Sorry you lost a fish.....maybe we can save the rest though with some more information. What are the symptoms? Did you get any new fish lately?

Yes, I just added 5 new fish. Those seem to be the only ones sick. There is one with no scales that was new, but it is not sick. Seems to be only the 4 new ones I got with scales. Well...3 now...my favorite of the new ones was the one that died. I kept them in a separate pond for 4 weeks. Followed all the same rules as when I have added fish in the past. I am assuming that there was some sort of bacteria in my pond that they were not used to. I figure, if they were sick when I got them, I would have noticed sooner. They have been in my larger pond for 1 week now.

Symptoms:
Losing few scales
No energy
Loss of luster on scales

Thanks....Amanda

It could also be that your fish were carrying low levels of parasites that they were used to....and that the new fish were not used to. That is the most probable cause. I hope you can save them. For future reference, it is always a good idea to heat the QT up to 73° and hold it there for a few weeks and to add a fish from your existing collection to the QT to make sure everyone is compatable with everyone else.

don't give up. Contact your local koi club and see if they have a Koi Health Advisor that can come over and lend a hand. The AKCA clubs are listed on the AKCA web site.

Here is a link that might be useful: AKCA web site

Thanks ccoombs1. Yeah...I think the mistake I made was not adding one of my own to the batch of new ones. The water temps were good..stayed between 70-75. Next time I will for sure add one of mine to QT before introducing them to the general population. I always skip that step out of anxiousness, and this time I got caught. Good news is, I learned my lesson and it will not happen again. I will let you know if the others make it.

Amanda

It's a hard way to learn a lesson, but it usually is a lesson well learned!! Believe me....I learned the SAME way. I know lots of koi keepers who learned the same lesson the same way too. I am a slow learner....I had to do it twice (both time with disasterous results) before I finally caught on...lol!! It gave me such a helpless feeling, watching my poor fish suffer and die because of a mistake I made. I became a Koi Health Advisor after that.

Cindy

WOW, HI all new here. I was shocked to read this, thought that it was just me. Last spring this very thing happened to me as well. Lost every last one of my beautiful koi. Did the QT and all. Tested both water, fed DeBride DW, de wormer for one week before adding to pond. the new ones went first then the ones already there. Nothing I did stopped the death roll that hit my pond until all were gone. It is now empty as I don't dare star new fish in there. Am not sure if I should restart. Any sigs will be welcome!

Well...to update:

I have 2 sick ones still that I can see. The third sick one is missing. I think it must have died...and got eaten by a bird or turtle. I have not seen it since Sunday evening, after I dipped it in medicine. The other two are still acting very sickly...I do not think they will make it. The rest of my 12 fish are fine...hopefully it stays that way. I have done all I know how to do.

coombs you are right....I have had ponds and aquariums for 7 years now...and it is one thing to lose a fish to a predator, or natural causes...but when you know you are directly responsible...it is heart wrenching. Part of me wants to put these two out of their misery, but I want to give them a fighting chance. I know they are just fish, but knowing that they are sick because of me is the worst feeling. When I first got into ponding, sad to say, I must have killed like 10 fish...same story with the aquarium. Then I did my research and learned my lessons. This is the first time this has happened to me in a while. It will be very hard for me to get new fish again in the future. I get nervous every time...because of stuff like this.

Amanda

Amanda, I probably go overboard now with quarantine, but I think it's worth it. I sort of follow two different protocals, depending on where the fish come from. There are a couple of domestic breeders who practice extreme bio-security to prevent bringing Koi Herpes Virus to their farms. I have had had a lot of experience with these breeders and trust their fish to be KHV free. I do, however, still QT them and treat for parasites accordingly. These fish are in QT for maybe 4 to 6 weeks.

For fish from any other source, especially Japanese imports, the QT period is MUCH longer....usually 3 months or so. And even then, I only buy from dealers who test the fish for KHV.

It's just too heartbreaking watching fish die and not being able to help them.

Aquawise, it almost sounds like you bought some fish that were infected with koi herpes virus. The good news is KHV and parasites need a fish host to live, so if all the fish are dead the virus and parasites die. How long has your pond been empty?

My 1100 gallon pond has been empty all winter and so far this spring october until now . I did however find a minnow still living in there just this past weekend. I had a dead one tested and it was posative for KHV. The pet place I deal with said OH really. So now I ask how long before can restock this pond? I bought 2 new koi from them a few days ago put them in QT and they are now dead? No more from them. I am at a loss as to what to do next.

If you did have KHV in that pond, I would get some pool shock and shock the pond to sterilize it, just like you do with a swimming pool in the spring. Let it circulate for a few days like that. Then rinse well a few times, let it sit dry for a few days and then refill. Get a chlorine test kit and dechlorinate the water until it is safe for fish again. Then be VERY careful where you get new fish from. I don't know where you live, but there's a place in New Jersey (Qualitykoi.com) who sells wonderful healthy fish. They have anything from pond grade to show quality. Also, look on Ebay for SJKOI. This is Richard Rombold and he's in california (he ships). He is the ONLY Ebay koi seller I would ever recommend. He has nice healthy fish at reasonable prices.

Best of luck to you....KHV is a nasty virus.

I treated this pond with PP first thin this spring. I live in rural Utah. We have very crapie pet stores in this area.
It is sad to as we have many fish lovers here. WE buy them and they die. They get our money and we get fish that die more often than not. Thanks for your help.