Desperate for advice for injured koi

[indamaya]

I live in Michigan, and we had a really cold spell recently. I had a koi in a small pond, and a few days ago when I checked the pond, to my horror I saw that it had leaked and my koi was stuck head down in just a small puddle of water. I rescued him and brought him inside in what pond water I could get, but all he does is just lay on his side at the bottom of the tub I have him in. I'm afraid his back end may have literally "freeze dried" from sticking up in the cold air, and I have no idea what to do, if anything, to help him recover. What I have done so far is change out some of the mucky pond water with treated tap,(same temp as water in the tub) and add an antibacterial/antifungus medication my pet store recommended, but although he seems a little stronger and more alert he can't get off his side and swim. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate them as I'm really new to fishkeeping, and I'm really attached to this guy. Oh yes, one other thing, the side he is laying on feels rough, as though he doesn't have enough slime coat, which could be due to exposure to the freezing air, but again, aside from the water treatment, I'm not sure what will help him with this. Please advise!!!

[mulberryjen]

This probably isn't exactly the type of advice you are looking for, but you may want to take moment to skim the following threads:

"Cold Weather Conseqences":

cold weather consequences


"Winter time injury - opinions needed" (my thread)

Wintertime injury - opinions needed.

My koi had a mainly "cosmetic" injury of missing multiple scales, I dare say yours is in much more dire straits. Luckily mine has recovered quite nicely, after following Dick B.'s advice from the above thread. Again, it sounds like your situation is much worse, however. Contact a koi club near you and see if someone can take a look-see at your fish and help you out.

Good luck.

[jnorth]

Since you stated you were new to koi-keeping let me ask a few questions. How big is the koi? How many gallons is the tub? Do you have a filter on it? Do you an air pump running on it? Have you brought this tub inside? You need to bring the water temps up slowly. You can probably clean the wounds and apply biobandage to them and they may heal. I'm sure somebody else have more to offer.

[MikeM]

Freezing is not something I've dealt with. Some thoughts: If a portion of the flesh and muscle did freeze, then I believe you will lose this fish. If it was just the skin, you have a chance of recovery. High quality water...absolutely no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate ... with good aeration, temperature in lower 70sF and a mild antibiotic in the water to minimize external bacterial infection is about all you can do. Let the natural immune system kick-in. Probably best not to feed until it is moving normally.

If you were more advanced, and the fish moderately large (or larger), antibiotic injections might be in order. I'd not suggest that to anyone not skilled in giving injections.

Good luck.

[indamaya]

I just want to thank everyone so far who has replied to my plea for advice...I'm so out of my league with this situation. This koi was actually accidently sold to me as a shubunkin, so I'm a koi owner by chance, and since I've had him I've become fascinated with him, and very attached to him,(I really don't know if its a him even, just call him that ) How long can a fish go without eating if the water temp is over 50 degrees? Its about 56 now, and warming slowly but steadily. Last night I lifted him up for a bit to study the side that he lays on all the time-it has this "stuff" on it-hard to describe, but the scales are rough, and at the same time there seems to be a film of some sort that is attached-its kind of greyish? He also has what appears to be red streaks on his body on that side, but its difficult to tell as he has so much red coloration on him as it is. I am going to do some checking to see if there is a koi organization here in town and try to get some advice from them. Since I wasn't prepared for a disaster of this magnitude, I didn't have enough tanks for all the fish that I had to bring in,(there were 8 other assorted goldfish, comets, etc.), so the koi is in a tub, about 25 gal, with a powerhead to aerate, and thats it for now. He is about 9 in. long-will this be sufficient while he's not moving around much, or eating? Again, thanks for all the help-its great to know this resource is out there

[mitten]

I'm local. I PM'd indamaya. Not much hope for this fish. The cold Indamaya is talking about was 3*F and since then nights have been about 15. I love it when Mulberry and Jim North talk about the cold, but I figure if Terri doesn't sputter and guffaw I won't.

Mickey the windowman

[indamaya]

Thanks Mickey,
I'll try to call tomorrow pm...I'm watching three giggling little girls tonight and not much chance of calling until I take them home tomorrow. I sure hope there is some hope-but I don't want him to suffer, either. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[mulberryjen]

Quote: Originally Posted by mitten I'm local. I PM'd indamaya. Not much hope for this fish. The cold Indamaya is talking about was 3*F and since then nights have been about 15. I love it when Mulberry and Jim North talk about the cold, but I figure if Terri doesn't sputter and guffaw I won't. Mickey the windowman

In Kentucky, it's cold when you have to wear shoes outside.

[indamaya]

-Well, Mickey, you were right....my poor koi died the day after I got your message-I was so bummed...and I felt so badly that the poor fish probably suffered more than it needed to because of my ignorance as to how to treat it. But, I have learned alot from this site, and although I don't intend to buy another koi, if one does 'slip in' the way this one did, at least I'm armed with more knowledge-and probably all that I've learned will pertain to my goldfish and comets as well, so although I hope none of them go through what Neptune did, at least I'll have a better handle on caring for them. Thanks again everyone.

[Kohaku]

Sorry to hear that. Better luck with your goldies.