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Koi Health & Wellness Center
Stress in your KoiStress: Sum of all biological phenomena that result from forces that disrupt equilibrium or produce strain. When stress is above the Koi's tolerance level it will produce pathological change. Koi Health is almost always an issue of Water Quality, Koi care and Stress. Most Koi parasites and diseases are already present in every Koi pond, your Koi have a unique system, in that, it already has in place what it needs to protect itself from most of these parasites. But when your Koi become stressed this unique system breaks down, and your fish and Koi become extremely susceptible to infectious diseases. Of course there are exceptions, but if you maintain optimal water quality conditions and know your fish's behavior you can prevent more diseases and save your fish's lives by helping them stay stress free. Fish are made VULNERABLE to bacterial infections by water quality, crowding, wintertime chillling, infrequent pond cleaning, and parasites - and these issues have to be corrected before any success with the bacterial issues are possible. What is "Aeromonas Alley"?The following is the process your Koi go through after being introduced to a stressor: Resistance — Catecholamine (the process of the body releasing epinephrine and dopamine). This usually takes effects in seconds or minutes. Fish attempts to regain "original" level of their psychological system or homeostasis. Adaptation — Cortisol release. This usually takes effects in hours, weeks or months. Fish attempts to develop a new level of homeostasis under the influence of a chronic stressor. Exhaustion — Fish exhausts its reserve of energy, hormone precursors which were needed to maintain the new psychological system. Fish Medicine for Sick Fish and KoiOne of the main keys to Koi health and wellness is noticing what is normal behavior for your Koi. This way you will notice when they deviate from their normal behavior, which is the quickest way to tell when something is wrong or if they are under stress. Another major key to successful Koi Health is a routine examination of your fish. Check out your Koi and give them a good look over to make sure you don't see any signs of distress. Signs to look for: Fins are often the first body part to deteriorate when fish are stressed or unwell so they can give a good general guide to condition. Examine all fins, especially those underneath the fish, for ragged or uneven edges, tears, splits or bloodshot appearance. Invariably, these conditions indicate a bacterial or environmental problem needing urgent attention and do not result from fish ‘nipping’ each other. Check for any thickening of the mucous layer or cuticle, especially around the head and upper body surfaces, giving a milky or grey appearance to the skin. This could indicate a parasite problem. Look closely for any reddening of the skin, abrasions or open wounds, particularly at the base of the fins, around the mouth and on the underside of the body. This type of damage often indicates a bacterial infection and only rarely results from bumping into rocks, pipes etc. Some parasites you are able to see without a microscope so watch closely for these. Under the descriptions below of Koi & fish diseases it will tell you what you should be on the look out for. Some of the most common bacterial infections that are associated with stressful conditions in freshwater systems are Aeromonas hydrophila, A sobria, and Pseudomonas spp. These opportunistic organisms frequently cause disease in freshwater fish, usually under warm water conditions. They produce very similar clinical syndromes, sometimes referred to as hemorrhagic septicemia. Nutritional deficiencies, traumatic injuries, parasitism, and sharp seasonal temperature changes appear to be predisposing factors. The acute form is characterized by signs of a septicemic infection (blood poisoning) with external reddening, and hemorrhages are found in the lining of the abdominal cavity, body wall, and internal organs. Control is based on removal of predisposing factors. Actions for Disease Control in KoiStress control Never overpopulate or exceed the filtration capacity of your pond. Immunization procedures: Certain vaccines are in use in some fish food for selected viruses, including CCVD, IHN, and VHS. Bacterins for prevention of diseases including Furunculosis and Vibriosis are also in use. Other vaccines are in the stage of research and development. The more intimately we know the behavior of our Koi, the more reliably we can use our observations to gain a broad understanding of their state of health. As the health of our Koi is largely dependent on the quality of their environment, we can soon gather useful information about the quality of our water simply by observing our Koi. For Koi Diseases Click Here
Most Common Reasons Koi Die Fish AnatomyFish Anatomy Pictures
Here is a .pdf file you can download on Koi Anatomy it has a lot of helpful information. Viruses and Bacteria:These microorganisms cannot be seen with the naked eye. They cause many diseases in fish. Symptoms include: swollen, fluid-filled body cavity, bulging eyes, bloody fins, bloody spots on the skin or base of scales, sores, and lesions, etc. Bacterial infections are usually the result of a stress on the fish or infection of a wound. Koi can be infected with bacteria that will also infect humans. Of particular concern are Mycobacteria which cause Tuberculosis in humans. Most bacteria that affect Koi are able to live under widely different environmental conditions (especially either aerobically or anaerobically). But even the obligate parasites seem to be able to live a long time off the host. They have infected other organisms including fish and are ready for transmission. There are various modes of transmission which include passage through water to fish, fish to fish contact, or transmission from a vector (including humans) that carries the organism from on body of water to another. A portal of entry into the target fish is the next step in the process. The bacterium must pass through epithelial membranes in the skin, gills or gastrointestinal tract. An injury or a protozoan parasite can create such a portal of entry for the bacteria and enable infection. An infection or symptoms of a disease does not necessarily follow. A bacterial pathogen can be present in a fish and due to the lack of irritation of the bacteria or the fish’s immune system ability to fight it can stop the progression of this disease process. The bacteria must cause injury to the structure or function of tissue for a disease to result. Fungi:Fungi are small, strand-like parasites. They normally do not infect healthy fish. They usually grow on dead tissue or infected wounds. Most of the fungi on fish have a patchy, gray-white, cotton-like appearance. Protozoa:These are microscopic, single-cell animals. They can be found on the gills, body surface or imbedded in the flesh. There are many different protozoans, and they cause a variety of fish diseases. Keep Current With The Koi Pond Blog | Click Here for Build a Koi Pond Homepage | Click Here to See Our Koi For Sale | Nishikigoi Terms & Koi Glossary |
The Importance of QuarantineA Portland koi hobbyist paid $10,000 for an exotic fish and put it in his pond, only to lose more than $100,000 worth of fish because of a disease carried by the new acquisition. If he would have put this Koi through a Quarantine process this would never have happened. Featured ProductMedi-Koi Medicated Food 
For More Information on Aqua Medi-Koi Click Here SwimBladderInside the Koi is a gas-filled sac, known as the "swimbladder", which acts as a buoyancy organ so Koi can stay at any depth with the minimum use of energy. Koi can control the gases inside it, with gas added or removed by blood vessels running over the surface of it. There is also a thin tube to the Koi’s throat so they can add gas by gulping air. There are various conditions that can affect the swimbladder, from fungus to filling with fluid. The symptoms are similar: the Koi swims with a distinct rowing action and rises to the surface often to gulp air. When resting, the Koi are found on the pond bottom with the pectoral fins extended. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to determine what disease is affecting the swimbladder and so offer any treatment. Fluid can be removed, but without knowing why this has happened or how to control it, the swimbladder will fill with fluid again very quickly. It is important to have a range of water testing kits so you always know what your water perimeters are.Koi Body
Immune SystemThe immune system is a protective mechanism developed by animals for survival. Fish are one of the most primitive vertebrates, but they do have an immune system satisfactory enough to react and protect them from attacks by various organisms. The host-pathogen relationship usually elicits a response in the host (fish) which serves to protect it against the pathogen. There are two types of immune responses elicited by most animals. A humoral response and a cellular response. The humoral response is the stimulation of serum protein molecular synthesis homologous specific to the antigen causing the synthesis. These serum protein molecules are called antibodies. Antibodies circulate throughout the body. All potential pathogens contain antigens. The introduction of antigens by a pathogen is what stimulates the antibody response of the host. The cellular response to antigen stimulation is a sensitization of cellular elements of the reticuloendothelial system. Cardiovascular SystemThe heart circulates blood through a system of arteries and veins. Blood passing through the gills is oxygenated before being sent on to the tissues. As there is no division between oxygen rich arterial blood and oxygen depleted venous blood, the Koi’s “primitive” cardiovascular system makes these fish vulnerable to low oxygen saturation levels. What are those little red worms in your filter material? They are the larvae of the midge fly and are called Blood Worms, they are harmless. They are also a fish delicacy and can be purchased at your local pet supply stores. They are a natural occurrence in a clean pond. |
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RSS Feeds  Avoid Massive Fish KillsAre you using Pond Chemicals? Make sure you have enough oxygen in your water when treating your Koi and Pond with Chemicals. The danger signs of too little aeration are:
The ways to increase the amount of oxygen in your pond are:
Try to keep all areas of your pond water moving. Lateral Line SystemThe lateral line system is a special sense organ which provides your fish information about their surroundings. The lateral line system is what prevents your fish from bumping into things in the pond. The lateral line system is a batch of small sensory patches underneath the scales on the skin. They can be seen as a line of small pores that run down the sides of a fish from head to tail. These pores are not confined to the lateral-line, they are also distributed all over the fish, particularly on the head. Some sensory pores serve to detect pressure changes within the pond water. Fish set up their own pressure wave in front of themselves in the water so when they get close to something the pressure waves become distorted, these changes are detected by the lateral line system, which enable the fish to make the fundamental correction in their direction. Taste Buds and HearingKoi have taste buds almost everywhere on their bodies. They have taste buds, on their lips, within their mouths, their fleshy barbells, and even their fins and tail are covered with taste buds. Koi are unique in that they can hear up to 3,000 hertz, while most other fish cannot hear frequencies above 1,000 hertz. This is due to a unique amplification system they have which connects their inner ear bones to the swim bladder. This connection to the swim bladder greatly improves their ability to hear, as well as assists in balance and orientation. |
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