What is your
diagnosis process?
Posted at Koi Bito by
James Reilly
I’d like to start this conversation by making what
I think to be a reasonable statement-
We can’t treat a problem until we know what the problem is.
There have been many attempts at alternative thinking
however! One is that, a problem exists but is unknown. The thinking
is, it is “likely” parasites or bacterial problems or
nitrites etc. so a shotgun approach of chemical concoctions will surely
set things right! Water quality crashes and some deaths are often
the result. And this, in turn, has three possible outcomes- 1) the
hobbyist leaves the hobby in disgust. 2) The hobbyist lives with chronic
pond problems for about three years and THEN leaves the hobby. The
hobbyist eventually finds “a better way” and begins writing
articles entitled “ What is your diagnosis process”!
Another approach often practiced by professionals with
varying degrees of success, but not usually a wise approach for home
ponds, is the prophylactic approach. In this case, there is nothing
wrong, but because it is a certain time of year (or week, in the case
of the PP crowd!*wink) chemicals, water additives, dips, baths, sprays
etc., must be applied BEFORE something actually goes wrong.
In both these cases we see- dealers who indeed have to be ahead of
problems. New hobbyists who don’t know what else to do in the
face of koi dropping like “ proverbial” flies. And those
who have had a struggle, or possibly a previous wipeout, and are just
plain panic prone at this point.
And we took up this hobby for RELAXATION!!
So in that spirit, I ask again- what is your diagnosis process?
Well, I think we can all agree that first we need to
get a chair, a glass of wine or beer (I think best this way!) a pad
and pen and sit down to observe the koi. Divide the page in half and
place two headings:
THE FISH THE WATER
Just relax for 10 minutes and observe both the fish and
the water and list those things of concern- things that are not quite
“normal” or VERY abnormal!
THE FISH
1) Are they swimming normally? In schools
exploring the pond for tidbits and curiosity’s sake? Or hiding
in the corner? Are they sitting on the bottom? Are any individuals
off by themselves and sulking? Are they gathered at the top and mouthing
the surface? Are they “hanging” at 45 degree angels head
down, near the pond bottom? Or are they at 45 degree angles, head
upward, near the surface? Are the koi rubbing themselves on any “handy
object”? Are they flashing? Are they breaking the surface of
the water and shaking their heads? Are they observed twitching their
fins as if being irritated by something ? Do they seem to be constantly
be “chewing” something/nothing? Do they constantly blow
bubbles over the gills and out the gill plate opening?
2) Are the fins and skin clear? Or is
the white ground color red. Have the koi lost their luster? Is the
slime coat healthy or dull? Is the slime sloughing off the fish? Is
the abdominal area red, near the vent? Are there any “red pimples”
forming on the koi’s body, especially on the side or peduncle
area? Are the fins showing a white margin? Or are the fins frayed
and torn? Are their streaks in the fins? Are the fins covered with
white spots or opaque blemishes? Are there “blisters”
in the fins?
3) Are the other body parts normal? Are
the eye’s cloudy or bulging? Are the gill plates held tight
or are they protruding? Are the gill plates moving fast or slow? Is
the body swollen? Is the abdomen swollen? Is there an asymmetry to
the koi, a bulge? Are the bodies thin and the eyes sunken? Is the
white ground yellow or streaked with red veins? Is the nose and head
yellow or deep tan where it should be white?
4) Are the koi eating? At all? Somewhat
but not normally? Are they eating but spitting out the food as they
descend into the water column? Are there floating feces on the water
surface?
5) Are there gross abnormalities present?
Ulcers? Look carefully! Many times they are on the underside and lower
jaw of the koi. Are the ulcers clean and exposing muscle but are non
bloody? Or are they messy and very bloody- like a fish scaler has
been run over an area of the koi? Are the gills lifted out of the
gill plate ( like a phone book that has been dropped into a bucket
of water and then dried out and put back in the drawer!) due to swelling?
Signs of dropsy in more than one individual? Patches of slime turned
white or cloudy? Bend backs or spines? Kinks in the tail spine? Jaws
“frozen” open?
OK ! Time for another glass of wine as the notes on THE FISH are complete
and we are free to move onto THE WATER----
What is your diagnosis
process? Part two
THE WATER
While still in the observation and “sipping”
mode, study the condition of the water-
1) Is the water clear? Is the water green?
Slightly green? Has the water become cloudy recently? Has the water
taken on a “thick” look? Is the water yellow?
2) Is the water surface “shiny”?
Is the water surface opaque and showing a slick or film floating on
it? Are there bubbles near the waterfall or along the edges of the
pond? Count how long, in seconds, it takes for bubbles created by
the airdomes or air stones to pop- is it more than ten “ Mississippi’s”?
Are the bubbles more of a foam raft than individual bubbles? Is the
foam/bubble mass, yellow or white in color?
3) Are there any signs of waste buildup
on the pond bottom? Dead algae being public enemy number one! Fish
feces a close number two (pun intended!) Are there any leaves decaying
in corners or nooks in the pond rockwork? Had blanket weed appeared
recently (more on this later)? Are there any runoff possibilities,
during a good rain, from the garden mulch, treated wood or new rockwork?
4) Is there any waste build up in the
filter and on the filter bottoms? Is there any odor coming from the
sump/vortex when you flush it? It should smell sweet, like topsoil.
And NOT like the Boy Scout camp latrine in July! Are there foam rafts
in the filter?
5) Are the koi behaving differently in
this pond water at different times of the day?
OK enough observation, and no more beer or wine! Next, A HISTORY of
the pond and maybe some chips and pretzels!
What is your diagnosis
process? Part three
HISTORY
After careful observation the next step would be to focus on the recent
history of your pond:
Has anything changed that might be associated with the abnormal observations
you have recorded?
1) Were any new fish added?
2) Have fish grown significantly since
last season?
3) Has the filter recently been cleaned
or disturbed?
4) Have any chemicals recently been added?
5) Has there been a thunderstorm recently?
6) Has there been a large amount of rain
lately?
7) Any new construction around or in
the pond ?
8) Any trees sprayed, grass or pond plants
fertilized?
9) Any major water changes lately?
10) Can you confirm with the town any
change in water treatment of your source water?
11) Any change in diet or feeding routine-
amount or food type?
12) Anything else done to the pond in
recent days?
13) Any predators observed lately ( winged,
two legged or four legged?)
If nothing is helpful in reviewing the recent history of the pond,
then let’s move on to TESTING (this gets more “hands on”,
I’d better order a pizza !)
What is your diagnosis
process? Part four
TESTING
So we have our notes after observing THE FISH and THE WATER. And we
may or may not have zeroed in on a theory based on a review of our
pond’s recent HISTORY. But we will not KNOW what we are treating
for, for sure, until we confirm our suspicions with some research.
It is important to say that 90% of all problems are water quality
or parasite related so everyone really should have a microscope and
a half dozen basic water quality tests. And of course, the trigger
for parasitic infestations and bacterial infections is stress. Stress,
in most cases, brought about by water quality issues! I think you
can see where I’m head’en---
THE FISH- TESTS
1) Examine the condition of the slime
coat. It should neither be excessive or absent!
2) Select at least three fish with the
greatest symptoms and do skin biopsies. This is a simple scraping
of the skin and/or gill with a plastic cover slip. The best areas
being the area in front of the dorsal fin and the sides, especially
just behind the head and gill area. The area behind the pec fins and
the tail tube also will yield flukes. Observation in step one would
have revealed anchor worms, fish lice or white spot on the fins but
since you have the koi up close, check again. Look over the belly
well and look for signs of ulcer beginning as small red areas.
3)MICROSCOPIC EXAM- Start on the lowest
power and adjust the light- not too bright or the light will pass
through the smaller protozoan’ bodies and make them invisible
to the human eye. You are only looking for general movement at this
point. Just a survey for anything living.
4)When done, examine the sample of slime
coat on a higher power by beginning at the top of the slide and move
right as if you were reading a sentence. When you get to the end of
the slide, move down and then scan the slide from right to left. Repeat
until the entire slide has been checked. It is important to realize
that many parasites set the stage for bacterial infections, especially
flukes and tricodina so make sure, if the sample is positive for parasites
that you also develop a contingency plan for dealing with aeromonas
or pseudomonas infection. It has been my experience that the vast
majority of aeromonas infestations are driven by parasites. So, at
least prepare for this possibility with fresh antibiotics and antiseptic
solution.
THE WATER
In truth, the water tests should be done first. I say
this because bad water quality and over crowding are usually THE stressor
that causes the numbers of parasites to explode. And also because,
a koi can only “tell” you it’s sick in a few basic
ways. I mentioned these behaviors/symptoms under OBSERVATIONS. Because
these are such general symptoms, sulking, not eating, flashing etc.
They can easily be both water quality and parasite/bacteria driven
at a point of course- but not always both! In treating these things
you may not care initially. But to assure that these underlying (maybe
linked and synergistic) problems are ULTIMATELY eliminated, you need
to know which came first- “the chicken or the egg”. This
is where TESTING comes in- A greater understanding of the dynamics
involved that lead to the problems at hand.
So part of TESTING, as it pertains to proper diagnosis,
is about eliminating theories and possibilities. Sometimes determining
what “it isn’t” is as valuable as determining what
“it likely is”. At least in terms of sparing the overall
pond environment unnecessary chemical treatments. After all, avoiding
going down wrong roads and blind alleys is what this exercise is all
about!
So what do we test for first? Ammonia. Then nitrite,
to determine the function and condition of our biofilter.
Next pH to eliminate pH crash and buffering issues.
At this point, I get a little “nosey” and
check oxygen, ORP,nitrate and alkalinity. This gives me a bigger picture
view of the general condition of the water and also evidence/confirmation
of past maintenance practices and stocking realities for that particular
pond design. But in your own pond these things are known. Still they
might give you more perspective on how realistic your stocking levels
are?
At this point in our FISH and WATER TESTING, we should have a handle
on 75% of the “possibilities” that can cause the symptoms
mentioned under OBSERVATIONS. So treatment can begin. But if the water
checks out perfect, the ORP & oxygen are high, the pH stable and
no parasitic infestation/ulcer/finrot were found, then more testing
is required. From here, heavy metals, stray electrically changes,
pesticides, and poisons etc all need to be ruled out.
This is also a good time to mention “personal problems”.
We are most interested in population diseases in our ponds. Things
that lead to threats of wipeouts and general depopulation dynamics.
Individual health issues, such as kidney failure, heart attack, internal
tumors and liver disorders are beyond our intervention in almost all
cases. And from an economic and practical aspect, will likely remain
that way. Unfortunately, euthanasia has its place in our hobby.
But there is still a lesson to be learned from periodic
individual deaths. The closed system environment is very hard on koi
over their lifetime. Gill damage from chlorine, parasitic treatment,
DOCs, metals, low level organics etc, all take a toll. Food of the
wrong type or food fed the wrong time of the year, also effect the
liver, kidney, reproductive organs and heart over time. If koi seem
to die periodically but all of similar symptoms, tests can be done
by professional pathologists to determine the organs involved and
hopefully shed some light on the long term health risk. In the same
light, more professional water quality testing for inorganic compounds/metals
in the water main is a worthwhile expense if lingering and disturbing
long-term symptoms are observed.
Well I just finished the last slice so I need to get some
Rolaids--- Next stop--- TREATMENT.
What is your diagnosis
process? Part five
TREATMENT
I would leave it to others to post the compounds, doses
and regimen for treating parasites and bacterial infections. What
I would like to contribute however is a bigger picture view to treating
koi in their permanent environment – your pond.
After you have gone through all the work of observing,
reassessing changes and testing it is going to be VERY tempting to
want to believe that a simple diagnosis can be solved with a simple
treatment. O, that it were so!
I described the dynamics of a parasite infestation earlier.
The water quality drops, the koi is stressed and the parasites explode
in numbers to exploit the opportunity given them. Same with bacteria.
Aeromonas, as mentioned, is ALWAYS present in our ponds. It is only
a few virulent forms that are true deadly pathogens. And in those
cases, quarantine will eliminate them from gaining entry to the pond.
Nope, the facts are that Aeromonas Hydrophilia, Aeromonas Sodria and
most forms of pseudomonas are normal residence of our ponds. It is
when their numbers are very large (associated with poor water quality)
and/or our koi are operating very debilitated immune systems that
these bacteria become a problem. So trying to “kill” the
bacteria is a superficial answer. Fine in a dealer setting, but wrong
headed in our situation. In our situation all TREATMENTS should be
on a two tiered level. First, to reduce or eliminate the immediate
threat and second, to CORRECT the problem that is causing the epidemiology
to begin with. If this is not done then problems will arise again
and again. The devil is in the details as we all know. So it may take
a major study of pond design, stocking levels and other parameters
to correct the underlying generators of disease and stress- but hey,
that's what the hobby is all about !
JR
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