2007-01-10 07:18:29 · 4 answers · asked by Susan K 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
What did you medicate for? Medications are hard on fish and your biological filtration system, and are not be used lightly. Only medicate when you know exactly what illness your fish has and only if you cannot treat that illness with something more natural.
Anyhoo, fish flash for a number of reasons.
1- parasitic infection. you say you medicated - do you mean for ich? You would probably see the white ich spots indicating their active presence in your tank. But either way, you should add some aquarium salt to the tune of 1 flat tbsp per 5 gallons, disolved first in dechlor water.
2- high ammonia or nitrites. I don't know what you keep your koi in, but they produce a lot of waste and anything short of a large pond is too small for them. Test the nitrites (should be 0), ammonia (should be 0) and nitraites (should be 10-30 ppm). If the levels are too high, it causes pain / burning for the fish, and they may flash as a result.
3- water parameter changes. Do they only flash when you do water changes? Sometimes, if the temperature or pH or hardness in the new water is different from the old water, it makes the fish feel uncomfortable and cuases them to flash... this behaviour should subside within an hour or two of the water change.
2007-01-10 07:28:26 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When our koi flash, it's almost always flukes, and we use praziquantel (prazi) to get rid of them (the flukes, not the koi!). It seems to be a relatively safe, general cure for most parasites and one of the few that is effective on flukes, and is available to order from many websites - try www.koivet.com, as there are all kinds of diagnostic and husbandry links to help answer questions, etc.. Hope this helps.
2007-01-10 07:54:45 · answer #2 · answered by Poopy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the water quality,pH,nitrites and nitrates are OK,something is irritating their skins. Maybe Stress Coat would help. Or maybe a little salt? I don't know how much would be appropiate for your water chemistry,but sometimes it can help. Good luck,PeeTee
2007-01-10 08:09:20 · answer #3 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you probably have external parasites and the koi are trying to scratch them off
the best treatment in the market is CLOUT, ask for it at your pet shop or order it from That Fish Place
2007-01-10 19:04:56 · answer #4 · answered by Loollea 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋