[schildkoi]

In the thread concerning Nacy and Frank's Sanke loss, the subject of stray electrical came up. By the way Nancy and Frank, sorry for your loss...been there and had it done to me as well.

For the purposes of this post, stray electrical is defined as an extremely small amount of electrical current, far less than what it takes to trip a GFCI or even come near to doing harm to a person. People with p[ace makers etc may be more susceptible than others however.

There is an easy way to test for stray electrical and it doesn't involve any fancy meters or even an electrician. First and foremost, ALL electrical (even exterior pumps and air pumps) should be GFCI protected and these circuits should be tested monthly. After conducting a "successful" monthly test of all of the GFCI(s), mix up a little clove oil solution and stir it with your hand. Then simply reach into a filter chamber or the pond itself and see if you experience a very slight tingling. If so, you have some stray electric. Stray electric often goes unnoticed but can in fact cause damage to a koi, most commonly in the form of "kinking" the back bone over time. Although a jolt of electric such as a nearby lighting strike, can cause death, stray electrical rarely (if ever) has an immediate effect.


Steve