Stay above ph 7.0 for best results with Koi

Basics of Koi Health Dr. Erik L Johnson -Veterinarian Koi Health is always an issue of water quality, koi care or husbandry, and nutrition. It is abso...
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Basics of Koi Health Dr. Erik L Johnson -Veterinarian Koi Health is always an issue of water quality, koi care or husbandry, and nutrition. It is absolutely true that Koi Disease is often the result of a parasite invasion, but almost always; the parasites require some sort of stressor to make the fish vulnerable. Notable exceptions exist, but if you are aware of water quality management, and can identify disease factors in your livestock, you can prevent more diseases and save fish lives. Ammonia • Causes redness of fins, general poor • Usually tested with Nessler's Drop Type health, excess mucus production, flashing, tests – Salicylate tests more accurate, both and pinecone disease. can be negated by de-chlorinator. • Made from rotting fish wastes/urine/food • Directly irritating to fish gills and tissues • More toxic at pH above 8.0 • Ammonia is removed from the environment by beneficial bacteria called Nitrosomonas • After (the regrettable) addition of aldehydes • You can control Ammonia with partial water such as Formalin or Ammonia-binder changes, Ammo-Lock 2, Lymnozyme’s KiFi agents, you must test with Salicylate bacteria, BRF13A or the addition of reagent tests. Zeolites. • I generally discourage the use of chemicals • Wet dry filtration and Bead filtration are for Ammonia binding. Water changes are superior modes of filtration. See www.aquadynamite.com preferable. Nitrites • Ammonia is converted into Nitrite by • Nitrites cause reddening of the fins and Nitrosomonas Nitrite is converted into irritation of the gills, gasping + excess Nitrate by Nitrobacter mucus. • Nitrites bind the fish Red Blood Cells • Nitrite toxicity is temporarily reduced by the resulting in suffocation and "Brown Blood addition of salt at one teaspoon per gallon Disease". of water. • Nitrites can be "reverse" created from • Nitrites should be controlled with wet-dry Nitrate under anaerobic conditions. (Deep filtration and water changes as needed. sand, glutted filters, stalled sand filters etc.) • Nitrite toxicity is only weakly reversed by addition of Methylene Blue. pH • Simple drop type test with Bromthymol • Stay above pH 7.0 for best results with Koi Blue • pH can "crash" to 5.5 overnight due to fish, • Baking Soda (Check Total Alkalinity before plant and bacterial activity without its use, though. (Use one teaspoon per ten adequate buffering of water - fatalities gallons if the TA