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    Thread: Parasite - Waterfall Hugging -

    1. #1
      Concetta is offline Member
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      Parasite - Waterfall Hugging -

      Pond located in Anchorage, Alaska

      Pump - Stainless Steel Pump 1.5HP Submersible Pump 1000W
      4356 GPH (gallons per hour)

      Approximately 2500 gallons

      There is a large aerator (Rootscape Large Pond Aerator/Deicer/Bubbler - Sinking Air Diffuser) and
      7/seven - Aquascape disc aerators around the side of the pond.

      I use Aquascape Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria.

      Homemade filter system used since last year; 100 Gallon barrel -bottom has lava rock in a strainer; bio-balls and bio-macoroni (my name); brush hair-curlers; whiffle balls; kitchen scrubbers; bath sponges/scratchies; regular filter materials, etc... the water comes in from the pond and floats up through all the filter medium and flows out to the top of the second filter barrel. The second filter barrel has netting; more kitchen scrubbies and bath spongies; ammonia filter pellets; ammonia filter pads; regular filter pad medium; and a large amount of carbon that sits in the strainer at the bottom before it flows back out to the pond over a waterfall area.

      I had to turn off the filters for a day while we reworked the filter location and the rocks of the waterfall.

      Last weekend, I noticed the Koi flashing. I tested the water and all aspects tested great. Considering this was a parasite issue, I used a dose of Aqua Prezzi.

      After three-days, the fish were still flashing some but not as much. I also noticed many of the fish gathering at the side of the waterfall - nearly on top of each other. At first, it appeared they were going under there because food floated up in there but now I wonder if it isn't a by-product of the parasite issue after reading some older postings on this forum.

      Two hoses lost their seal yesterday and I had to turn the pond pump off to re-silicone.

      This morning, I washed some of the filter medium in the shorter barrel roughly, and turned the pump back on. The fish seem more lethargic this morning which worried me.

      I did the liquid water tests. Yesterday, the levels were all good but this morning the nitrate levels are high - (photos) - Can I hope this will settle down in the next few hours because it was most likely from not having the filter on since yesterday afternoon?

      Is there anything else I can do to speed the process other than water change? Because the Aqua Prezzi is still in the water, I would hate to have to remove the water and the benefits from the parasite meds.

      I used the dry stick test as well because it shows the KH/etc..which my liquid tests do not.

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    2. #2
      RickF's Avatar
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      I cannot tell what the ammonia is. The sticks are woefully unreliable. It looks like nitrite is high. Nitrate looks fine.

      I would add salt to a concentration of 0.15% and keep it there for as long as nitrite is measurable. Do not feed for as long as ammonia is measurable.

      If ammonia and nitrite were not measurable prior to taking the filter off line, the filter should recover quickly. The bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite usually recover very quickly the bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate are more fragile and take a little longer to recover.

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      Thank you, RickF

      I did another liquid test about 20 minutes ago. Ammonia-seems good; Nitrite -appears to have improved from the time of my original post; Nitrate - still is high, unsure if there has been much change (Rick, you thought the nitrate looked good before so I may be misinterpreting.)

      I have never used salt in the pond. I admit I don't know how to do this - table salt, special salt? I have no meter to show a percentage, etc. I'm chicken. ;0

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    4. #4
      SimonW's Avatar
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      I would regard nitrate high if it goes above 100 ppm. A koiphen-friend showed a scientific paper confirming that for salmon it can go so far as 400 ppm. Salmon requires high water quality, so probably koi can handle 400 ppm nitrate with even less problem, but I have not tried.

    5. #5
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      SimonW, thank you so much. I'll rest a little easier tonight.

      Some of my Koi are the size of a silver salmon. ;0

    6. #6
      coolwon is offline Senior Member
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      You appear to be delivering a lot of air,but the fish pushing and shoving for a position under the waterfall turbulace like that .

      I would be looking at a byproduct of a low oxygen level in the pond water.

      Garfield.
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      Quote Originally Posted by coolwon View Post
      You appear to be delivering a lot of air,but the fish pushing and shoving for a position under the waterfall turbulace like that .

      I would be looking at a byproduct of a low oxygen level in the pond water.

      Garfield.

      Garfield, what are you thinking of when you suggest a 'byproduct' of a low oxygen level? Thanks

    8. #8
      coolwon is offline Senior Member
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      I think somehow your pond water is low on the oxygen requirements for the number of fish you are housing and they are finding relief in the turbulent water below the

      waterfall.

      Not sure how byproduct crept in.

      it was about 2.00 am and I had just crept thru to have a look see what was happening in the koi world.

      Sorry about that,

      Garfield
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      Could the fish congregating under the waterfall be because of the parasite issue?

      I racked my brain last night thinking how I could add more oxygen (I have one large aerator; the waterfall; and seven aerator Aquascape stones running.) - I remembered someone giving me a plastic waterfall and pump. I dug it out of the shed and added the waterfall. It isn't pretty but it sure is putting out a lot of bubbles -

      Yesterday, the water temp was 57.4 F. Not excessive but the pond gets full sun most of the day. Are my Alaskan Koi too warm? I know 70 degrees to me means an air conditioner needs to be turned on.

      Parasites? Oxygen? Heat?

      I'm treating with Aqua Prezzi -dosed Sunday May 24.

    10. #10
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      Let's start at the beginning. You stated the pond is 2500 gallons, but I did not see how many fish you have or when you last added new fish. Does the pond have rocks in it? What is the water temperature?

      Other than hanging out at the waterfall, how are the fish acting? Are their fins clamped? Are they still flashing? Do they shake their heads? Do they spit out food?

      Given all of the water movement, low dissolved oxygen is not very likely. High CO2 is a possibility, but again, not very likely this time of the year.

      What are the pH and KH values immediately after you take the sample out of the pond, and again after the water sample has been vigorously aerated?

      Can you catch a fish, gently lift the gill plate, and describe the appearance of the gills?

      Aqua Prazzi will treat gill and skin flukes, but not other parasites or bacterial gill disease. Formalin/Malachite Green will cover most other parasites and helps with bacterial gill disease.



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      Quote Originally Posted by RickF View Post
      Let's start at the beginning. You stated the pond is 2500 gallons, but I did not see how many fish you have or when you last added new fish. Does the pond have rocks in it? What is the water temperature?

      Other than hanging out at the waterfall, how are the fish acting? Are their fins clamped? Are they still flashing? Do they shake their heads? Do they spit out food?

      Given all of the water movement, low dissolved oxygen is not very likely. High CO2 is a possibility, but again, not very likely this time of the year.

      What are the pH and KH values immediately after you take the sample out of the pond, and again after the water sample has been vigorously aerated?

      Can you catch a fish, gently lift the gill plate, and describe the appearance of the gills?

      Aqua Prazzi will treat gill and skin flukes, but not other parasites or bacterial gill disease. Formalin/Malachite Green will cover most other parasites and helps with bacterial gill disease.



      Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
      1) There are no rocks in the bottom of the pond except one about the size 8" which happened to fall in there when I was reworking the edges.

      2) The water temp yesterday in mid-morning was 57.4 F.

      3) The fish are flashing periodically but nothing like they were a few days ago. There is suddenly loads of mosquitos. I was wondering if they are jumping to get bugs. I can only hope.

      They are not holding fins to the side; no spitting out food; no shaking head.

      4) Since adding the additional waterfall feature this morning the fish have stopped piling on top of each other by the other waterfall. They aren't anxiously swimming to me to get fed yesterday or today. I didn't feed them yesterday based on the previous advice about reducing nitrite levels.

      5) I do have a bottle of Formalin/malachite if I have to use it. Aqua Prezzi says not to use any other medications for the term of the dose.

      I'm SO afraid of using this stuff without fully understanding how.

      6) As to catching a fish - possibly - but it would be difficult for me. I'll try. I wrenched my back this week so certain movements are painful.

      7) I'll retest the water and report back.

      8) They have been in spawning mode the last week plus.

      9) I have not added any new fish to the pond. They have wintered over in the pond with two small fish lost. I don't know how many fish are in there - same number for the last two years. I've added more air and larger filters to compensate for the number of fish and allow for larger pump. Both Koi and goldfish are in the pond.

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    12. #12
      coolwon is offline Senior Member
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      To introduce oxygen into your pond water you would ideally connect a 40,60,80, 100 liter air pump to a given number of air stones to match the air pumps literage

      I use 200MM flat pancake air stones,1 x air stone can handle about 20 liters of air.

      Place the air stones in the deepest part of your pond to drive the lower levels of oxygen depleted water up in the air column to break the surface of the water to

      constantly introduce the bottom water to mix with the air above the water to allow the oxygen depleted water to interface with the air laden with its soluble oxygen to

      enter the water to start the cycle of the now oxygen laden water to be drawn down by the rotating currents created by the rising air from the stones.

      This will assist the fish wrestling for the small amount of oxygen in the vicinity of the waterfall which is managing to regenerate the oxygen level inthe vicinity by the

      dropping the water down and turning it over to interface with the atmospheric air above the splashing falls.

      The parasites will be a separate exercise.

      Usually identified by a scrape and scope to treat with the correct muti.

      Garfield
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      Guys i have to agree with rick. Oxygen doesn't seem to be the issue here.. The tem of the water is only 57 degrees.. There is more 02 in cooler temps than in hot temps and i consider under 70 cool temps.. Besides he has 7 diffusers and a waterfall.. It sounds to me like a gill issue be it parasites or disease. Not oxygen relayed.

    14. #14
      coolwon is offline Senior Member
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      I thought gill issues would be oxygen related.

      Garfield
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      coolwon is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Rich8888ri View Post
      Guys i have to agree with rick. Oxygen doesn't seem to be the issue here.. The tem of the water is only 57 degrees.. There is more 02 in cooler temps than in hot temps and i consider under 70 cool temps.. Besides he has 7 diffusers and a waterfall.. It sounds to me like a gill issue be it parasites or disease. Not oxygen relayed.
      If oxygen is not an issue why are the fish congregating around the waterfall.

      Garfield
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      Quote Originally Posted by coolwon View Post
      If oxygen is not an issue why are the fish congregating around the waterfall.

      Garfield
      The oxygen concentration in the water is not an issue. The ability of the gills to extract oxygen from the water could be an issue.

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      Last edited by RickF; 05-30-2020 at 07:40 AM.

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      Here are the things that can prevent the gills from functioning properly:

      Damage to the gills from:
      • high ammonia
      • chlorine or chloramine (not using a dechlorinator when municipal water is used for water changes)
      • bacterial gill disease
      • parasites
      • toxic chemicals (agricultural run-off, overspray of lawn chemicals, detergent or soap)
      • Overdosing of certain treatments (potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide, Chloramine-T, F/MG)


      Physically clogging of the gills from excessive mucus production usually caused by:
      • salt concentration above about 0.30%
      • the use of products designed to increase slime coat production (e.g., Stress Coat)



      The inability of the hemaglobin in the blood to accept the oxygen, usually caused by:
      • nitrite toxicity (brown blood disease)
      • carbon monoxide toxicity (unusual in a pond, but possible if internal combustion engine exhaust can get into the water)
      • hydrogen sulfide toxicity (usually associated with ponds without bottom drains where a deep layer of crud can accumulate on the bottom, or in ponds with rocks on the bottom)
      • carbon dioxide toxicity (usually happens in deep ponds (eight feet or more) without bottom drains or without aerators that go all of the way to the bottom of the pond or in the winter when ice covers a significant portion of the surface)



      With a water temperature of 57 degrees, it will take much longer for Aqua Prazi to work, and a second or even a third dose at weekly intervals might be necessary to get rid of flukes. Usually when shotgun treatments are used, F/MG is used every other day for three doses with 25% water changes between the doses. Aqua Prazi is added with the last dose of F/MG, and then no water changes are done for a week. F/MG should not be used when the water temperature is below 50 deg F, and as I mentioned previously, when the water temperature is below about 70 deg F, Aqua Prazi should be given two or three times at weekly intervals with 25% water changes between the treatments.

    18. #18
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      Rick that was very helpful. If its not parasites and its a gill issue (say from burning gills with a chemical). What are the treatments for that?

    19. #19
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      If it is chemical damage to the gills, the best you can do is to maintain good water quality and hope that the gills will heal.

      Salt causes increased mucus production, which decreases the efficiency of the gills, so that will not be beneficial unless nitrite is present, in which case low concentrations of salt (0.10% - 0.15%) would prevent nitrite poisoning.

      The oxygen saturation point in water is very low compared to the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, so even moderate water movement is usually enough to achieve saturation of oxygen in the water. Extra measures such as adding hydrogen peroxide or aerating with pure oxygen will not increase the oxygen concentration above the saturation point for more than a few minutes, so they are not really helpful, and hydrogen peroxide can cause further damage to the gills.

      It does take a lot more agitation of the water to remove carbon dioxide than it does to add oxygen, so from that perspective, more aeration is better.

      The bottom line, though, is that if there is damage to the gills, the fish needs to heal, but other than keeping the water quality good, there is not much we can do to help.

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      Good Morning All.

      Thank you so much RickF. I didn't receive notices that you had responded so I am glad I checked this morning.

      Yesterday afternoon the fish seemed to be more active. I put slices of oranges in the pond and they went crazy sucking on them.

      The temp in the water had gone up to 64.7 F by the afternoon. Perhaps the colder water at night (in mid-50's) keeps them quieter?

      I've also noticed much more flashing and jumping in late afternoon. As I sat watching them, being eaten by mosquitos, I still wonder if they are jumping to get mosquitos in the late afternoon.

      I instinctively had added another dose of Aqua Prezzi two days ago. Unfortunately, being in Alaska, I'll have to wait until June 17 or so before Amazon can deliver another order.

      I have a protected pond area. It is at the back of the property, surrounded by an 8 ft. fence, no cars, no engines just Crabapple trees. I put a net over the pond when the fish were flashing to prevent any of them from taking a walk outside the pond water. ;0

      RickF, after the Aqua Prezzi, would it be advisable to dose with the Eco Labs BSDT32 Broad Spectrum Disease Treatment? I have a bottle if needed.

      Also - there is some spawning activity. Do any of these treatments hinder the spawning or life of the fry?

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