A true koi pond doesn't have any plants," Wendy said. It also doesn't have rocks on the bottom because they are hard to clean. When you stir up the muck on the bottom it is like flushing the toilet. Be sure to remove the fish during cleaning, especially if your pond has rocks in the bottom.

Common symptoms of fish disease are:
• Gasping at the surface or staying under waterfalls - lack of oxygen.
• Isolation - staying away from the school of fish.
• Flashing, scratching and jumping - caused by parasites, toxin or poor water quality.
• Lying on the bottom of the pond
• Head down and tail up - bacterial infection
• Swimming upside down - swim bladder
• Dropsy - scales stand out from the body or bloated body
• Ulcerations - sores on body caused by parasites or injury. Koiphen.com is a good information site about parasites.
Common fish disease and parasites:
• Anchor worm - visible to the naked eye. Can be physically removed; treat with Dimilin
• Lice - visible to naked eye as freckles or dark spot; treat with Dimilin
• Ich - white spots appear on the skin. Ich is the fastest killer of fish. Treat with Formalin and malachite green. Will need to treat three to four times to completely rid the disease.
• Carp pox - a cool water viral disease. Gold fish are prone to tumors due to breeding (spawning is brutal). Has a waxy appearance.
So, how do you go about preventing these types of problems?
• The first and most important step is maintaining good water quality. Throw away the test strips and buy a good quality water test kit. Know that rain is acidic and can cause rapid pH changes which can result in fish mortality. Mary said that with all the recent rains she has been dumping a lot of baking soda into her koi pond to reduce the pH level.
• Quarantine all new fish about three weeks before introducing them to your pond. The average life span from the dealer to the pond is two days for koi.
• Clean all new plants before inserting them into your pond as they may carry parasites or fish eggs.
• Do not overstock the pond. If you don't control your population, Mother Nature and disease will do the job for you.
• Make sure you have adequate filtration for the size of the pond and the number of fish in it.
• Routine filter cleaning and water changes throughout the season. Be sure to add dechlorinator with each water change.
• Know your water perimeters. Check weekly for ammonia, nitrites and pH levels.
• Feed low protein food in spring and fall and high protein during the summer months.
Good internet sites for information are:
• www.koivet.com - Doc Johnson's site has a good variety of pond/fish information
• www.pondcrisis.com - fish and pond help
• www.koi-unleashed.co.uk - Duncan Griffiths is a very knowledgeable koi keeper

Wendy stressed that if you have questions or need help with your fish problems, you can call her at Hix & Son Aquatics at (913) 481-5416, 2305 W 96th St, Leawood, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or find information on their website at www.hixandsonaquatics.com.