Atlanta Koi Club Tour 2013

Atlanta Koi Club's Pond and Water Garden Tour

Saturday, June 22, 2013 9:30 AM  - 5:30 PM

Ticket Booklets are $30 per car (max. 4 adults) rain or shine and includes lunch and membership until December 2013.

Order on line @ www.atlantakoiclub.org and save $5.00, if you download and print the booklet yourself.

Booklets will also be on sale (cash only) around May 2^nd at the following locations:

1.         Day of Tour Only at the First Pond Site (Pond A) June 22, 2013

2128 Briarlake Trace, Atlanta, GA 30345

Phone: 404-321-9007

2.         Hastings Nature & Garden Center (moved to the following new address)

3420 Woodhill Drive, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 (Norcross area)

Phone: 404-869-7447

3.         Atlanta Water Gardens

2165 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324,

Phone: 404-235-0739

4.         Splendor Koi & Pond

1552 Rosewood Circle

Marietta, GA 30067

Phone: 770-321-3474

5.         Atlanta Koi & Pond

3291 Shallowford Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

Phone: 770-454-6799

6.         Randy's Perennials & Water Gardens

523 W. Crogan Street

Lawrenceville, GA 30044

Phone: 770-822-0676

7.         Wakoola Water Gardens

5235 Union Hill Road.

Cumming, GA 30040

Phone: 770-844-0772

8.         Kol Koi  (new location)

2731 Summers Street NW

Kennesaw, GA 30144

Phone: 678-932-9277

9.         Stone Forest

2501 Main Street

Kennesaw, GA 30144

            Phone: 770-590-1700

Anchor Worms

There are three parasites that affect goldfish and koi that you can see without the aid of a microscope. They are Ich, Fish Lice, and Anchor worm. Today we take a look at Anchor Worms.

What is it? Lernea, better known as Anchor Worms,  resemble brown or greenish threads on the body, fins,or tail of goldfish and  koi.  About 1/8 to 1/4 inch in length, these parasites, unlike most that affect your fish, don't rely on fishes' immune suppression to attack. If they're present in your system or pond, they will proliferate.  Below is another image of what to look for if you think your fish may have Anchor Worms.  Click on either image for a larger version.

What to do? These guys typically don't kill fish, as some of the microscopic parasites do, but they will cause damage by punching holes in your fish which can lead to ulcer disease.  So they will need to be eradicated.  For individual fish you can remove the worms with tweezers and disinfect the puncture wound with Iodine or Mercurochrome. But that's not the end of the story.  Now you need to deal with the "un-attached" life stage and eggs that are still in your pond or system.  Medications containing Dimilin used to be the treatment of choice. Unfortunately, those products are no longer available commercially.  Look for medications containing Trichlorafon or Cyromazine.  The ones I'm familiar with are: Cyropro by Pond Solutions Paracid by Crystal Clear  Lice and Anchor Worm by Microbe Lift Proform LA by Koi Care Kennel Dimilin Alternatives Keep in mind that you MUST re-dose according to the label as you are killing off the Lernea's vulnerable nauplii life stage as it cycles from egg to adult.   by Randy LeFever Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery

 Questions?  Comments?  What else would you like to see addressed in our e-mail newsletters?  I'd would love to hear your input!

Is It Ich?

OR SOMETHING ELSE? 
Dear Splendor Koi and Pond,

When we first started producing butterfly koi back in the 80's, I got a call from a customer about Ich (whitespot) on butterfly koi he had just received.  I examined the ones we had left and saw no evidence of Ich.  I told him to to treat them and let me know how they responded. 
A month later he called back and said the fish were doing great, but some still had Ich on their tail fins. So I looked at ours again.  And sure enough there were Ich looking spots on a few of the tails.  I did a microscopic exam and find that those spots were not Ich, but were tiny fractures in the rays of the tail fin that had calcified as they healed.


Ich Imposter
Without a microscope, how can you tell the difference? Typically, you'll see the injuries confined to just the tail fins. If the fish do indeed have Ich, you should see the spots on the other fins as well.  In many cases, you'll find that Ich will cause fish to "flash" or lie on the bottom, motionless.  The broken fin rays will not cause any behavioral changes.  Click on each image to see a larger version. 

Here's a closer view. As you can see the white areas are in line with the bone structure of the tail. As the fish grows the spots will become less noticeable.  Click on the image to see a larger version.
 

  



Sincerely,

 
Randy LeFever
Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery  

Many Ways to Kill Fish

Many Ways to Kill Fish A STORY BY RANDY LEFEVER  Dear Splendor Koi and Pond, They say the best fish keepers are the ones that have killed the most fish.  I must be a pretty good fish keeper because I've killed many fish in many different ways in the last 35 years.  Below is a story of one such incident.

Several years ago I built a 20,000 gallon koi pond at my house.  I researched it thoroughly.  I had it all, bottom drains, settling tanks, skimmers, UV,  all kinds of filtration. I was going to have the best pond with the best water quality.  I seeded the filter with ammonia chloride,  and waited for the ammonia and nitrite to zero out.  Now I was finally ready for fish.  Boy, this was going to be GREAT!  The perfect pond with the perfect water. To seal the deal in regards to perfect water quality I plumbed in fresh well water from my house and adjusted the flow so that the pond would have a 10 percent water change every day.  So we harvested some three year olds, and I painstakingly picked out five of the best fish I could find.  Since I'm a "Koi Professional" I knew what to do.  Start slowly, let the filter mature, don't get anxious and start piling fish in there.  So in the fish go. They're going to love this.  Just five fish in 20,000 gallons in a koi pond with awesome filtration and constant water changes. After about a week the fish started acting funny, hanging around the top, or lying on the bottom of the the pond.  Well I am a "Koi Professional" so this shouldn't be too hard to figure out, after all I've been diagnosing and treating koi for over 35 years.  They obviously have parasites or some bacterial infection. So I catch one out, do a scraping, put it under the scope expecting to find a massive infection of Costia or Flukes.  And I find nothing.  The gills are clean, there's no sign of any sort of bacterial infection. No sores, no bloating, no fin rot, no signs of KHV or SVC.  I'm stumped.  And embarrassed.  I take care of thousands of koi every day, and I can't keep five koi alive in my personal koi pond? Maybe I'm not the "Koi Professional" that I profess to be. So I send the fish off to Vicky Vaughn at Koi Lab.  She calls back the next day and tells me that she has no idea what's killing the fish.  Says that it is the cleanest fish she's ever seen.  Not one parasite anywhere.  She will do a necropsy and get back to me.  I re-check the water quality in the pond.  Still perfect.  Out of frustration Fish loss is hard. I double the amount of fresh well water going in.  The next day all the koi are dead.   By now I'm worried that my fish have some exotic viral disease never seen before.  A couple of days later I'm fixing myself a glass of ice water.  We have to let the faucet run for a minute or so because the well water we have is acid, and it leeches the copper from the plumbing in my house. So then it hits me!  The water going into the pond runs through the copper plumbing in my house, leaching copper the whole time.  I was poisoning my fish!  No wonder there were no parasites, the copper was burning them off the fish.  When I doubled the flow going in, it doubled the copper and killed the fish overnight.

So I learned at least three valuable lessons.  First, no matter what your level of experience or expertise, there's always something more to learn.  Secondly, don't always assume some sort of disease or parasite is killing your fish.  Third, Copper and koi DO NOT MIX.   Randy LeFever Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery

Pond Winter Coupons

TROPICAL FISH PHARMACEUTICALS

ACRIFLAVINE NEUTRAL
USES: Acriflavine neutral is used to treat various bacterial infections such as salt water ICH, fin and tail rot, some parasites, VELVET oodinium and other types of fungus such as mouth fungus.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

CHLOROQUINE PHOSPHATE

USES:  Chloroquine Phosphate is a replacement for both copper sulfate and quinine and it is superior to copper sulfate and all quinine salts.  Chloroquine is used as a bacteriacide, an algaecide and as an antimalarial.  It is superior in the fight against ICH, slimness of the skin and flukes and can be used as both a treatment and a preventative.

NOTE:  CHLOROQUINE PHOSPHATE IS IN HIGH DEMAND & SHORT SUPPLY DUE TO THE OUTBREAK OF MALARIA IN EAST AFRICA.  WHERE QUININE WAS USED IN HUMANS FOR MANY DECADES, THE DRUG OF CHOICE IS NOW CHLOROQUINE AS HUMANS WILL NOT FORM A TOLERANCE TO IT.

DOSING:  Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

ENROFLOXACIN
USES: Enrofloxacin, also knows as Baytril, is made by Bayer Pharmaceuticals. It is a fluoroquinolon antibiotic also knows as Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) for humans. This is a thrid generation antiobiotic and is the most advanced antibiotic approved for use in tropical fish. It often begins working in 30 minutes and is a highly recommended antibiotic. Enrofloxacin has demonstrated a significant post-antibiotic effect for both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and is active in both stationary and growth phases of bacterial replication.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

ERYTHROMYCIN PHOSPHATE
USES: Excellent choice to fight Pop Eye, fin and tail rot and red slime. It fights both gram negative and gram positive bacterias. A very good all around antibiotic.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

FENBENDAZOLE

Fishman Chemical is the ONLY domestic source for pure fenbendazole. Brands such as Pancur and Safe-Guard are only 22% active.
USES: Fenbendazole is used as a worming agent in tropical fish. It is extremely effective in both fresh and salt water environments. It has replaced levamisole (Discomed) since the fish do not build a resistance to it. Fenbendazole can be dosed either as a tank treatment or in the fish food itself. It works so quickly that you will usually see worms protruding from infected fish within an hour!
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

KANAMYCIN SULFATE
USES: Mainly used in salt water situations to fight gram negative bacteria and most forms of tuberculosis. It is the most effective agent available to fight gram negative bacteria.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

MALACHITE GREEN
USES: Use to fight fungus such as velvet, ICH and mouth disease. DO NOT USE ON EGGS.....
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

METHYLENE BLUE
USES: Use to kill fungus on eggs, other fungi and some strains of bacteria. Effective in curing "slimness of the skin" disease.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

METRONIDAZOLE
USES: Very effective in the fight against protozoan, hole in the head disease, internal hexamita (Malawi bloat), freshwater ICH and pond epistyles.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

NEOMYCIN SULFATE
USES: Neomycin Sulfate is used to kill gram negative bacteria in both fresh water and salt water environments. It is also used to fight tuberculosis. This is a second generation antibiotic and is very effective and safe for long time dosing.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

NITROFURAZONE
USES: Nitrofurazone is excellent in the the fight against marine ulcer disease and all types of protozoans. It is useful in koi for the treatment of furunculosis. It is one of the safest antibiotics on the market. It can be used for extended periods without issues.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

OXOLINIC ACID
USES: Oxolinic acid is a very strong gram negative antibiotic. It is very effective against "hole in the side" which is very common amongst koi fish. It can be mixed in feed or used as a water treatment. When everything else fails, use oxolinic acid. It is the strongest gram negative antibiotic available but it is rough on fish organs when used for long periods of time.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

OXYTETRACYCLINE DIHYDRATE 90% (TAN)
USES: Oxtetracycline Dihydrate is the same as Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride (Yellow) but it contains 2 molecules of water. It runs 90% or higher purity. It will go into solution quicker than the HCL form and is less expensive.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

OXYTETRACYCLINE HYDROCHLORIDE (YELLOW)
USES: Oxytetracycline is the second broad sprectrum antibiotic to be released in the United States. It is a very popular antibiotic because it can be used to treat both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The hydrochloride is 99% or higher active. Oxytetracycline is used to kill marine ulcer disease, mouth fungus, cold water disease and bacterial hemorrhagic septicimea. It is a good all around antibiotic.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE
USES: As it is an oxidizer, Potassium Permanganate is useful for water clarification and odor elimination. Potassium permanganate should ONLY be used in established cycled aquariums. It can also be used to reduce dangerous, high organix levels in freshwater ponds and aquariums, most notably "Bacterial Blooms" (Grey, cloudy tanks).
It can also be used for fish baths or for swabbing infections caused by bacterium like Columnaris.
Potassium permanganate can also be used to treat fish eye infections (cloudy eyes).
DOSING: Please contact our office for dosing guidelines specific to your particular situation.

PRAZIQUANTEL
USES: Praziquantel is the most popular of all the antiparisitic medicines. It is effective against most parasites including flukes and flatworms and can be used in both fresh and salt water environments. It is popular due to the ease in dosing and its' effectiveness in all environments.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

QUINALDINE LIQUID
USES: Used as an anesthetic in fish transportation and can be used to facilitate the collection of tropical fish from reefs.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions.

QUINALDINE SULFATE
USES: Used as an anesthetic in fish transportation and can be used to facilitate the collection of tropical fish from reefs.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions.

SULFAMERAZINE SODIUM
USES: Sulfathiazole Sodium is used to fight areomonas bacteria, psedium genera and mysobacteria. It is a gram-negative antibiotic and fish are less likely to form a tolerance to it when compared with other antibiotics. It is milder on fish organs then other antibiotics but is generally less effective.
DOSING: For proper dosing instructions specific to your needs, please contact the office.

SULFATHIAZOLE SODIUM
USES: Sulfathiazole Sodium is used to fight areomonas bacteria, psedium genera and mysobacteria. It is a gram-negative antibiotic and fish are less likely to form a tolerance to it when compared with other antibiotics. It is milder on fish organs then other antibiotics but is generally less effective.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

TETRACYCLINE HCL
USES: Tetracycline Hydrochloride was the first broad spectrum antibiotic to be released in the United States. It works the same as oxytetracycline, however it has two drawbacks. It will change the water color to a tea color when dosing and foaming is quite common. It is as effective as oxytetracycline and it takes fish longer to build up a tolerance with tetracycline than it does with oxytetracycline. See Oxytetracycline for indications.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

TMP SULFA
USES: TMP Sulfa is a newer generation sulfa drug with better solubility, wider spectrum activity and less resistance then traditional triple sulfa medications. TMP Sulfa will treat almost all of the diseases that doxycycline will treat with the exception of some gram positive bacteria and fungi. TMP Sulfa is easy on fish organs and can be used with other pharmaceuticals as well.
DOSING: Please contact the office for dosing instructions specific to your needs.

TRIMETHOPRIM
USES: Treatment for both gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial infections. It is usually mixed with a sulfa drug (50/50 mixture) to retard the growth of resistant strains of bacteria. It is used as an antimicrobial agent which inhibits the growth of proteins which cause bacterial infections. It is commonly used when other drugs have failed.
DOSING: Please call the office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs.

TRIS ULTRA / TROMETHAMINE USP

USES: Tris is used as a Biological Buffer which means that it can control the pH in your aquaculture environment. Tris is used to help keep the pH in your environment between 7.0 and 9.0. It can also be used to assist fish mortality during transport and shipping.
DOSING: Please contact our office for proper dosing instructions specific to your needs. We have specific charts which will help you adjust your dosing to water temperature and required pH needs!

fishchemical.com

Netting and Handling Koi ­– The Right Way

If you’ve ever watched a seasoned pro net and bag a koi and thought to yourself, “Looks pretty simple, I could do that,” and if you’ve ever chased a koi around a retail tank with a net until your brow beads up with sweat and your arms are burning and sore, all the while thinking, “I can do this!” then you’re not alone. The process of catching, netting and bagging koi can be a very stressful experience, for both human and fish! But, with the right tools and a little insight you can soon become an expert in the store fish department.

By handling koi the right way you will build confidence and gain credibility with your customers. Koi can become damaged if handled incorrectly. By using the right equipment you will reduce the risk of unnecessary damage to their delicate fins and slime-coat as well as eliminating the stress of being captured and moved.

Tools of the Trade
1. Pan Net
2. Viewing Bowl
3. Poly Bags
4. Sock Net
5. Oxygen
6. Elastic Bands
A pan net is a very shallow net that is used to corral the koi and guide it into a viewing bowl. Use slow and deliberate movements when approaching the desired koi with your net. Quick and jerky movement will make the koi become very alarmed hence darting and fleeing. It is also a good idea to stay very quiet when netting koi as loud voices can result in the same adverse effects. Slowly move the pan net through the water with a left to right (slicing) motion; drag will be reduced and it will glide through the water easily this way.
Once you have the desired koi captured bring it to the surface but do not lift the koi out of the water. By tipping the handle upward you can reduce the chance of escape by jumping. Next, rest the rim of the pan net on the edge of a viewing bowl that is partially filled with water. With your free hand tilt the viewing bowl toward the net to allow more water to spill into the bowl by submerging one side. Gently guide the koi out of the pan net and into the viewing bowl simultaneously. The koi will gladly swim into the bowl to escape the net. At first try you may end up with the viewing bowl completely filled with water, but with practice you will become more proficient. Be sure to maintain enough water in the bowl to completely cover the koi’s dorsal fin then allow your customer to inspect the fish.
Next, add a small amount of water into a poly-bag so it is ready to accept the koi. Place the doubled poly-bag in a bucket or another koi viewing bowl for stability. It is a good idea to prepare the poly-bag before you get started with the netting process.
Now you will use a sock net to transfer the koi into the doubled poly-bag for your customer. Start by getting the sock net wet. Then put the rim of the sock net into the viewing bowl while holding onto the handle. Calmly coax the koi into the opening. After the koi swims inside the sock net grasp the open end with your free hand to close the tail of the net. Twist the handle to close the opening of the sock net so the koi cannot escape.

Now you can carefully lift the koi from the viewing bowl while protecting its delicate skin with the water inside of the sock net. Be sure to keep the sock net as straight (horizontally) as possible when lifting to avoid a spinal injury to the koi. Immerse the tail end of the sock net into the water inside of the poly-bag. Then release the koi by simply letting go of the open end of the sock net and gently lifting up on the handle. The koi will glide out of the sock net and into the poly-bag with minimal effort. Finally, add just enough water to the bag to ensure that the koi’s gills and dorsal fin are completely covered with water. Actually, the amount of oxygen used to inflate the bag is more important than an over abundance of water depth.

Next, remove the atmospheric air from inside the bag by collapsing the top of the bag to the water level. Then insert an oxygen hose into the bag and hold the bag tightly around the hose. Inflate and twist the top of the bag tightly closed. Secure the twisted end with an elastic band. The koi is now ready for transport to its new home. Remind your customer to keep the koi bag out of direct sunlight during the trip home so it does not become over heated.

Congratulations, you have just transferred a koi from holding tank to viewing bowl then into a poly-bag. Finally, you can say to yourself, “I did it!”

 by Ellen Kloubec