Feeding during PP Treatment

[gcuss]

Hi All,

So in preparation for the homecoming of my Ogata growout fish. I PP'd the QT pond. There's a couple good ole boys from the suicide squad already in there making things fishy for the new comers.

My question, can you feed during PP treatments? I'm going to PP for four days, and follow up with a final treatment on day 6 just to be sure, and the SS are begging like crazy.... Can I make 'em happy?

(I'm wayyy over filtered in the QT as it's only 2000 gals and I like lot's of "oops" room, so I haven't bypassed the filters because I was told/read that if you have huge filtration, shouldn't be an issue.)


Thanks,

Grant

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by gcuss Hi All, So in preparation for the homecoming of my Ogata growout fish. I PP'd the QT pond. There's a couple good ole boys from the suicide squad already in there making things fishy for the new comers. My question, can you feed during PP treatments? I'm going to PP for four days, and follow up with a final treatment on day 6 just to be sure, and the SS are begging like crazy.... Can I make 'em happy? (I'm wayyy over filtered in the QT as it's only 2000 gals and I like lot's of "oops" room, so I haven't bypassed the filters because I was told/read that if you have huge filtration, shouldn't be an issue.) Thanks, Grant

I would not feed. Your PP regimen will cut the filter function back and feeding the Koi will only add to the ammonia spike you will probably get. If you are way over filtered then why would you even need to PP?

[gcuss]

Quote: If you are way over filtered then why would you even need to PP?

Call me paranoid I guess. The pond has just recently been declared the "QT" and hasn't had anything in it for about 6 mos now besides water. I did a bunch of water changes, and now just want to zap it to make sure it's bug free.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'll probably hold off on feeding until after the PP cycle is done.

Grant

[bekko]

PP works by oxidizing organic matter. Feed is organic matter. Seems like feeding would increase the PP demand and shorten the effective period (before it turns borwn).

-steve

[gcuss]

I was thinking of feeding following the "Active period" (once the water is brown) but I'll just hold off until I'm done nuking the pond)

Thanks Steve

Grant

[gspotmc]

Grant,
Did you learn using pp from this forum or somewhere else? I would suggest changing that habit. I would'nt even recommend it. There are other ways. Anywya just my 2 cents.

[gcuss]

Quote: Originally Posted by gspotmc Grant, Did you learn using pp from this forum or somewhere else? I would suggest changing that habit. I would'nt even recommend it. There are other ways. Anywya just my 2 cents.

TBH I don't recall exactly where I learned it. But it seemed to be commonly used by a lot of people. I've read positive things about it on a couple of koi health forums as long as it's used carefully.

I realize it's a "shotgun" approach and don't think it would be the first thing I reached for if I discovered a parasite on one of my fish. I'd rather treat more accurately. However, I was under the impression that it's very useful as a clean up tool when prepping a pond for fish, as well as treatment of external bacteria infections and parasite problems....

I haven't used it yet for parasite control. As stated, I try and treat for the problem... ie: prazi/proform C/ topicals and such.

Would you care to expand on why you don't use it? Any chance to learn and I'm all ears.

Thank you for your interest!

Grant

[MCA]

Quote: So in preparation for the homecoming of my Ogata growout fish. I PP'd the QT pond. There's a couple good ole boys from the suicide squad already in there making things fishy for the new comers.

Why?

If the QT is dirty then increase filtration, aeration, and water changes.

Scrape and scope the QT fish to know FOR SURE if that have parasites and then treat according. The pending arrival of new fish is a totally seperate issue. The fish in the QT deserve to be parasite free anyway. Again, scrape and scope....then treat accordingly

[gcuss]

Quote: Originally Posted by MCA Why? If the QT is dirty then increase filtration, aeration, and water changes. Scrape and scope the QT fish to know FOR SURE if that have parasites and then treat according. The pending arrival of new fish is a totally seperate issue. The fish in the QT deserve to be parasite free anyway. Again, scrape and scope....then treat accordingly

As stated, it was my understanding that it's a nice way to really get a pond squeaky clean. The QT is a liner pond (no plants and vertical walls) and I did take care with taping down the folds to avoid collection of debris...

I honestly thought I was just playing it safe... Seems to me, PP isn't that popular. Could someone shed some light as to why? I did some searching and the only negatives I could find were in regards to overdosing and the like...

Thanks,

Grant

[JasPR]

Hi Grant, I think what you need to think about and get your head around is the definition of clean water. There is healthy water that appears clean and there is sterile swimming pool water that also appears 'clean'. But they are really very different. Clean pond water has some small level of bacteria in it. It may also have harmless protozoa in it. It certainly has clear algae cells in it. And it does have some slight level of 'undesirables' in it. But if these undesirables are not in large quantities, they are harmless. It is only when organics get out of hand and they encourage undesirable species of bacteria and algae that there is an issue. And they only get out of hand when something si fundamentally worng with pond design, stocking levels or maintenance programs. So good healthy pond water can be crystal clear. But you will notice at some points in the day it is tinted or has some particulate matter in it- this is NOT a bad thing, this is a good thing and the sign of a very healthy system, especially if the pond changes to a very clean condition after the sun moves lower in the sky. You will notice that the fish's skin stays very shiny in this type of water.
PP is very valuable when you need an oxidizing agent that can cut back living species that are not part of a healthy system- I.E., a parasite infestation. This is typically the result of an imbalance in water quality and microbe species. PP becomes more 'necessary' than 'desirable' but also creates a situation of dependency.
If you look at PP that way, you will never tend to overuse it.
If you find you need to use it often, look to the cause or reason that you need so much intervention. If you fix the fundamental problem once you will never need to us PP over and over. JR