Koi Health-care

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As with all living things, Koi can be affected by many afflictions during the course of there life.
These can range from injury's caused by vigorous spawning actions, parasite problems or they can just simply fall ill.
Therefore some knowledge on basic Koi health is a valuable resource. These pages will hopefully help in the keeping of healthy Koi.

I think it is important to have a general knowledge of Koi anatomy so you now what's......were on a Koi.
The first thing I will cover is general first aid, it is a good idea to keep a first aid kit for use on your Koi which should include a sharp pair scissors, tweezers, cotton wool buds and some form of antiseptic lotion or cream, there are many creams available but try to find a cream that is oil based as this will tend to stay on the Koi longer when it is returned to the pond.

Great care should be taken to make sure no sharp objects are in the pond for the Koi to damage themselves on, but occasionally a Koi will injure itself, a impact wound normally results in bleeding behind of scales.
If there is little bleeding, the wound should heal on its own. Sometimes the bleeding is such that scales will raise, if this occurs then the Koi is in need of your intervention.

Catch the Koi taking care not to further stress it (stress is the biggest killer of Koi), if the Koi is less than 12" you may be able to treat it without anaesthetizing it.
Personally I think all Koi should be anaesthetized before such treatments are attempted.
The equipment that is needed for the treatment should be prepared beforehand. The Koi should be taken from the anesthetic and placed on a flat surface on a wet towel. The area of damage should be examined, any scales that are dead or dying should be removed by pulling them out with your tweezers, dead scales feel rough and come out easily.
The area needs to be cleaned with antiseptic, you should clean under the scales that the bleeding as started from as secondary infection may occur, a hole does not appear were the initial damage is, it starts further back than the visible problem and manifest's until it breaks out so vigorously. Clean under the scales with a antiseptic. A propriety treatment should be administered to the damaged area only. A water proof paste is then applied, this helps to keep the treatment in contact with the Koi.
Return the Koi to the pond and keep a close eye on the area. If the problem persists then retreat. This is only a example of a injury, it could be anywhere on the Koi's body, the same sort of steps should be taken to treat problems elsewhere.