Hello everybody,
It has been a very long time since I posted in the forums, but I must admit I read often the boards and specially the critique sections where I learned a lot, I must thank to everybody for sharing their knowledge on regards all the aspects and characteristics of the koi.
However, one sometimes do not think that one day will be writing in the health subforum and I learned that at least once in lifetime koi keepers will meet a health issue with their koi.
Recently I have seen that my kohaku has grown a sort of white "pimple" near her dorsal fin. I thought it may be a parasite so I netted her to take a closer look. The feel is somewhat hard, and the scale below it is a bit brighter as if the "pimple" is pushing the scale up.
It seems it has a kind of tiny root and the shadow in the picture can give a clue of the height of the "pimple". The kohaku is approximately 40-45cm (16-17inch) long.
I must apologize for the bad quality of the picture, it is the first time I have koi this size and I did not want to stress her, in fact she was very calm while I took a look. She has a very mellow behaviour always, and although it had to be to inspect a problem, I never had the extraordinary experience before of being in contact with the koi this size so close, always wish to bowl them and take some pictures but I am always afraid they may stress so my rule is only do that when necessary.
Since this kind of pimple appeared, she hasn't changed, swims greacefully, eat well as always.
I would like to give some extra information regarding my pond so that it may help to determine better this issue.
I have other seven koi ranging from 18cm to 25cm and they don't have any problem (but space problem).
Although the basic water parameters are within the limits (0 ammonia, 0 NO2, 0 NO3, Ph7-8, Kh 9º dh my pond is only 2500 l - 660 gal, so it is way, way over stocked. I am aware of this and currently planning a bigger home for them.
This kohaku is the bigger of all of them, could this kind of white pimple be a symptom of space problem for the koi to develop properly? I have checked on Internet and this issue also seems to happen to goldfish.
Hopefully somebody could give me a clue on what may the problem be. She is very special for us, I have her since she was tosai and since then became another member of our family.
I would like to thank everybody contributing in the forums giving their best of support, help and experience. Although I don't write in the forums as much as I wish, I must admit that Koiphen has been a source for me in learning about koi.
Best wishes from Spain,
Guillem