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What You Need To Know About Keeping Your Koi HealthyKoi health is very important if you want to appreciate your fish for a long time. Koi fish are known to live for decades although the average life span is 20 to 30 years. Koi are hardy and tough; however, they can get sick. Their longevity depends largely on genetics and living conditions. The modern koi are tough but they have lost much of the resiliency of their ancestor, the magoi carp. They can flourish in the poorest water conditions and remain unaffected by the existence of parasites. This is because of the inbreeding process that started long ago when nishikigoi was first being established. Breeders have had to pair koi with parents and siblings to obtain the perfect body shape, intense colors and beautiful patterns that make the present koi so admirable. Nevertheless, the koi of today hardly ever get sick and if they get sick or die, you can find the root cause to water quality problems. Similar threats to koi health are parasites, ulcer disease, predators, medicine overdose, jumping out of the water, virus infections, toxic pesticides, and tumor. Water Quality Poor water quality is the leading cause of koi death. You will need to watch out for the pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and also oxygen levels in your pond. Even small changes in their levels can adversely affect koi health. PH refers to the acid and alkaline levels of your water. Koi need a pH of 7.0 through 9.0. Ammonia is produced by your koi in the form of waste. It can be removed properly by using biological filter system that takes advantage of the nitrification cycle. Bacteria will convert ammonia into nitrites. Even so, nitrites are still toxic to the koi and must also be changed by other bacteria into nitrates that are comparably harmless to the koi. Nitrates, in turn, are consumed by the plants and also algae in the pond. You already know how oxygen is needed to support life. As your koi grow larger, they will need more dissolved oxygen. To ensure that there is plenty of oxygen in the pond water install a waterfall, jets or air pump, or put air stones to add more oxygen into the water. Parasites, Ulcer Disease and Bacterial Infections If the koi fish die or display abnormal behavior regardless of the good quality of your water, you could expect the cause to be either parasites or bacterial infections. Parasites like anchor worms or fish lice can be harmful to your fish. The early signs are red or white pimples that quickly turn into sores. The ulcer can get into the muscles of the fish so you need to catch the disease while still in its early stages. You will have to keep you koi free from parasites. Keep the infected fish in salted water and supply with medicated food. You can swab the sores with betadine to help them recover. Consult with a veterinarian on how best to cure your koi. Quarantine You will have to isolate any brand new fish for at least three weeks before adding them to the pond. Throughout this period, you will have to treat the fish for parasites. If you don't have a different quarantine tank, be sure to purchase your koi only from trustworthy dealers that guarantee their fish to be parasite-free. Also carefully pick the plants for addition to the pond which also needs to be parasite-free. Overcrowding If you keep on having koi health problems (like stunted growth or erratic behavior) despite that your water is of top quality and you purchased only parasite-free fish, you may want to evaluate your koi population. Your fish may be suffering from stress as a result of overcrowding.
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