The photos and video that follow are quite graphic
and make not be advisable for the weak at the knee type person.
Pond was accessed. Fish scoped, no parasites found. Of the 32
fish in the 5,000 gallon pond all but about 4 or 5 had ulcers, fin, tail or
mouth rot. The fish below, which by the way won koi of the year award for
our club in 2003, was by far the worst. The Pectoral fin was just barely
hanging on to the body. As you can see the infection rotted away in the
"pit" of the pectoral fin. The fin was just barely hanging on. I
knew it was a long shot to try to stitch and have it hold. I was hoping
the fish would just hold the fin to its body until it had time to heal.
The surgery table was set up. Bath towels covered in bubble wrap
The damage.
If you look close you will see the suturing
material
lying on the fish.
Below are the videos. I had to do short video's to make sure it would
work on a wider range of computers. At one point the fish did come out of
anesthetic and had to be put back under.
I wish I could say it was a success, the fish recovered from anesthetic and
was swimming holding the injured fin close to its body, just as I had
hoped. About an hour later it decided to try to jump at which point the 4
stitches ripped. I will be going back on Tuesday and assess the
fish. Not sure what to do at this point.
This fish was the 2nd worst. The mouth rot had eaten away the
lower jaw. The owners report the fish is still eating. It is just a
"wait and see" now on how much it will heal with antibiotic injections.
All 32 fish from the pond were injected and the wounds cleaned with Potassium
Permanganate. I will be returning in 2 days to Charlotte to check the progress.
The fish were moved to 2 show tanks to a garage along with the filter. The
owners have a heater and will gradually raise the temperature from 61 to about
75 over the next few days.
