Anti-Parasite Medications and accessories.
From time to time we will need to add a medication to our pond after specific parasites have been detected, usually by microscopic investigation. The CORRECT medication and EXACT dosage amount is added to eradicate the particular parasite in question.
Be under no misapprehension, if parasite/parasites are detected in your pond, they will not disappear as if by magic. Instead they will just continue to multiply rapidly. If these are ignored, this will almost certainly lead to more serious secondary bacterial infections and possibly Koi losses.
If your system is a very good home for your Koi, then it is a ‘Ten Star luxury hotel’ for microscopic parasites that can survive and thrive, even in nature, in just about the worst-ever water parameters possible!
ONCE AGAIN –
BE VERY AWARE THAT YOUR KOI POND HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH ‘NATURE’ IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM – FORGET ALL THE RUBBISH AND ABSOLUTE DRIVEL REGURGITATED AND SPOUTED FORTH, EVEN TODAY, BY MANY GARDEN CENTRES.
INSTEAD YOUR KOI POND IS PURELY A VERY LARGE ‘MAN-MADE GARDEN AQUARIUM’ AND MAN CAN NEVER, EVER POSSIBLY ‘DUPLICATE NATURE’.
Only the Great One above makes natural ponds but never over a very short period of time, instead natural ponds have to ‘evolve’ over decades. The stocking rates of fish in natural bodies of water are positively minute when compared to even a modestly-stocked Koi pond. Parasites hatching in a natural pond have less than 24 hours in order to find a host (fish) to attach themselves to and thus feed, this is why nature produces thousands upon thousands simply because 99.99999% will fail to find a host and thus die of starvation. As said above, this is NOT the case in an enclosed, re-circulating Koi pond.
Also be very wary of the ‘expert Koi keeper’ who openly professes to all that –
‘You will never catch ME adding any chemicals to MY pond’.
Yet again, the picture is required!
In my MANY personal experiences of this drivel, it is usually followed later by a total wipe-out or heavy loss of all Koi stocks owned by these ‘experts’.
Many Koi outlets offer these medications for sale at ludicrously high prices in liquid form which I would recommend you avoid at all costs.
(As an example here, the exact dosage rate for zinc-free Malachite Green crystals (used together with formalin to eradicate white spot and chilodonella in a body of water) is a minute 0.25g to an enormous 220 UK gallons (1 ton) of pond water.)
In view of this I often wonder as to how accurate the calculations are when made up by the manufacturer or ‘mixer’ when preparing this liquid.
Please do also bear in mind that all anti-parasite chemicals can be ineffective if ‘underdosed’ by even 10%. In the same way they can be lethal if ‘overdosed’ by the same percentage.
As to the ‘Proprietory Cure-Alls’ offered for sale at some Koi centres and most garden centres – avoid these like the plague! The only thing going for the many makes and many ranges of these items are the pretty colourful boxes in which they are displayed and usually are sold by weekend staff at these outlets. These preparations are targeted at the millions of pond keepers who do not even have the faintest idea of the exact amount of water within their ponds.
The manufacturers of these so called ‘medicines’ do not want to receive endless complaints from buyers that their product has ‘killed their Koi’ – in view of this I would think that it is not even harmful to ‘drink’ these preparations for all the good they profess – however, I do not suggest you drink these liquids – instead just avoid buying them. In my opinion they should be banned from sale under ‘The Sale of Goods Act’.
Help required here once more!
Please be aware once again – these ‘medicines’ NEVER work at all in producing the required results blatantly advertised on the packaging.
Please bear this very important fact in mind. Correct anti-parasite chemicals and medications for successful eradication of a SPECIFIC parasite are only added at the VERY correct rate to the volume of the actual body of water in question and, most importantly: –
THERE IS NO SINGLE ‘MAGIC MEDICINE’ AVAILABLE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD THAT WILL ERADICATE ALL SPECIES OF PARASITE IN YOUR POND WITHOUT ALSO ERADICATING ALL OF YOUR KOI!
In view of the above I would suggest you try and obtain stocks of the items listed below but only after you have first purchased the next item below. Take great care in storing these items in a cool damp-free area well away from children and pets.
Another note to bear in mind is that our learned UK Authorities have intimated that it is illegal to use all the chemicals described below in our Koi ponds without a vital ‘product license’. The main reason they give for this is that when the chemicals have been used in our ponds and some ‘contaminated’ waste-water will be discharged into our eco-system, it will then wreak disastrous effects on the fish and wildlife within the water and presumably the world will end soon afterwards?
Another ‘need’ is required here.
Please bear in mind that even the largest of our enclosed Koi our ponds are little more than ‘tiny puddles’ in the overall shape of things; next bear in mind that few chemical dosages are effective after around six hours of being introduced to our ponds, after they have been weakened to uselessness by the filter system and the atmosphere; next consider the minute amount of chemicals used specifically for our own puddles; then bear in mind that these have been employed safely on our own precious Koi at exact rates and full dosages for our pond volumes and we can then begin to see just how dangerous these long-exhausted chemicals in incredibly minute traces could possibly have on endless billions of gallons in our eco-system.
After all this has been considered carefully, then we have to consider which particular government official is standing next to your puddle with a legal document informing you of intended legal proceedings against you for your untold sins that will assist to ending our universe!
On the other hand, could it be our illustrious government requires one of my pictures forwarding to them? Better still, is it because they haven’t the faintest notion of what they are talking about along their ‘green road’ to conservation?
(As these raw materials are only sold in large quantities by the actual supplier it may be well that you share your purchases with other local Koi enthusiasts or local Koi section. If you have difficulty locating these items, contact me and I will try to assist.)
a. A very accurate gram balance which weighs from 0.1 of a gram upwards. These are commonly used by jewellers (and also, of late, for more sinister purposes!) – they are battery operated and specifically made for weighing very small items accurately.
b. An accurate clear-plastic liquid measure and plastic funnel – these are usually available from chemist-supply manufacturers quite cheaply.
c. A quantity of Zinc-Free Malachite-Green crystals, try to obtain the very refined item which is almost like a powder, unlike the one supplied in larger crystal size. If this is stored in an airtight container it will last indefinitely, always wear gloves and a face mask when handling this chemical.
d. A quantity of ‘Analar-Grade’ Potassium Permanganate crystals, this is supplied in very fine powder form as oposed to the crystal form that is available from most chemists and used for conditions such as athlete’s foot and similar skin disorders. Also store in an airtight container, use gloves and a face mask when handling this chemical.
e. ‘Analar-Grade’ Formalin (formaldehyde) liquid. Purchase in an amount that will handle any usages required for six months or so. This chemical is extremely noxic, so breathing in fumes should be seriously avoided. Store in a cool airtight bottle and measure out by the containers detailed in item ‘b’ above.
f. ‘Flubenol’ powder, this is a fine white powder which can usually be obtained readily from a Veterinarian and is used commonly as a ‘de-wormer’ for dogs and other animals.
g. ‘Chloramine T’ – a fine white powder which smells of bleach, useful when the pond water has a high bacteria count.
h. ‘MS 222’ – this is an anaesthetic powder which should be employed above all others if a Koi has to be anaesthetised for further inspection/treatment.
(By thoroughly dissolving one gram of MS 222 into five litres of pond water in a bowl (larger mixes can ge made up to this mix ratio when larger Koi will require more water). The Koi is placed in this mixture and carefully watched until it falls over on its side completely after which the Koi can be lifted onto a damp towel for further treatment. I would strongly suggest that you first learn this method from a more experienced Koi enthusiast before you attempt to do it yourself.)
i. ‘Masoten’ powder for fish or ‘Dipterex’ powder for plants (both work) – these are now ‘banned substances’ in the UK as they are ‘organophosphates’ but are very useful in eradicating Argulus and leeches which are parasites that can easily be detected by the naked eye. Argulus is far more common in planted garden goldfish ponds as opposed to proper Koi ponds. Short of having these substances to hand there is no real medication that will eliminate this parasite from your pond and the only other alternative is to individually anaesthetise each Koi and laboriously remove each parasite by tweezers. However, this procedure will only rid the Koi of the adult parasite and not any un-hatched eggs that may also be present on the Koi or in the system.
j. Cooking Salt – as opposed to table salt which contains additives to make it more ‘free-flowing’. This is always a good ‘stand-by’ and can be added to your pond at varying rates for a variety of purposes such as lengthy cold water periods, nitrite reduction and safe healing of bacterial damages once correct treatment has been carried out. The maximum recommended dosage of cooking salt to pond water is 5 kilos per ton (220 UK gallons) but 2 – 3 kilos is the general amount required. This is usually available in 25 kilo packs.
Please also be very aware, cooking salt does NOT destroy ANY parasites at all.
k. ‘Elbagin’ (sp) – a Japanese-made yellow granule usually sold in 100 gram packs. This is an excellent all-round disinfectant when used together with cooking salt at 5 kilos per ton (above). The standard dose rate for Elbagin is 10 grams per ton water (220 UK gallons). Elbagin can also be used when packing Koi for transportation.
The above items are generally all that a Koi keeper requires in his medicine chest to eradicate most of the common parasites.
I have never experienced the other chemicals listed below to be of any use whatsoever in the parasitic or bacterial treatment of Koi.
Sorry folks, it’s needed again!
Methylene Blue.
Copper Sulphate.
Acriflavine.
Proflavin-Hemisulphate.
Vircon, Vircon S or any of its silly bleach-inspired derivatives.
As an aside here, despite the ultra-modern world we live in, some of the most effective anti-parasite treatments still vital today were first trialled and employed by very early ‘Koi keepers’ – namely the monks and other carp farmers many, many years ago, in the days just before I produced the first pond filter!
DOSAGE RATES OF THE RECOMMENDED CHEMICALS MENTIONED EARLIER FOR USE IN YOUR POND AS A TOTAL ‘POND TREATMENT’.
Malachite Green powder at 0.25g per ton plus Formalin at 15mls per ton for eradication of White Spot, Epistylis and Chilodonella parasites only.
Potassium Permanganate powder at 1.5g per ton for eradication of Costia and Trichodina parasites only.
(Mix required amount of powder thoroughly with an amount of hot water and then stir well before adding this to the pond.)
Flubenol powder at the rate of 1.0g per 90 UK gallons pond water to eradicate both skin and gill flukes only – (Dactylogyrus and Gyrodactylus).
(Weigh exact amount of Flubenol and put this in a vinyl bag containing pond water. Shake the bag thoroughly as this powder does not dissolve readily. After this empty all contents from the bag into the pond.)
