Ulcers are an unfortunate reality in this hobby because bacteria are omnipresent. They can occur frequently if koi husbandry is poor and catalyst parasites like flukes present.
Morbidity will likely follow if ulcers are not given prompt attention - particularly with small koi |
Ulcers are bacterial infections which eat away at the flesh of the fish. In most cases I have worked with, they are precipitated by a parasite infection. Whether it be flukes or protozoa, the slime coat is compromised and the ubiquitous aeromonas/pseudomonas bacteria are able to get a foothold. Sometimes there are no parasites involved and the problem is strictly bacterial. Because we have only identified about 1% of the bacteria in existence, what exactly is affecting our fish may be unknown
The larger picture dictates that the root causes need to be rectified if the ulcers are to be healed and not reappear. This means parasites need to be eradicated and not reintroduced. Water quality and pond hygiene issues need to addressed and corrected with the proper filtration, fish load and maintenance |
Ulcers start as small red blemishes that are often missed by the less attentive koi keeper. Many times they are located underneath the koi which makes spotting them at this stage difficult. What appears as a small sore on a fish in the pond is often a large gruesome hole upon closer inspection in a koi bowl. In advanced cases, the skin layer can be eaten right through and raw flesh can be seen. The ulcer will continue to worsen if treatments are not administered
In the case of severe ulcers or ulcers that appear to be breaking from the inside out, it should be assumed that the infection is systemic. This means that the infection is internal and injections and medicated food are more effective than topicals and melafix etc.
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This is at a fairly advanced stage. You are unlikely to see this sort of severe ulcer development on small fish as they tend to pass long before the ulcer reaches this state |
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A common mistake I observe with ulcer treatment is clients utilizing just 1-2 approaches to deal with the problem. For example, they may feed medicated food and add Koizyme and the rest of the treatment protocol is based on "hope". It is much better to undertake a full course of treatments to give the fish every chance of recovery
Salt
Salt is pivotal because ulcers compromise osmoregulation. A gaping sore allows an unabated influx of water to enter the fish which contributes to a bloated swelling appearance. Adding salt reduces the gradient between both the water and the fishes salt concentration. Salting to 0.3% or more means less water enters the fish which reduces bloating and allows the fish to use its energy to fight the infection instead of expelling water
Heat
Heating the water to the high 70's low 80's is also advisable. At this temperature, the fishes immune system will be functioning at its peak affording it every opportunity to fight the infection
Water Quality
Of course WQ must be maintained at pristine levels. If a fish has to deal with high ammonia or low oxygen levels, it simply will not respond well to treatments. A good filter and a UV sterilizer are musts and lots of water changes will keep bacterial levels low and water quality high - 5x a week is what we try to do although when heating, you must bear in mind water temperature
Kill all Pathogens
Of course, eradicating any parasites involved is paramount. Trying to heal a wound that is being actively aggravated will prove futile |
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This fish has a pretty severe ulcer. It did make a full recovery however |
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If you turn the fish upside down it is easy to get a quick look at the gills |
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Injecting fish in a sock net is much easier than in a bag. Some fish are relaxed, others need to be completely turned over with their heads pressed into the net. Keep the head underwater during the process |
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As mentioned, when you treat sick fish, it is advisable to do everything possible
Injections
Injections are sometimes the only hope for a fish. Drugs like baytril and amakacin work well. Although injecting is not that difficult, it does take some practice to handle fish without stressing them. Unless you have your own private lab or connections, the results of a culture and sensitivity test will likely come to late - you will simply learn what killed your fish. Luckily these antibiotics are broad spectrum and if you choose correctly you may see a small ulcer heal over in just a weeks time
Tricide Neo
We have been quite successful with this bactericidal dip. Exercise caution with small fish that seem to do better with dips in the 3 minute range rather than the full 5 minute maximum. If you can't perform injections, you should be doing these dips. The drug is mixed in distilled water and will retain its chemical makeup for 1 week. You should dip the fish at least 4 times to a maximum of everyday. Use a timer and dip the fish in another bowl of pond water to wash the treatment off before returning the fish to the pond
Medicated Food
It is highly advisable to feed the fish a good medicated food for at least 2 weeks. During this time they should feed exclusively on this food and we like to feed small quantities several times a day thereby keeping the antibiotic active in their system. This is a good treatment because it gets right into the fish to treat systemically
Topicals
There are numerous topicals on the market. They are applied to sterilize and seal the wound to aid in healing. After the initial thorough scrubbing and cleaning of the wound, these should be applied gingerly so that not to disturb
any invisible cells that are trying to grow back as the healing process is underway. We usually try to treat topically a couple of times a week. We use and retail debride and povodine-iodine
Bifuran
This is a great gram negative bactericide which is broad spectrum and will kill bacteria in the system. Unlike potassium permanganate, it will not harm your bio filter. We usually start the fish on bifuran the first or second day of treatments to really clean things up
Koizyme
This is an effective probiotic which introduces a harmless bacteria into the system. This bacteria out competes aeromonas causing a drastic reduction in the pathogenic population. As result, ulcers are less apt to appear and if they do, the development will be retarded. Obviously, the use of bifuran and melafix can interfere with koizyme so use common sense
Melafix
This is a natural product which has shown great success in healing wounds and regenerating fins. Like Koizyme, it is an excellent ancillary treatment you would start after your main drug courses have been undertaken. We have been able to heal wounds with just salt, water changes and melafix and sometimes this is all you need. But these treatments don't compare to topicals and tricide neo for effectiveness |
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Always examine fish carefully and this involves turning them over to make sure there are no ulcers underneath the fish. You can also simply bag the fish for close examination which may prove less stressful |
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This deceased fish has quite a severe ulcer. Unfortunately they can develop quickly and small fish are unable to cope like larger fish are |
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At first glimpse this can look like an ulcer but in fact it is simply a harmless papilloma |
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If a fish has a red blemish which looks like the start of an ulcer, action should be taken. Aside from the environmental protocols already mentioned, medicated food, topicals and bifuran should be considered. After things have been cleaned up, melafix and/or koizyme are options.
If the ulcer appears worse or status quo, tricide neo dips should be undertaken and injections considered. There is some savvy and experience involved - treating and handling fish is stressful to them so there is a fine line between doing what you can and doing too much. In the case of severe ulceration, injections, tricide neo dips and medicated food is the course to follow
Large fish are much more resilient than there smaller brethren who can easily perish with very minor ulcers. Additionally, ultimate survival has as lot to do with the particular fish. Some simply refuse to die while others keel over with the mildest of maladies |
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