Sunday, July 11, 2010

Patty is found!!!!!

Patty was hiding at the bottom of the Koi Garden pond.  I was worried that Patty was eaten by one of the critters that frequent the garden.   Luckily, that was not the outcome of the Patty search.  I found Patty along the bottom of the pond, hiding among the pumps and plants. 

But all is not well. A lethargic fish is not a healthy fish.  And Patty was lethargically hiding at the bottom. 
No feeding.
No swimming.
A little bit of rot on the long flowing fins.
And a very stressed pink color.
All indications of a very bad situation. 

I immediately sprung to action.

First step is to get the fish out of the pond and into a hospital tank where intense treatment can be applied.  In Patty’s case, it is quite easy to catch a sick fish with a net.  They don’t move fast and are really not feeling well.

The hospital tank, in this case, was a large bucket with an air pump, bubbling constantly.

I quickly look at my Koi reference books to try and get a feel what the offending sickness.  I use my favorite book for koi knowledge(The Tetra Encyclopedia of KOI).  The fin rot indicates that bacteria is eating away the long flowing fins.  The pink color indicates stress and sickness on the white fish.  I added Malachite Green to the water.  It is a mixture of formalin (think formaldehyde, icchhh) and some chemical that produces bright blue stains (OK, I have no idea why it is called Malachite Green….).  This chemical kills any exterior bacteria that are attaching the fins. 

It is also a good habit to call your Koi network to confirm treatment.  For me, I call Diane Torgeson of Oasis Water Gardens.  Diane confirmed the Malachite Green treatment but also warned me NOT to use salt water treatment at the same time.  Whew, I use saltwater treatment for a general treatment.  It improves functioning of Koi gills and assists the koi’s natural defenses by increasing the slick feel of the fish, restricting bacteria’s ability to get to the fish.  But in combination with Malachite Green, the salt water will burn the fish;  Ohhhh No…  Dianne also recommended additional treatment with antibiotics.  Both of these treatments are multi day treatments.  The Malachite is applied each day for at least 3 and possible more days.  The treatment plan for the antibiotics is a 10 day plan, with drugs applied to the hospital tank every day.

With the correct treatment plan in place, I embarked on the toughest part of any hospital stay:  the waiting….

1 comment:

Pond Filters said...

This patty fish is really very beautiful. Its nice that you found it again. It is look like golden fish. Wonderful blog!!