Terence C asked:
what would cause my koi to swell up although the fish is swimming about o.k
what would cause my koi to swell up although the fish is swimming about o.k
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bloated koi carp, what would cause the fish to swell up?5 comments to bloated koi carp, what would cause the fish to swell up? |
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i think your fish is poorly, go to a pond centre and they will tell you what treatment you need to give it. if possible take a photo and they will be able to narrow down the condition. i went to a centre today to get treatment for my poorly goldfish and there was a treatment for koi suffering from the condition you mentioned.
is it bloated or pregnant
Food causes the koi health problems when they are overfed. It is easy to feed them too much as it is an enjoyable aspect of keeping them. Only give them what they will eat in 5 minutes. This should be about one gram of dry goldfish pellets each day for an adult koi carp. In a pond they will also eat plants and algae when available. Peas and cooked spinach are also offered by some fish keepers.
If the water falls beneath 10°C a hibernation state comes into affect and no food should be offered. This is because any food eaten may not be digested, causing the fish bloat and possible death.
Either she has eggs or the eggs have impacted (which is bad). Or dropsy, if the scales are sticking out forming a pine cone-effect. Dropsy is most often fatal. Or she has a tumor. Lots of different things it could be. But if she isn’t an adult she most definitely doesn’t have eggs.
Causes of bloating in koi.
1. Collection of excessive tissue fluid.
The ‘belly’ of a koi can be caused to bulge on account of a collection of tissue fluid around the abdomen area. This can be caused by an internal bacterial infection or the malfunctioning of the kidneys. Behaving like a fluid-filled balloon, the volume and pressure within the koi can cause blood capillaries to become visible in the skin and the eyes to protrude.
This condition can easily be misdiagnosed as koi being spawn-bound, but if scales protrude from the sleek lines of the koi’s body then this is a positive identification of a koi suffering from dropsy. This is quite terminal and can pose risks for other koi in the same pond. The affected fish should be isolated and monitored if possible and put to sleep with an overdose of anaesthetic if the symptoms deteriorate.
2) Tumour
A fish suffering from a tumour is not likely to become as apparently ‘full’ as a dropsied koi and is only likely to affect a localised area of a fish. A tumour is likely to manifest itself as a lump, where the swelling may even appear to one side if the koi is viewed directly from above.
As with dropsy, there is little remedial action that can be carried out, but it is less likely to affect the other fish should it develop further.
3) Obesity
A ‘bloated’ koi may just be that! In the race to grow koi as quickly as possible, it has been known for koi to be fed excessive quantities of food that is too energy-rich for koi, being deposited around the gut and internal organs as fat.
If this is the cause then the majority of koi in a pond are likely to exhibit obese symptoms. The remedy is to put your koi on a diet. Change their diet to a low-energy autumn/winter food causing the koi to utilise energy that is stored in their fat.
4) Spawn
Mature female koi will naturally ‘fill-out’ from spring through to summer, when, if the stimuli for spawning occur, the koi will spawn naturally in the pond. However, it is quite common for older female koi to reach July or August without spawning, with the likelihood of spawning reducing every day.
Koi will respond to a number of environmental stimuli, such as sudden changes in temperature and water quality of simply the presence of suitable mature males. If these stimuli do not occur (which is not uncommon in the UK climate or in heated ponds where temperatures can remain unnaturally constant), then koi will not be given the means with which to spawn.
This phenomenon is easily diagnosed if only females appear bloated, and can be remedied in a number of ways.
1. Try a rapid 30% water change with cooler water and add spawning media
2. Contact a koi/carp farmer who can administer an ovulating hormone to stimulate the spawning response.