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Overview
Quarantine,
over the years, has become more important than ever. The world market of Koi and
ornamental fish, has
become much smaller. Koi and ornamentals are being shuffled to countries with
little regard for their overall health. Inbreeding and protection from the
elements has left us with less resistant fish, while overuse of antibiotics has
produced more resistant strains of bacteria.
KHV--(Koi Herpes Virus), a Koi
specific virus
with
it's 90% fatality rate, has reared
it's ugly head yet again! This time in Japan, first in food Carp and now in
Ornamental Koi. KHV is a killer, that can wipe out whole pond populations, and
has been reported sporadically in all parts of the world. More information on
this disease can be found here under KHV link. While
there is no known cure for KHV, quarantine will prevent introducing this
killer to your healthy pond fish.
How
Long--
Unless you are absolutely, positively, 100% sure about the good health of
your purchase, you must quarantine your fish for at least 4, preferably 10 weeks
in a separate container or pond with aeration and filtration. 4 weeks minimum
because the growth cycle of most parasites is 21 days, so in 4 weeks you should
see if parasites are present.
How To--
In the case of
Koi, the container should be no less than 100 Gal. per 3" fish, Goldfish
need only 1/2 the volume. The quarantine station should have it's own filtering
and aeration systems, and should contain aged water or water from your existing
pond. A heater to keep the water temperature steady, is also a good addition.
Test the water with a good test kit in your pond and quarantine tank
separately, if the parameters are not within 1 color of each other, add water
from the pond to your holding tank until this balance is achieved.
Place your fish into your quarantine tank catching them in the palms of
both hands and releasing them into your tank. This method of transfer has proven
to be the least stressful or harmful to the fish.
Monitor the water quality of your quarantine tank by testing the water
daily, for the first 5 days and then once every three days. If your fish show
signs of distress i.e. flashing, inactivity, sores or parasites call your vendor
first to ask for recommendations, or search here for some first aid procedures.
KHV suspects should also have their water heated to 90 degrees f to help
determine if the disease exists in it's latent form. There have been reports
that raising the temperature will cause the disease to become inactive, but
further studies need to be done.
Cross Contamination--
Do Not use nets, containers, or any other implements from your quarantine
tank in your main pond, if you do, you may cross-contaminate your pond. We, at
Werner's are fortunate to be able to have our quarantine off site, which greatly
lessens the chance of cross contamination. Keep your quarantine containers as
far away from your main pond as possible to avoid splash cross contamination.
Tools such as nets, bowls, towels etc. should be disinfected with a bleach
solution after use. Disinfecting of tanks, nets and other implements can be
accomplished by a “Spray” of 1 ounce of Household Bleach to 29 ounces of
water. This will destroy fungus, bacteria and viruses on clean surfaces. Do not
use the spray on your fish. Rinse your implements with water after using the
spray.
After Quarantine--
After the quarantine period, introduce your fish to your main pond,
making sure your water parameters in your pond are equal to your quarantine
tank, if not, add 5% of pond water to your quarantine tank every day until the
water test show equal parameters.
Most of the time, the fish will not eat for up to three days after being
introduced to a new home, this is normal and should not be cause for concern.
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