Originally Posted by
Cessnatpa
The following is a email from the Lab Vet.
The necropsy today was interesting. This particular koi (besides the load of costia on the outside) was also very abnormal inside. The ovaries were very hemorrhagic and had a lot of congestion. There was a good amount of fluid in the body cavity which is also highly abnormal. She had kidney enlargement and a large stone in her gallbladder (This stone could have been secondary to not eating very much for a long time). She was very thin and I suspect she was sick for months but didn’t show many clinical signs until very late. None of this is typical with fish infected with costia, so I suspect there may be something underlying going on. Based on these findings, I highly encourage viral testing and histopathology however these can be quite expensive. I am ok with treating for costia and seeing how the system responds, however just keep in mind that we may need to do further testing later on. We are also waiting to see if cultures come back positive for bacteria. If they are, it’s your choice if you wish to run them (I think those are about $30 per each bacteria). We will know about those on Monday. The lab has not given me the results of your water test yet, so unfortunately we will have to wait for that before initiating treatment (we are leaning toward copper which is cheap but we need to know your water parameters first)
Copper would be ideal but we need to know your alkalinity first (this is very important and could kill fish if we are not careful). Your other option is permanent saltwater dip at 4-5 PPT ( I would have to calculate how many pounds that would equal out to- it will be a lot) but that may be really expensive in a 13k gallon pond. Either way, if you have live plants- any of these treatments will likely kill them. Formalin is also another option but may be expensive as well in that size pond.
I would go for the testing for KHV. These tests do not look like bacterial, to my mind. Treating for costia at high salt (0.6%, 6ppt) would be good for, copper would be troublesome, and Proform-C would be expensive. If KHV, then treating for costia would just be a waste.
Zone 7 A/B
Keep your words sweet. You never know when you may have to eat them.
Richard