Avoid Serious Skin Infection On Koi Fishes | Keep Your Koi Skin Healthy And Avoid Fish Skin Problems
Maintain Healthy Koi Skin
The majority of pond keepers who have Koi have them because of their beauty. Vivid colors and markings make these magnificent creatures a pleasure to behold.
In order to maintain this ornamental beauty it is important to ensure that you look after the Koi's skin in order to prevent serious skin infection on koi fishes.
I know! You are thinking that surely the color comes from the Koi carp's scales. It does, but contrary to popular belief, the scales are underneath a Koi's skin. This thin membrane is all that separates these delicate scales from the harsh realities of a pond environment.
By knowing what constitutes healthy skin you will also be able to spot early signs of possible disease and injuries.
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What is the Purpose of Koi Skin?
As outlined earlier, the skin protects the delicate scales from the harsh realities of a fish pond; bacteria, rough objects, other fish. The skin acts as a barrier, providing a very important protective role by secreting mucus. This mucus fights off infection, bacteria and other fish skin problems.
When a Koi carp is stressed or living in a pond that contains poor pond water quality it produces extra mucus. This offers extra protection.
Tip! You can tell if your Koi is stressed by closely looking at its coloration. The extra mucus produced makes their colored markings appear paler. Do the red and black patterns look more orange and grey? If so, then this is usually a tell-tale sign that something is not right within your fish pond. Perhaps the pH is too high or your Koi is suffering from a Fish Illness or Disease.
Where Do Koi Get Their Coloured Markings From?
The color and markings of the Koi is genetically inherited. The color of your Koi will also change over time.
Unlike race horses, however, two prize winning parent Koi, will not necessarily produce prize winning off spring.
The colored marks that appear are a result of color determining cells called chromatophores. These cells are situated deep within the dermis of a Koi carp's skin.
The black markings are produced by melanophore cells that are situated near to the epidermis of a Koi's skin.
Handle Your Koi Carp Carefully
Sometimes a mucus biopsy may need to be undertaken on a diseased or injured fish. You need to handle the Koi with care, so as not to damage the skin. You will need to take a mucus sample from both the left and right dorsal flank areas, for later inspection under a microscope.
The thin layer of skin is extremely sensitive and fragile. It is best not to handle your Koi carp if at all possible. If you do need to handle them, however, then do so with care.
Only ever use very soft Hand Held Pond Nets. You must also ensure that your hands are wet; this prevents friction from damaging the skin surface.
How Do You Safely Remove Scales from Your Koi
A Koi is allocated a set number of scales. Once these scales are damaged or lost they will never grow back. The scales grow according to predetermined genetics. The function of the scales is to act as a secondary protective barrier to disease and infection. You will also notice how they overlap each other.
Note: By examining the scale you will be able to see just how old the Koi is. The number of bands on the scale is indicative of the Koi's age. Each fish scale will contain evidence of the seasonal growth patterns that the fish has been through.
From time to time you will need to remove a scale or two, due to them becoming loose or becoming damaged. The quickest and best way to do this is with a pair of sterilized tweezers.
In one swift movement pull the scale away. In order to prevent infection make sure that you follow this up by applying some antibacterial ointment to the area where the scale has been removed from.
How Do I Maintain and Enhance Koi Skin?
This is a function of diet and water quality. You need to ensure that your Koi are well fed with a Koi Fish Food that is high in necessary protein, vitamins and minerals.
In addition you should ideally increase the levels of magnesium and calcium in the pond water. Microbe-Lift Montmorillonite Clay is a good way of doing this.
A branded fish food that has specifically designed for Koi carp will also contain color enhancing carotenoid. A Koi whose diet is lacking in carotenoid will display duller colors that appear more faded.
Be careful, however, not to confuse this with a stressed Koi that is releasing more mucus; stressed Koi release mucus as additional protection (explained earlier in the article).
Koi Stress and Pond pH
To conclude this article I would like to take a couple of minutes to discuss pond pH and its importance.
Some pond keepers go overboard and become preoccupied at trying to maintain a constant pH. This is almost impossible to do. My advice would be to not worry about it too much.
Just be aware of the following though...
Make sure that the pH of the pond isn't allowed to reach 9.5 or higher. At this reading ammonia, a by-product of your Koi's metabolism becomes toxic. It would be quite rare for the average, well maintained fish pond to have a pH reading of 9.5 or higher. Excess algae growth can cause this to happen, however.
Control Algae Growth using a UV Clarifier (UV light).
The single best solution to the control of blanketweed and string algae
problems is
Viresco Microbial Solutions.
This UK patented product is extremely effective at removing nitrates from koi pond, and controlling the blanket weed growth cycle.
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