Koi

If your Koi fall ill it’s important to use the right treatments in the right doses – so, with the help of our resident health expert Bernice Brewster, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to common ailments and their treatments.

When your Koi are ill it can be a worrying time and you will want to do all that you can to make them better as soon as possible. Common diseases can be identified by every Koi keeper, although diagnosis of many parasite infections requires the examination of mucus samples using a microscope as it is important to accurately identify any disease in order to apply the correct treatment.

Treatments are most effective when applied to the whole pond and tend to be most active during the first four hours after they’ve been added to a pond. It is good practice to follow up any pond treatment with partial water changes on subsequent days to remove any residue from the medication. You must always be careful when adding any medication to a pond and take great care to weigh or measure the treatments accurately.

Example
To work out the treatment for whitespot for a 4,400-gallon pond (20,000l):

• The treatment for whitespot is malachite green and the dosage rate is 0.1mgl of pond water
• To work out the treatment you first need to multiply the pond volume by the dosage rate and then you have to divide it by 1,000 because 1,000mg are
  equivalent to 1g
• Our pond is 20,000l so: 20,000 x 0.1 = 2,000mg. 2,000 ÷ 1,000 = 2g

Top treatment tips

• Stay by the pond for at least 20 minutes following the addition of any treatment and watch the Koi for signs of distress. If they become distressed, start water changes immediately.
• Always treat the pond when you are able to monitor the Koi often (every 10–20
  minutes). You will then be able to start immediate water changes if necessary.
• Always read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter.
• Never add extra treatment for good measure. Many treatments are poisonous and there is a fine line between a correct dose and an overdose. If in any doubt, seek advice.
• Please remember that many factors, including water chemistry, temperature, age and condition of the fish can alter the efficacy of any treatment. No responsibility can therefore be accepted for the use of these figures or any losses incurred.

Written by Bernice Brewster