# White patch on koi. HELP!



## koiboi (May 4, 2007)

I need a little helpÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ well a lot of help with a sick koi. He has a huge white patch on his back. See the picture? He is eating and swimming normally at the moment. 










First here is a little about my aquarium so maybe someone will have enough info to help.

55 gallon
Freshwater
IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve had the aquarium for many years.
4 small koi, 4 orange goldfish, 2 pleco algae eaters.
No live plants cause the fish tear them to peaces
Have an airstone.
About once a week I change about 20 percent of water using a siphon to vacuum the trash. 
Every time I add new water I treat it with Aqua Safe to remove chlorine.
Test once a week with quick Dip test strips and it says:

Nitrate Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦20 (it says it is in the safe range)
The NitriteÃ¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦.0 (which is a huge sigh of relief. I never have any trouble there)
Total hardnessÃ¢â‚¬Â¦..25 (it says that is very soft)
Total alkalinityÃ¢â‚¬Â¦.300 (it pretty much goes off the chart.)
PHÃ¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â¦8.4 (the color strip is fushia/red so is could be between 7.8 to 8.4) (very alkaline)

I have researched a lot and purchased a few books about correct water levels but I am clearly no expert. One thing I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t understand is when I read the test strip it said I have very soft water but it is extremely alkaline. From everything IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve read soft water is usually not very alkalineÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get it. IsnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t hard water the one that is alkaline? :?: 

Most of my fish live many years with these conditions and the only serious disease IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve treated was ich last year. I bought a new small koi and algae eater last week and I think maybe something was bad in the water he came in. I know I should put new fish in quarantineÃ¢â‚¬Â¦what was I thinking.  But who know what caused it. A few days ago the fish were all jumpy like maybe something was burning them. I changed 50% of the water and they were all swimming back to normal. Except for one. He had a bit of dead skin on his back and he died.  Very sad since he was one of my favorite. 

Now my other favorite koi has a huge white patch of dead skin on his side (I think that is what it is). The fish is usually black and orange and I think he is very beautiful and I would hate for him to be sick. The patch got bigger but it doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t seem to be spreading anymore now. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think it is fungus (could be though) because it looks more like dead skin. Could it be costia? Every time someone comes over they always comment on him. The woman at the petshop said he was a regular goldfish but I think he is a koi because his mouth is on the bottom and he has whiskers. I have never seen a Koi so short and wide like him. He has so much energy and is the fastest of all my fishÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ 

Okay enough bragging. He is just cuteÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ :wink: deal with it! What the heck is wrong with him though? Can you see the patch in the picture I provided? That wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t there last week. I took out the carbon in the filter and treated the fish with Melafix last week. I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t tell if it is working though. So today I went to the Petshop and the lady told me to feed him medicine food called neomycin to treat bacterial infection and add stress coat to sooth the skin. I am gonna try that tonight. Does anyone think this might work or have any idea what that hideous white patch might be? 

So Sorry if this was a lot to read but I want to provide a lot of information so maybe someone out there might know what to do. :idea: Thanks!


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## Age of Aquariums (Apr 13, 2007)

Just keep him eating, that is all I can think of.


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## koiboi (May 4, 2007)

Well I tried a few drops of that medicine food last night and he ate 3 drops of it last night. He was suppose to eat 5 but I think he might have gotten bored with the taste or something. I think he did good eating a little of it though. I gave up on the medicine food and when I put flakes in there he ate them up. If he lives he lives. I've lost fish before but it still hurts to lose one. At least I know I tried to help. He is still eating normal but if the other fish start to bite him, that is when I'll put him in a tank by himself. Two of the fish love the medicine food and were fighting over it even though they don't need medicine. I guess some fish respond better to food medicine and others need the kind you pour in the tank.


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