Bought a koi with a bad fin

[jnorth]

To answer your question. It was probably born that way. My advice though is to stay away from pet stores. If you don't see the sad looking deformed koi then you wont feel sorry for them and then you wont buy them.

[moikoi]

Quote: Originally Posted by koikiller hes in the 100 gallon getting sterilized. so did i get ripped off? 20 dollars for a 10" koi...

yep....should of been FREE.

[PapaBear]

Our $20 Koi (14" Kohaku) has all it's fins, no freckles, no speckles, no problems whatsoever. It's just pond grade, but it is all in one piece... If it had been "broken" when we saw it we wouldn't have bought it in the first place. The only "defective" koi we've ever had was born in our pond, missed shimbetzu, and made the cut by default
Brutucz is right. Buying deformed Koi from dealers only encourages more defectives making it to the marketplace. Next time you feel like buying a worthless fish for 20 bucks pick up one from Kodama on ebay (Of course there's still the matter of the $115 shipping fee )

[keokoi]

About 4 years ago I was at Seki's when he drove up his truck with new koi fresh outta the mudpond. He had this shiro that was too die for. The problem was 1 fin was noticeably smaller than the other. He was getting rid of it cheap. The Shiro was about 16" from what I recall. The funny thing is we all contemplated it as it was that good.. LOL

We ended up not buying it. But sure was a nice shiro

JOe

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by koikiller hes in the 100 gallon getting sterilized. so did i get ripped off? 20 dollars for a 10" koi...

Well you figure a Japanese Tosai 5-7 inches goes for around $30-40, that is Grade A-AA...I think you are better off buying from a place with a bigger selection.

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquitori Well you figure a Japanese Tosai 5-7 inches goes for around $30-40, that is Grade A-AA...I think you are better off buying from a place with a bigger selection.

There is always the 4 for $100 bin. You could probably find a Grand Champion Showa there.

[Auntiesue]

You have a kind heart and I can't fault you for bringing home a koi that needed a good home. If you feel you'll get $20 of pleasure from raising that fish, then by all means, you haven't spent the $20 unwisely!! Take good care of him/her and he/she will likely become a favorite.

[CarolinaGirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by koikiller hes in the 100 gallon getting sterilized. so did i get ripped off? 20 dollars for a 10" koi...

I am curious about this statement. He's getting sterilized? Does that mean you are treating him for parasites? You do realize there are some things you cannot treat for, and if introduced into your pond you could kill all your fish....right? If not, read up on KHV (Koi herpes virus). I am glad you did QT him though. Good move.

[mitten]

I pictured bleach and Comet.

[CarolinaGirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by mitten I pictured bleach and Comet.

yeah....me too. There is no way to sterilize a koi, at least a live one. Autoclave maybe???