Koi Health - Part 1 (prevention & how to spot a problem)

[@mykoiobsession]

Once again a very informative video in language even a layman can understand. Very much looking forward to the rest of the planned videos in this series. Cheers.

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks mate, I'm trying to just cut through the complexity and cover the things we really need to know. It can be overcomplicated so much this hobby at times.

[@petercousins4767]

An interesting video week given as a relatively new to koi it has given me plenty to thing about, I enjoyed it Thanks. I am looking forward to the next 2.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Peter, much appreciated 🍻🍻👍🍻🍻

[@LauMagroTheFrenchKOInection]

Massive subject. Will be good to see the videos related to health etc. Thanks Darren

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Lau, congratulations on 1000 subscribers 🥂🍻🥂🍻

[@andrewmason2879]

Brill video mate, and having a window in your koi pond is brilliant way for checking over your koi when they swim past. My new fish have been in for nearly two weeks now. They are all feeding by hand all really. I have been doing all the things what you have advised for setting up a new pond and fingers crossed 🤞 all my koi are really happy at the moment. And to say I have started the pond up a pit to late in the year. I test my water everyday and observe them every day to make sure they all are doing ok 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Andrew, it sounds like you are doing everything right if they are hand feeding. That means their appetites are strong enough to overcome their inbuilt fear of humans. Your water must be bang on. Keep going Sir 👍👍🍻🍻👍👍

[@zaidhabib5383]

Yay...the much awaited vid has been released. Thank you kind sir

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks mate, I hope you found it of some use 👍👍🍻👍👍

[@zaidhabib5383]

@@DazzleKoi absolutely did. Thank you

[@johnkolstad3424]

I always love the fact that I can "like"👍your video before I even watch it!🍻

[@DazzleKoi]

Thank you very much John 👍👍👍

[@andrewsuckling2271]

Brilliant video as usual. Cheers Daz.

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Andrew, you're welcome 🍻👍🍻👍🍻

[@carollycett1329]

Great Video spot on with the health . the way you keep your pond is lovely your fish look fab stay safe and well Thank you Carol koi pond

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Carol, I really appreciate that, I try to do my best by them. Got the measure up coming soon, some good progress, particularly the new Chag 🥂🥂🥂

[@thatkoiguy4800]

Good video , did you do a winter measure up / check video this year ?

[@DazzleKoi]

Hello mate and thank you. I did indeed. I've been having a few issues of late but its made and ready to go. I have just uploaded it for members so it will be up this time next week. Its an interesting one this one, some good progress, particularly the new Chag 👍👍

[@richd-koi]

Another great vid mate. Are you covering this year? I might not cover as i hate it. Might just set my ashp too 7 to keep a stable temp.

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, nope, no covers for me. I've never covered a pond yet. I want to see and enjoy them all year round. I may stick a cheap electric heater on just to keep it above 5 or 6 but nothing else.

[@richd-koi]

@@DazzleKoi I might do away with my cover. And do the same as we spend half the year it feels in winter

[@DazzleKoi]

I see people say goodbye to their koi now and only uncover them again in March. That's literally 5 months wasted and they could be having all kinds of issues.

[@richd-koi]

@@DazzleKoi And can't see their koi either which is no fun at all 👍🐟

[@petepw78]

Great advice, thanks for the video.

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Pete, much appreciated 🍻🍻🍻

[@perranwilliams1263]

Totally agree prevention is better, I upgraded my skimmer prefilter from a multi bay to a sieve so much better, also reduced numbers in the pond as growth was slow and not getting big (6000g) did count had 44 in pond reduced numbers down to 34 try and stick to around 30. So easy to suddenly be overstocked especially when a dealer has multi buy offers. Hoping good growth next year and no problems.

[@DazzleKoi]

Sounds like you are going in the right direction mate. Its so important to get the stocking level right. In a tiny eco system like we are trying to create its very easy to cause large fluctuations if you are on a knife edge with things such as pH and KH which are heavily dependent on stocking level.

[@ItsWhatIDo]

This has been a bad year for parasites. We've all had flukes. A lot of us have had costia. The only one that doesn't seem to be high this year is Trich. I think the weather has had a lot to do with it. I get a lot of frogs come to my pond so they are probably being introduced that way. My pond isn't raised so there is no way to stop them. I'm again having to treat for costia at the moment.

[@DazzleKoi]

Yeah some years just seem to be bad and this has been one of the worst. The cold snap can't come soon enough, the big reset bottom 👍👍👍

[@chrisbligh6962]

Hi mate what's the name of the wheatgerm that you use please

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Chris, sorry for the delay, I use Hikari Wheatgerm 👍

[@georgecromar4094]

Thank you Mr Dazzle! Looking forward to the new videos you mentioned.

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks George, measure and health check coming next weekend 👍👍

[@georgecromar4094]

@@DazzleKoi great stuff 👍🏽

[@tinawilliams4284]

Very interesting and helpful , even though I have kept koi for over 40 years I still occasionally get caught out , i Recently lost a beautiful purachina female during spawning activity , she was over 25 years old and very big I had been watching and she seemed ok and was feeding later in the day and I assumed it was all done, Sadly the next morning she was on the top dead , with not a scratch on her no missing scales but still quite a full belly , I can only think that she died of exhaustion , just no other explanation , could find no parasites or any sign of gill problems And I have had no problems with any of the other koi since. I would say to other koi keepers to take your advice and learn Your koi’s habits it could save their lives .

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Tine, sorry to hear that 😒 Spawning can be brutal. I always try to keep only females to avoid it if at all possible. Exhaustion as you say, they can also get pretty beat up and even the smallest knock on the top of the head will instantly put a fish to sleep. They also often get pushed right out of th3e pond.

[@TheGingerPondkeeper]

Interesting as always. I totally agree about observation and knowing your fish, it's a bit like recognising your babies different cries, for instance when my fish flick there's a clear difference when they do it after feeding (a lot) or the rare times they've done it for parasites. PP is something that I must admit I've not used, but have doubts about - it appears a risky treatment for hobbists to use, and I haven't seen too much decent research into it's benefits, indeed one, that I think Martyn at Koi, Water, Plants and Rants showed, indicated that on balance it did no good or harm. I think that's part of the problem with treatments in general, that there's not a ton of good, available research, and a lot of received wisdom and well-meaning, but contradictory, advice. Pond keepers are fairly desperate for advice when their fish are ill, and it's hard to find good, reliable, info. Do you trust manufacturers, shopkeepers and breeders, people you know socially, people off youtube? Heaven forbid ;) - it would be nice to have some really good independent sources. For someone new-ish to it all like me, I tend to fall back on my work (I'm a LD nurse) which isn't always relevant, but does lend itself to some notions of best practice at least, while also making me question approaches if they don't have an evidence base behind them. The only thing I do disagree a little with you on, is sinking food. I guess it depends somewhat on your fish and your set up, but if they're always quite nervous about feeding off the surface with you close by, and you have a reasonably clear pond, it's not a bad option. Equally, although carp feed throughout the water column, I'd argue they're better equiped to feed from the bottom, and, while health and obs are always important, meeting your fish's natural behavioural and confidence/security needs are important too. I get round this by putting a gopro in the pond quite regularly, which helps me keep an eye on them. As I said always interesting, and I'll be looking forward to the next videos.

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, I don't disagree with anything you've said to be honest. It really is a minefield trying to get the right information, and knowing which is right and which is not. There are a lot of myths and old wives tales in koi keeping. For me though, if they don't eat off the surface they aren't hungry. It may be water quality, temp , or whatever but if that's the case then they wont eat sinking either. I've never seen koi that wont come up and eat off the surface if the conditions are all bang on. Appetite trumps inbuilt fear of predators when the conditions are right in my experience.

[@hukcoi]

Looking forward to this series just like the rest of your videos many thanks 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Ian, I appreciate that. Hopefully the next one will be a good one.

[@matcrutch1]

i've just switched to hikari wheatgerm upon your recomendation, and to be honest i think i will contiue to use it all year round. no raising of ammonia and the fish love it and my fish are fussy buggers. great vid dazzle.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers mate, yeah you honestly can't go wrong. Have a look at my measure up video next weekend, they still grow perfectly well on wheatgerm, even in a little pond like mine.

[@JMacFlyFishing]

Awesome stuff Daz, keep up the great content and I will look forward to seeing your next video 📹 Take care 🐟 😎👍🏼

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers mate, you to pal 🍻🍻🍻

[@Matsuba81]

Hi buddy, Once again great video lots of interesting and helpful info. Shared it and looking forward to part 2! Hope your all ok mate take care!

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Mark, I've had a few issues of late but getting back on track, working on the next video now 👍👍🍻

[@davidrand1984]

You speak so much sense

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers David, I appreciate that 👍👍👍

[@grahamparker5129]

Hi Daz I do my pond water change every day and I give my KOI garlic food just that keep problems away as well Daz do you think as well mate .

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Graham, it sounds good to me mate. A lot of people believe that garlic has some positive benefits so it certainly can't do any harm.

[@grahamparker5129]

Thanks for telling me Daz mate 👍😎

[@davidchurch5497]

Hi Daz many thanks for your videos which as a bit of novice to koi carp/koi pond keeping I find very helpful and informative. I have been using saki hikari multi season and/or saki hikari balance which i have found to be very good in comparison to the cheaper foods i had been using, after watching your video I am thinking about using hikari wheatgerm koi food instead, would like to ask is this food suitable for feeding in the summer months? also on a weekly basis i put evolution aqua bacteria balls into the filter what is your opinion on these bacteria balls are they of any real benefit and is once a week about right? many thanks

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi David, yes hikari wheatgerm is fine all year round. A lot of the higher protein food just ends up as pollution in your water as koi aren't able to utilise it. Young koi (say up to 2 years old) will benefit from a good quality growth food but beyond that wheatgerm gives them everything they need (a good quality one such hikari does anyway). Pond balls I've never really been convinced on. Once your filter is mature they wont give you any benefit and they are not cheap. If you need to give a filter a boost or a kick start I recommend the pure+ gel as I found that to be excellent. Just not really sold on the balls or bombs mate

[@keithcowburn4715]

I only add a chemical as an absolute last resort and the only time I've used one is to eradicate flukes. Earlier this year I learnt about a product called natrepel from BP Milling which is being used in fisheries, particularly carp waters, to eradicate parasites and the results have been impressive. Natrepel is completely natural being garlic extract. I've recently started to soak my koi pellets in this in the hope that it will prevent the return of flukes or other parasites. I wondered if you had knowledge of this product or the use of garlic with pellets in koi ponds.

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Keith, I've been aware of garlic as a potential parasite prevention for maybe 25 years and I did give it a go back then but I saw no benefit so I put it down to a myth. Its widely accepted that hikari wheatgerm is the best quality koi food there is for all year round and as they don't put garlic in that I tend to feel there is no scientific evidence in its favour otherwise hikari would include it. I'd be interested if you have seen anything different though. I haven't heard of Natrepel product but again I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it. I generally don't buy in to products like that but if someone has managed to produce one that works I'd be very interested indeed.

[@keithcowburn4715]

@@DazzleKoi Thanks for this. I tend to get flukes during the spring so will see if I feel this has made a difference come next spring and will let you know.

[@grahamparker5129]

Thanks for doing the video, they are very interesting to see as well Daz mate.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Graham 🍻🍻🍻

[@grahamparker5129]

You are very welcome Daz mate OK 👍😁

[@N0n4M3ist]

Hi Daz, my kois are scratching / flashing their bodies onto the bottom of pond. I did microscopic check and found no parasites. However, my pH is ranging from 8.4 daylight and 8.0 night time, kH of 4 with ammonia of 0.25. Mechanical filters are cleaned weekly, and water temps is stable all day long @26C. All kois are eating well, also doing trickle in water changes with no chlorine. Do you think ammonia is the issue thats causing my kois to scratch? Thanks!

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, when your pH is 8.4 at 26C that level of ammonia is a little toxic so it could definitely be the problem but its rare that high ammonia causes flashing. Make sure you scrape 3 or 4 different koi with the scrapes and have another look just in case. My feeling is it is parasites rather than ammonia.

[@N0n4M3ist]

@@DazzleKoi Thanks for the reply, did microscopic check on 5 of my kois, gills and skin. No parasite found. Then it must be the ammonia causing the issue?

[@sweeneyTodd-de4by]

What a fantastic video, only had my fish a month, and this video is amazing a must for any koi keeper, what make of food do you use please? Thank you for all the help 🙏

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, sorry for the delay, been having some issues. Thanks for your kind words. I use Hikari Wheatgerm 🍻🍻

[@baitking1]

Hi daz thanks for another great video

[@DazzleKoi]

You're welcome mate, thanks 🍻🍻🍻

[@ma4utopia]

Fantastic advise

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers mate 🥂🥂🍻🍻🥂🥂

[@MrSmithy63]

Going to be a very handy series of videos

[@DazzleKoi]

Thank you, I hope so. Its a huge topic but I want to cut out all thats not necessary and just focus in on the important stuff 🍻🍻👍🍻🍻

[@waynebrown5852]

Excellent video

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Wayne 🍻🍻🍻

[@Kugadream55]

lovely pond

[@DazzleKoi]

Thank you Amanda, much appreciated 🍻🍻👍🥂🥂

[@andrewwestwood485]

Another informative video again Daz..Will you be covering carp pox in the series?

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Andrew, yes I will definitely include carp pox

[@Tillygoat60]

Great info as always Daz, toutch wood Iv not had a single problem this year so far. And I put this down to following your guidelines plus Iv gone to saki hikari food now like you say give them the best food you can. Thanks buddy

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Rex, you must be one of the very few to avoid the dreaded flukes this year mate 👍👍👍🍻👍👍👍

[@Tillygoat60]

Think I spoke to soon, just been in to fish and noticed two of them have two carp pox spots on the tails. I’ll keep an eye on them ..

[@DazzleKoi]

There must be something in the air at the moment as I noticed some on my little Chag today to and that wasn't there when I made the video. Its largely harmless but very frustrating as it doesn't look great. Roll on spring.

[@jolleykoi5970]

Very informative. So thanks mate 👍🏻

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks very much mate 👍👍🍻👍👍

[@johntasker9145]

Great video, thank you looking forward to seeing the next one 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers John 🍻🍻🍻

[@andycox3862]

Wise words my friend 👍👍👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Andrew 🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@JohnJones-hs2kh]

Cracking video 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks John 🍻🍻

[@richardbrunton2068]

Like these info videos, cheers daz👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Richard, much appreciated 🍻🍻👍🍻🍻

[@paulholt8311]

Well put together hope I do not experience any issues 😉 not a fan of using chemicals

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Paul, I'm the same, fingers crossed 🤞🤞

[@KoiRun50]

1st 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers mate 👍

[@sandypollard562]

👍👍👍😊👍👍👍👍😊

[@DazzleKoi]

🥂🥂🥂🍻🍻🥂🥂🥂