Ornamental Koi And Pond Fish Bacterial Ulcer Infections
Koi And Pond Fish Bacterial Ulcer Infections
Classic symptoms of your Koi and pond fish suffering from a bacterial infection of some description include: reddish lesions on the body and / or fins, swollen eyes, a red mouth, a red stomach area and death for no apparent reason. In the advanced stages of bacterial infection your koi and goldfish will often develop ulcers.
Bacterial infections in your koi and other pond fish is usually due to contact with parasitic infectors such as parasitic anchor worms and poor water quality, which significantly increases the opportunity for bacterial infection to take place. It is critically important to ensure your pond water is as clean and pure as is possible. There is no substitute for using a well specified biological pond filter and regular cleaning of pond filter media. A common cause of bacterial infection in garden fish ponds is the use of Sand Filters; the sand acts as a trap for bacteria.
Always remember to ensure that your pond water is well aerated, as oxygen is critical to the eco balance of a pond environment. Oxygen is not only needed by your koi and other aquatic pond life but it is essential for successful conversion of ammonia compounds into nitrates by your pond bio filter, in a process known as the Nitrogen Cycle or Nitrification Process … Click here for a list of pond aerator products in the USA and UK.
Unlike human beings, fish live in an environment from which they can't escape. They are directly affected by the quality of pond water in which they live. Poor water conditions will often result in your koi or gold fish becoming “stressed”. Common causes of stress in pond fish include high ammonia levels, chemical contamination, fluctuations in pond water pH levels and insufficient quantities of oxygen (particularly during warm weather conditions). It is important to remove these stress causing factors in as far as is possible. Regular testing of the pond water for pH, ammonia etc using a pond test kit is a necessary must for successful pond keeping.
Pond fish from time to time, like us humans feel the need to have a good scratch; they obviously don’t have hands and arms so their only alternative is to rub against hard surfaces in the pond such as other pond fish, pond side walls, submersible bio-filters, submergible pumps etc. The rubbing motion and scraping along the rough surfaces often results in damage to the outer mucous lining and scales, which helps bacterial infections to take hold.
Bacterial Infection Treatment Methods
Antibiotics are generally used to treat the infected fish or fishes. Note however that once a bacterial infection reaches the advanced stages it is almost impossible to cure, so stick to the old adage that prevention is better than cure and regularly observe your pond fish and ensure adequate levels of pond aeration and biological filtration.
The best treatment method is to treat the infected fish in a bath on its own, rather than adding an antibiotic medication to your backyard pond water. The major reason for this is to avoid destroying the beneficial bacteria, living on the pond filter media housed in your biological pond filter ... Click here to review bacterial infection treatments in the USA and UK.
The process of competitive exclusion ensures that Aeromonas and Pseudomonas in particular are starved out of existence rendering your koi and goldfish or koi safe from attack.
Aeromonas is present in all ponds and only becomes a problem when for whatever reason the conditions within a pond are ripe for attack. Early spring when water conditions are changing is a time when fish are prone to infection because they are coming out of a period of dormancy and are somewhat weakened as a result.
