Diseases That You Need to Know

If your Koi has been behaving abnormally in terms of eating, movement or anything else, it may be suffering from a Koi disease. Some of these diseases could even kill your Koi. Here is a list of the most common Koi diseases that can help you recognize the disease in time and initiate the correct treatment plan.

ICH: Ichthyophthirius multifilis: This Koi disease shows the symptoms of white spots all over the body of your Koi. This is caused due to fresh water Ich. At times the spots may not be prominently visible but can be detected under the microscope. The disease is a result of faulty immune system. Smaller fish find it difficult to fight the disease and ultimately die. The larger Koi however manage to fight the disease and sustain. The disease attacks the gills and kills the fish. The life cycle of the disease may vary from 2-5 days or more than 5 weeks, depending on the severity of the disease. Elevating the water pumps and increasing salt levels may prevent this Koi disease. However, excessive salts would harm your plants. The best way to go ahead is to use Formalin 37% and Malachite Green.

CHILODINELLA: Costia or lchthyobodo necatrix is a very dangerous Koi disease and kills the fish in large numbers. There is not much time that this disease gives the fish or its owner to fight back. It kills the fish very quickly. The good news is that the disease is inactive when the water is salted. Sunken eyes, bluish sheen on the skin, and difficulty in breathing are some of the symptoms of this disease.

TRICHODINA: This is a saucer shaped parasite and can cause ‘spider web lesions’ in the skin of your Koi. The gills of smaller fishes get damaged very easily with this Koi disease. It also causes scratching and irritation of skin in Koi. There are no real side effects to this scratching though, except for the formation of ulcerations on the skin. Salt plays a very good role here as well. You could clear this parasite in a day by adding salt to your pond water.

OODINIUM: This parasite causes a Koi disease called Velvet disease. A velvety and gold colored dust can be found on the fish as a symptom. This parasite is known to resist salt. You could therefore add Formalin to your water to control the disease.

EPISTYLIS: This is a very uncommon parasite, causing an uncommon Koi disease. Poor water management encourages the parasite. In other words, if you do not change the water frequently, you could end up with this parasite in your water pond. This parasite looks like fungus and lives in wounds and ulcers. It is known to form white colored tufts in the wounds. If you add clean and good water, the parasite disappears automatically. Salt can also help remove this parasite very easily.
LERNEA: This is one parasite that you would never want to invade your pond. It causes a real life threat to your Koi. They have a long life span of about 14 days. Malathion, Fenthion, Trichloffon, Dylox, and Salt can be very handy in eliminating this parasite.

ARGULUS: This parasite is prominently visible when it invades the pond. They appear green in color and are disc shaped. They suck the fins and sides of the fish. They are known to cause ulcerations on the skin of the Koi. Formalin does not work well to eliminate them. They can be eliminated with Organophosphates such as Fenthion and Dimilin.

GYRODACTYLUS: This parasite lives up to 15 days. They are known to cause a severe Koi disease. They could be treated with Formalin 37%, Slat, Organophosphates, Droncit (Praziquantel) and Potassium. You may however want to treat them with just the salt first and see how it works. Only if needed, should you try the other anti parasite agents like Formalin 37%.
Dropsey/Bloater: Dropsey is a very common diseases found in most fresh water fishes. This is mostly caused as a result if bacterial invasion into the stomach. The stomach starts to swell and look very large. You could treat the disease with Azactarn, Baytril, Chloramphenicol, Gentamicin, and Amikacin.
Scoliosis: This disease is caused mostly due to the deficiency of vitamin C. The best way to supply vitamin C is supplying fruits to your Koi. Your Koi can easily eat oranges, grapes and watermelons.

LYMPHOCYSTIS: This Koi disease is very common amongst fishes. LYMPHOCYSTIS is the sole reason behind this disease. Being a viral pathogen, it is easily transferable and difficult to treat. Once a fish is infected, you must separate it from the other fishes to avoid transfer of disease to the rest of the Koi fishes. There is no genuine cure to this disease.

CARP POX: This is another virus pathogen that can cause Koi disease. Soft, waxy, and warty lesions are the symptoms of the disease. There is unfortunately no cure to this disease and the best thing to do is separate the infected fishes from the healthy ones.
It is important for all Koi breeders to familiarize themselves with the common diseases that can attack Koi and learn about effective treatment pathways to cure those diseases or to prevent further spreading of koi disease.