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Different answers
If you ask six people the same question about koi keeping you will
get six different answers. Sorting out the facts from the fallacies can
be tricky!
Beginner beware!
In the equipment list I detail some basic equipment but I did not
include two most important requirements for successful koi keeping: knowledge and experience. Koi keeping has a
steep learning curve and maintaining a healthy environment for such
large fish requires a certain amount of skill. All hobbyists need some
basic knowledge of fish health so that common problems are recognized
and dealt with correctly at an early stage, although the real skill lies
in preventing problems in the first place.
Fish-health is an immense subject that embraces water quality,
nutrition, filtration, fish physiology, disease and so on. Hobbyists
need only a basic understanding but it pays to be aware that fish health
is a science, competence in which is not achieved through personal
experience alone. Sounds obvious? However, the beginner will soon find
that koi-keeping is a hobby with many would-be fish health experts and
this has led to a good number of old wives' tales and fallacies which
can mislead beginners. Let me address some of the most common ones.
(There are many others!)
Ignorance the killer
Most health problems are related to water quality or other
environmental factors, which can be avoided by proper care and
pond husbandry. The root cause of most health problems is poor
fish-keeping, not parasites and bacteria! This commonly happens when
stocking levels exceed the owner's knowledge and husbandry skills. As
stocking levels increase so does the potential for problems, which can
arise suddenly with devastating consequences, often resulting in large
fish kills. So the first stage is to he honest and realistic about your
ability to manage a heavily stocked pond. The next stage is to get a
good book on fish-keeping and READ IT. (KoiVet has published 2 books so far)
Jumping for joy?
Fish often rub against solid objects and leap out of the water. It is
possible that they do this to catch flies or get food or they may be
playing. However, in the majority of cases it is because something is
irritating them. This may be a minor irritation - similar to an itch in
humans, perhaps - but it could be more serious. Whether you should act
or not depends on the number affected, the frequency of rubbing and
leaping, and the vigour involved. If one or two are having a lazy rub on
the bottom drain there is no cause for concern, this is fairly normal.
But if they are continually tearing about, rubbing vigorously against
the sides or bottom or leaping out of the water, then further
investigation must he carried out.
Unfortunately, one of the most common responses to this type of
behaviour is to suspect a parasite problem and an anti-parasite
treatment is administered without further thought. But this cursory
diagnosis (or guess) overlooks the fact that any irritant can cause this
response, including poor water quality (a high nitrite level, for
instance), whereupon using an anti-parasite treatment can only make
matters worse.
Becoming a aquatic health expert involves more than knowing what
'treatments' to use; indeed, the latter is quite easy as medications are
described in most hobbyist books. Many fish suffer or die every year
through inaccurate diagnosis and inappropriate treatments.
Skin and fin damage
Frayed and damaged fins, raised scales and skin damage, such as
reddening or open wounds, are often attributed to the fish cutting or
damaging themselves on sharp objects in the pond. Although this can
happen it is not common, spawning being the exception.
Believing this to be the cause, many aquarists leave the ‘wound’
to get better, but invariably it just gets worse. The commonest cause of
this type of damage is bacterial infection. Such instances need
immediate attention. If caught early enough they are relatively easy to
treat but in too many cases they are overlooked or dismissed as minor
problems so that treatment is often given too late.
Keeping bugs out
It should be appreciated that, with few exceptions, most of the
bacteria and parasites that cause problems are always present in the
pond. Nearly all fish carry small populations of parasites, in the same
way that most cats and dogs have some fleas. And all ponds are teeming
with opportunistic bacteria.
There is still a common misconception, however, that bugs have to be
brought into the pond before problems can occur. So when problems do
arise, new additions, frogs or birds are blamed. This is possible, of
course, but most problems start in the pond, where deteriorating
conditions allow resident bugs to gain the upper hand. Healthy fish can
fight and control the number of bugs, in the same way that we humans
control the bacteria and viruses that surround us. In most cases these
bugs are only harmful to weakened or stressed fish. Constant parasite or
bacterial problems usually indicate a system management problem
Preventative treatments
A common practice in koi-keeping - I am amazed at how common - is to
give regular, often monthly, chemical treatments to control parasites
and other bugs. While this sounds a good idea, in practice it serves no
useful purpose and can be detrimental to both fish and filter. The
reproductive rates of most bugs are quite phenomenal – particularly at
summer temperatures - and even after chemical treatments they can
quickly return to their previous population levels. It is important to
realise that these bugs should be controlled by good fish-keeping
practices, not by chemicals, many of which are toxic to fish.
If there is a continued problem with parasites or bacteria, it
indicates a more fundamental problem - usually environmental. Chemical
treatments are a last resort, not the first, and should only be used
when there is a clearly identified problem. Do not fall into the bad
habit of trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist. Many koi-keepers
do.
Summary
This has been a brief insight into some of the more common
misconceptions that the beginner to the hobby may be exposed to. Fish,
like most animals, are creatures of habit and any strange behaviour or
change in appearance can indicate a potential problem. Being observant
and noticing these changes, or clinical signs, is the first step towards
truly successful healthy koi-keeping.
You might have the impression by now that proper koi-keeping is an
almost impossible task, especially if you don't have an arsenal of
chemical treatments to hand. What I have tried to say is that
koi-keeping is only simple once you've learnt to dispense with the
chemicals. The fish, believe it or not, are fully able to cope with most
potential health problems once they have been provided with a good diet
and a healthy environment.
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