Use the following tips to speed up recovery time if your Koi has an ulcer or bacterial infection.
- Move the Koi to a hospital tank
Keeping Koi in a small tank during an illness will allow you to easily keep an eye on the fish during its treatment and recovery. It will also let you easily catch the sick fish to administer treatment. A hospital tank setup needs adequate filtration, aeration and regular water changes. You want to provide an optimum environment for the Koi to live in while it's healing. - Add salt to the water
Add one pound per 100 gallons of pure salt (no additives like Iodine) to boost their slime coat thickness and to help the sick Koi with its osmoregulatory system. The osmoregulatory system controls how much water a fish absorbs and expels from its body. If your Koi is in the pond, remove any plants. Salt kills freshwater plants. - Follow the veterinarian's treatment regimen
Only a vet can prescribe internal antibiotics to an animal. The vet will give you a treatment regimen to follow with the antibiotics. If there are no fish vets in your area, you can try a Tricide-neo medicated bath to treat an ulcer. - Keep the water warm
Keep the water at 75 degrees F. Warmer water speeds up their immune system and their healing time. - Don't move your Koi until it's healed up
Moving your Koi back to the pond before the ulcer has healed is a bad idea. The hospital tank will have a low bacteria count in the water, which is good for a healing Koi. A pond will have a higher bacteria count, since it is a larger body of water that is stocked with many fish. Moving your Koi back before it is healed up is a great way to have another infection happen to your fish.
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