Anonymous  
Extra large UK bred Koi! #1
Hi
I have numerous selection of Koi and Goldfish in a 1500 gal self dug pond. The pond has been thriving for nearly ten years now and I tend to do water changes twice a year and the fish are hardened to it.
My biggest UK bred Koi is about 2 feet long and wieghs nearly 15lb. Over the last few weeks she has swollen around the rear area enormously. This has made me think he is a she...we named him Robert!
I came home tonite to find the fish listing and restless woth her fins and the size of her has worried me. I netted her out and, on the whole, she is in fine condition, no slime, no raised scales except for extra large abdomen. Coming out of her vent was a thick black streamer (excrement?) and behind it, what looked like normal coloured excrement. Her vent is swollen and a distinct dark colouring can be seen inside her/him.

I am wondering if he/sher has an internal infection or she is overloaded with roe which have gone rotten?
I have never had young Koi in the pond before but Goldfish are breeding well...too well!

Be grateful for any advice
fredrick_more fredrick_more
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Re: Extra large UK bred Koi! #2
Hi, im not an expert on ponds but i know a little about coldwater tanks and they are sort of the same , as you said it could be an internal infection but theres a few other things it could be. First of all what type of food do you feed them on? Has it any other problems? Has it been under any stress lately? I recently had a simlear problem with a fancy gold fish i have which it kept eating a water lilly which i had with it and it also became bloated.
captk captk
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Re: Extra large UK bred Koi! #3
Hi drosos.

Welcome to our forum.

Are you saying that the koi is bloated over along the belly? Have you noticed any spawning behaviour? How long has she been bloated? Have you noticed similar bloating before? Any chance of a pic?

Can you catch her again? It would be good to get you to feel the belly gently. Does it feel mushy or firm? If you put a little bit of pressure with your fingers, moving from the front/side of the belly towards the vent, do you see anything leaks out? Especially black tinged liquid or eggs. Also check her gills. They should be fresh meat red. Are they pale pink or any other colour?

Sorry for all the questions and please post back soon!
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Anonymous  
Re: Extra large UK bred Koi! #4
Hi Captk and frederick
Thanks for your early replies.
I have felt her/his belly and it's quite firm and when I ran my hand to 'milk' her/him and there was a black tionged liquid that started to seep a little. But the fish also flapped a bit when I did that.
I have noticed her coasting around with other Koi following her with their noses nudging her belly in the vent area but nothing has come of it this last week.
However in late May she was fat for a while then she suddenly went thin, I supposed she had laid eggs but were eaten more or less straight away. this had happened before in recent years. I put her age about 10 years by the way.
Her abdomen is swollen like a football rather than the length of her belly and has been swollen longer than the last time in May.

The food I feed her and the others are fishsticks (Multi colour), all theother fish seem OK with it.

I will check her gills when it is light (it's 0430 at the moment!) But her actions are quite normal except for her 'restless' pectoral fin movements, short and quicker than normal.
Is she waiting for the right circumstaces to lay? I would hate to think she/he is suffering.
captk captk
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Re: Extra large UK bred Koi! #5
Hmm, koi don't usually get constipated, their gut is too simple to have that problem. The black coloured liquid is a real concern. I would say that the May "fattening" would be eggs as it is your spring and spawning season.

With this swelling, I'm suspecting two things, egg impaction, the eggs didn't get reabsorbed when spawning didn't happen. They are just sitting in her belly and they will rot in time. Or a tumor growing in the belly.
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Anonymous  
Re: Extra large UK bred Koi! #6
Hi Captk
Thanks again.
I have just checked her gills and they are a deep red colour.
I gave her a gentle squeeze towards the vent and a little of the dark liquid came out.
I placed her back in the water and she swum happily away followed by another Koi who was nudging her under her belly. I will give it a few more days and see what happens. Perhaps she is a hesitant, fussy mother-to-be?
thanks again for your help I will keep you posted of any events in the near future.
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Re: Extra large UK bred Koi! #7
Yes, we'll keep our fingers X'ed. Please keep us posted.
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