should i be worried?

[Gazzeruk]

Hey all

 

first off nice forum, just been browsing for a hour or so and some really good info, and sweet links to some sites.

 

right my problem, first off i've a 6x5mtrs, 2 to 4ft deep garden pond, on a pump, uv filter. never really had a problem in 2 years of running it. but last spring i got myself a little koi made a total of 4 koi, 5 goldfish, 2 comets. and a sturgeon.

 

well summer went on pond did well no real problems. then hit autum and the little koi started getting what i think is carp poxs. white and waxy on the fins he seemed ok so i didn't worrie. now everything been fine in the pond none have died or anything, really pleased. the little koi is not so little put he still got his poxs, funny thing is in last 2 weeks i've also noticed all my carp are now getting affect and it's suddenly growing alot faster on the host fish. half is dorsal and tail are covered. nothing on his skin, same for others.

 

 

should i be worried, i thought carp poxs was a cold water thing, and warm water kills it. tried it over the winter on orginal fish and it did seem to make them disapear. what i don't understand is it's now summer. have i mistaked carp poxs for something else. sorry no pic or anything just got to take my word it just white waxy growths,

 

if it helps about 2 month ago i got a small blue orfe thats doing well. no signs of any illness tho

 

 

// ps

one of the infected fish is a 5 year old carp. hes the biggest fish i got good twice size of any other carp ( i also thought carp poxs tend not to infect older carp)

[Newt]

Welcome to AnglersNet. Weekends are usually pretty slow so you may not see any helpful advice before Monday due to lack of readers.

[Gazzeruk]

Welcome to AnglersNet. Weekends are usually pretty slow so you may not see any helpful advice before Monday due to lack of readers.

 

 

thanks, still checking the forums out

[Steve Walker]

You're right that it sounds like carp pox, and that carp pox is usually a thing they get early in the year. It's a herpes virus, and like cold sores in humans it stays dormant and tends to flare up under conditions of poor health or stress. Low water temperatures impede the carp's immune system in dealing with it, but it usually clears up when the water gets warmer.

 

If I were you, I would be concerned that this was an indication that something else was not right with the pond. I'd check the water quality as a first step, but it it sounds as if you have a large, mature pond with, unless your fish are very large, a sensibly low stocking density, so I doubt you have problems in that area. It doesn't sound very deep, so you may be getting big temperature swings and low oxygenation at high temperatures, but I would expect your sturgeon to kark it long before your koi got sick.

 

I think I would be tempted to net one of the fish out for a closer look, just to ensure that they all have carp pox and not something else. Elton had something really nasty on one of his koi which did look superficially like carp pox. Otherwise, provided that the water tests OK for ammonia and nitrite and that the fish are showing no signs of distress due to low oxygen / high temperatures, I would just keep an eye on them.

[Gazzeruk]

You're right that it sounds like carp pox, and that carp pox is usually a thing they get early in the year. It's a herpes virus, and like cold sores in humans it stays dormant and tends to flare up under conditions of poor health or stress. Low water temperatures impede the carp's immune system in dealing with it, but it usually clears up when the water gets warmer.

 

If I were you, I would be concerned that this was an indication that something else was not right with the pond. I'd check the water quality as a first step, but it it sounds as if you have a large, mature pond with, unless your fish are very large, a sensibly low stocking density, so I doubt you have problems in that area. It doesn't sound very deep, so you may be getting big temperature swings and low oxygenation at high temperatures, but I would expect your sturgeon to kark it long before your koi got sick.

 

I think I would be tempted to net one of the fish out for a closer look, just to ensure that they all have carp pox and not something else. Elton had something really nasty on one of his koi which did look superficially like carp pox. Otherwise, provided that the water tests OK for ammonia and nitrite and that the fish are showing no signs of distress due to low oxygen / high temperatures, I would just keep an eye on them.

 

 

pond isn't as deep has i would like. mostly because it's ground level going to make it into a koi pond next year me thinks, has for temp, about 2 3rds of the pond is in the shade, only the planted shallow end is in full sun, had to put a net over this year because some greedy magpies have been eyeing my fish up!!!!

 

i've checked the fish to see if the white sores have any colour in them, but there all perfect white waxy like. i can't think of anything else it can be but carp pox. just seems funny that this year all my carp have them, and only started getting them past few weeks, when it's been the warmest too. really strange, then again when dealing with fish, most things are strange. my sturgeon is my fav fish, he's a meter now had him since he was little. never had a problem with him, i was told that if anything is up with the water then my sturgeon would be first to feel it. i'm going to have to get some testing kits for the water.

 

anyone able to give me a rough gideline to what i should look for in the test results? i'm only used to water testing my tropical tanks. not my garden pond

[Steve Walker]

Same as your tropical tank, really. You don't want detectable ammonia or nitrite, bit of nitrate won't do any harm. TBH, if your sturgeon looks OK it's unlikely there's a problem, but water quality is always the first thing I'd check as a matter of course.