The nose knows...

Let's see what other little tidbit can I tell you about a koi's anatomy? Smell?? In humans taste is waterborne and smell is airborne. In Koi of course it's all waterborne, so the distinction is blurred. Koi have narels on their heads just forward of their eyes. Some koi will display large almost fluffy, tuffs of skin around their nasal receptors. Taste can occur in the mouth, on barbels, or elsewhere on the body. Less appreciated is the role of chemoreception in behavior and orientation. Detection of pheromones is important in breeding and schooling.
Salmon use acute chemoreception in homing in their birth place. When salmon are small in their home stream, they imprint on the subtle unique odors that the watershed gives that particular stream. After migrating downstream and living for years in the ocean, they are able to "sniff" their way home. If the natural stream odors are overwhelmed by a smelly substance, the salmon will imprint on that and later home to wherever the researchers dispense the odoriferous substance. Another experiment showed that blinded salmon could find their way home, but salmon with their nares plugged could not. ( reference to all this can be found in Fundamentals of Ornamental Fish Health, by Helen Roberts)

Comments from Prof. Richard Strange

Ok, Professor Strange has already gotten back to me regarding the "air bladder coming out of the mouth" issue. (Read previous post if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) The following are his comments:
"Hi Jackie, actually that is a great question. The gas bladder is not connected to the esophagus, so when you see the "gas bladder" protruding from a fish's mouth what you really see is inverted stomach being pushed out by the huge bladder. The bladder membrane is right behind the stomach membrane. If a fish is returned to the water with an expanded gas bladder, it will take hours to reabsorb the gas and sink making it vulnerable to birds, etc. Piercing the gas bladder carefully (a hypodermic needle is best) going through the stomach membrane and then into the gas bladder behind it, is preferable to letting the fish flounder. The best thing to do is put the fish in a weighted/modified crab pot and lowering the fish back down to bottom, the bladder shrinks and the fish swims out. No doubt there internal damage when the bladder/stomach prolapsed, but many fish survive.
Richard"

The picture above is not a koi and you will never see this in koi, but just a picture so you know what happens to other deep water fish with air bladders.

So there, I won't lay awake wondering about that anymore...now how do I find the origin of "souped up"???

What do you wonder about?

Do you ever wake up early and lie in bed thinking about really stupid things? Over the weekend I actually woke up thinking about something I recently read in one of my Koi Health books. I was reading the chapter on a Koi's air bladder and how they worked. To clarify, an air bladder is not used as a respiratory organ in fish, but rather a buoyancy organ. It allows the fish to move up in down in the water. And, most of us (me included) think a fish must inflate their air bladder in order to float or move up in the water. And, then deflate them in order to move down. When in fact it's the opposite. Air bladders are actually filled with gas that is pulled/reabsorbed from the blood. It does not change size either. It's not a balloon that gets bigger or smaller as it releases or takes on gas. It only changes pressure within. Water pressure is greatest as it deepens (deepens? is that a word?) Anyway, to maintain the size of an air bladder the fish must actually take on gas (or inflate) as it swims down in order to equalize the pressure of the water pushing in on the fish. The reverse would occur when the fish swims up. If it did not decrease the amount of gas in the bladder, the decreasing hydrostatic pressure would allow the elastic bladder to balloon, making the fish more buoyant, and it would pop up to the surface over-inflated and unable to swim down. So, fish inflate (put more gas into the bladder) as they swim down and deflate (reabsorb gas from the bladder) when they swim up. An example of this occurs in deep water fishing. A fish hooked and brought up rapidly is unable to deflate the gas bladder quickly enough and the fish is bloated with a greatly expanded bladder, sometimes protruding out of it's mouth. Now, since I fish, I have seen this phenomenon in hooked fish. But, what got me wondering is: if the air bladder is not connected to the mouth or esophagus in anyway, how can it come out of the mouth?? Does it rupture some organ to find it's way out? It would be like our heart expanding so much it comes out our mouth?? Now, does that make sense to you? So, that's what I laid awake ponding. Not how the air bladder works, but how the heck it could come out of the mouth??? Is that weird or what? I don't think I questioned it before cause for some weird reason I thought the air bladder was part of a respiratory system, so would have a connection to the mouth like our own lungs do. But it's not...So I'm going to email Richard Strange. The contributing author for this book. I actually took his Koi bacterial course, so ya, I have his email address. I got to get to the bottom of this.
And then, just this morning coming to work I heard this song that had the words "souped up" as in "they souped up their cars to see how fast they would go." "Souped up" wonder where that old saying came from? Anybody know? What do you wonder about? ???

Geesh, Saturday it was raining and the aeration hole in the pond opened back up again and there was standing water on the thinning ice and today as I look out the window, there's a freakin blizzard out there! I know, we say "welcome to Iowa" in an attempt to smooth it over some, but truth is: This is getting really, really old! A recent article in Koi magazine was really berating us Iowa(northern koi keepers) for keeping koi outside under the ice. He said it shouldn't be done and the fish are not thriving but narrowly surviving. Made me feel bad. I too, have previously lost koi under the ice and it was devastating. As a KHA, part of our mission is to spread the word about koi keeping and encourage the hobby. But from experience and watching many a pond owner kill their favorite finned friends, I too, am beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe, having koi is not for everybody. People say they are tuff and a domesticated carp, but the truth is they've been so inner bred that they are more like the tender orchid in the flower world. I see people putting 100 koi in a 100 gallon tank, or ponds that are not well cared for. Dirty ponds, feeding them cat food, or not feeding them at all. I wish I had a dollar for every time I stood next to a sick pond and they told me they'd been doing the same thing for 5 years and the fish have always been fine. But you know, I've done all those mistakes too. I've killed more koi than anyone I know! So occasionally I need a wake up call, that tells me, "it's OK. Don't be critical. Sure fish died, but,
that's how I learned and that's how they will learn also." Heck, I'm still learning. I learn from other people's sick fish. And, occasionally from my own, still. So while this article in Koi magazine upsets me, (and maybe he's right, maybe we have no business trying to keep Koi under the ice) I still plod out there to check on them and worry about them. January is almost over.So that's at least 2 months under the ice, already. February is still to come and can be as bad as January. I know Mother Nature rules, so am just hoping she'll help me out a little this year and bring an early Spring. The fish inside are oblivious to it all. Let's see how can I possibly make room for another pond down there for the other fish? Maybe if I got rid of the 2 selves of seasonal house decorations. I'm sure Harry wouldn't miss them. Furnace is taking up entirely too much room. Got any ideas how to get rid of that?

Lymphocystis - another viral disease

Lymphocystis is another viral illness of koi. Often confused with Carp pox, its appearance only differs in that under a microscope it will appear to look like a cluster of grapes. It infects dermal fibroblasts, causing them to swell up to 100,000 times their normal size, resulting in groups of white to gray nodules, similar to a mulberry. Lymphocystis is transmitted when infected skin cells rupture and release viral particles into the water. As with carp pox, specific treatment is typically not required; improvement in environmental conditions and removal of underlying stressors typically result in spontaneous resolution. Again, its viral, so is "catchy" to the other fish. I recently was given a fish to take home and euthanize, as the owner didn't have the chemicals to do it painlessly. This was a 12 inch koi that without any warning broke out with "raised spots" all over its body. It had never before displayed any problems, other than maybe slowed growth. The owner felt the fish may have also been blind. Upon examination, I found his eyes appeared clear but seemed to be covered with a slime of sorts. The "spots" appeared bumpy like a mulberry and under the microscope looked like grapes. Just like the text book (love it when that happens!) I did however keep the fish alive for over 3 days as even with spots it was a beautiful fish and I just didn't have the heart to kill it. What do you do with an infectious fish? I agonized over it. I wouldn't put him in my pond. Couldn't see giving it away for someone else to put in their pond if I wouldn't do it. The owner didn't want him back or in his pond!!! Poor guy. He was a fish with no home. So on day 4, I finally euthanized the fish using a lethal dose of MS222 (used to put fish to sleep)and walking away for a day. It was very sad. And, still bothers me today to think about him. He's buried under a flower in my garden. If you think my flowers look nice, its because its a secret koi burial ground. Only the fish gods know.

Carp pox?

A recent reader asked about carp pox in koi/goldfish. While there are several viruses that affect fish, 3 are well-known. The most common viral disease is Carp Pox. In koi, it causes epidermal hyperplasia (swelling) and results in papillomatous white to gray plaques on fins and skin that is often described as "candle wax" in appearance. The lumps can be scrapped away, but the removed material is infectious. Carp pox is generally seen in the cooler water temps during the winter and spring when fish are generally stressed. As the water warms, it usually will regress. After regression, the viral genome has been found in spinal nerves, cranial nerves, and subcutaneous tissue. I compare this to humans and shingles or even cold sores. Shingles is a viral disease that comes from chicken pox. The sleeping virus sits in our lower back and under stress can erupt as shingles in humans. Cold sores are a type of herpes virus just like carp pox. It lies harmlessly in our bodies and in our fish until stress causes it to reemerge. In fish it is usually an environmental stimuli. Cold water, overcrowding, poor water quality, etc. There is no known cure for viruses. Specific treatment is typically not required;improvement in environmental conditions and removal of underlying stressors typically results in spontaneous resolution. The condition is generally not life threatening to the fish carrier itself. However, the catch 22 is, if left in the pond with other fish it can be transmitted to them. "Usually", initially you may see one fish with it, then next year 2, and then more. Again, it is not life threatening to the fish, but can be unsightly. If fish are healthy and happy they may never display symptoms, as it is thought to be stress related. Also, keep in mind that if you see one fish with it in your pond, then it is probably too late as all fish have probably been at least exposed to the virus, even if they don't show symptoms. Personally, I have seen it in many ponds and even my own. In my own pond,I pulled the fish and put it to sleep. I have seen no further recurrence in my fish.
There are 2 other common skin conditions in fish, and I'll address them in the next 2 post.
ATTENTION: Please don't handle sick fish with your bare hands, always use gloves. Many fish diseases are infections to people too!!

More thoughts on pumps.....

Well for the first time since Dec. 25th the temps have reached above 30 degrees. As I stepped out from work I heard the familiar sound of water splashing in the street. As I drove to restaurant row to find some lunch, I was forced to use the wipers and fluid 3 times in the half mile jaunt. While I'm definitely glad the sub zero temps have passed for the mean time; the mud, water, and salt baths my vehicle must take just add to my further disdain of Winter. As a roofing contractor its good for business, don't get me wrong. The ice dams, plugged drains, and leaks are part of our winter bread and butter business. But I hate the dirty looking snow and tracked on floors that also accommodate this seasonal ritual. On the bright side the sun is shining. My outside pond can surely use the additional solar heat. The inside pond remains quiet, with no new occurrences of pumps failing. Speaking of pumps, I've been using a brand of pond pump that can be easily found at Menards. (With the exception of the 2 bigger Sequence pumps in the pump house) But, to run my stream and QT tanks, I've been using these smaller less expensive pumps. I started using them because if they failed I could easily take them back to Menards and get them replaced in the same day. They are inexpensive but come with a 2 year warranty. Which is a good thing because they almost always fail before then. I have learnt to always save the box and receipt. What they lack for quality they surely make up for with service. I guess I could spend more and maybe get a better pump, but all pumps fail (and usually without notice and when you need them the most). So instead of having to call for parts and wait for UPS or have to order a new pump by phone or over the Internet and wait for delivery, I have decided its just easier and more convenient to just get them locally. And even though its an inconvenience to have to continually return pumps, it hasn't cost me a dime for a smaller pump in years. A better pump would outlive its warranty and I'd have to buy a new one every few years. Understand my logic here? The only catch is they are a seasonal item at Menards, meaning you can't get one off the shelf in December. The last pump to fail in my basement pond was due to the notched center hole of the propeller wearing out. Since I couldn't go directly to the store and get a replacement I decided to call the company for a replacement part. To my surprise, instead of a new part, they sent me a whole new pump. All's I had to do was fax a receipt. No bad part or proof or anything. Needless to say, I was very pleased. (If I wanted to be really deceitful, I could box up the bad pump, wait another month till Menards restocked for the new season and get another free pump.) But, I won't. I'm just pleased with the quick and easy service. Still had to wait for UPS, so in the case of an emergency, I would of had to wait for a replacement. But, all in all, I'm pleased and will both recommend the pumps and keep using them myself. Its all about the service.
Weatherman just said its 41 degrees out. Its a heat wave by golly!

Digging out...

Well, temps are in the teens today and it feels a whole lot better. Not like anything is thawing out or anything but at least the wind is not cutting through you like a knife. Harry was kind enough to go out and shovel off the pond on Saturday. It was only around 0 out, but he claimed it was "nice out." He slipped on his jacket and fingerless gloves and was almost completely done, by the time I got out there with my 20 layers of clothing! I waddled out to the pond through the snow and dropped a dose of my bi-monthly bug juice into one of 3 teeny tiny holes still open in the ice. I also took out a thermometer to drop down to the bottom to get a temperature read. In the time it took me to walk to the pond it already read the ambient air as around 0. I dropped it to the bottom and patiently waited for it to react. I brought it up from a depth of about 2 1/2-3 feet, which was the bottom of the stream were my fish have been sitting under the inner tube light. It read right at 32 degrees. Harry said, "Well we know water freezes at 32 so the thermometer has to be off." I know that is true (unless there is salt present in the water) Salt in a winter pond will actually allow the water to get colder before it freezes. I keep no salt in my winter pond. So, I'm hoping he's right, cause again my KHA teaching say Koi can only tolerate temps to 35 before they begin to be really stressed. The warmest, denses water (39 degrees) should be on the bottom and the heat from the ground should hold it there. Again, I run on kind of a blind faith, hoping all will be OK. The aerator hole is down to a tiny 3 inch hole, but the ice around that area is softer and I broke through as I stepped off the ice just in time. The cord attached to the thermometer instantly froze so I could wave the thermometer out in front of me like some sort of weather vane. It was funny to look at, and made me crack a smile. (It's hard to find something to laugh about in this cold weather, we're all starting to get a little house bugging from staying inside too much.) I checked my plumbing pipes inside the unheated pump house and all was dry. I've had reports of broken pond pipes already with the extended cold. What a night mare that can be.

Comments for my post...

It was brought to my attention that people have been unable to leave comments following my post. I hope I have that fixed. Please try again, and if again you are unable to access it, will you kindly let me know. I'm only a begginer at these things and have no idea what half these questions mean when you are setting up a blog. So obviously it's something I had marked or not. Let me know if I got it fixed, please.

Do you shovel the snow off your pond?

Record low temps continue with 25-30 below zero windchill. No doubt its really, really cold out. Looks like the sun is going to shine at least today. Counted at least a dozen vehicles in the ditch this morning as I drove into work. Weather man just promised possibly getting back up to 30 above by next Wed. or Thurs. Never thought 30 degrees would sound good! Harry talked about possibly going out to the pond this weekend and digging it out. The recent high winds have buried it in snow. Its deceptively level out there and someone running across my yard would be really shocked if they fell down into the pond area thinking it was solid ground everywhere. I'll only let Harry shovel off the pond if I'm home. The aerator can produce what we call rotten ice, which is like honeycombed ice. I worry about him falling in and not being able to get out. So even though we do shovel the snow off the pond, we do take precautions. Its not something we get all excited about and think needs to be done "right this minute", but do it as soon as it warms a little. There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether you need to shovel the snow off. Some say no, and that it helps insulate the pond. My KHA training, says it should be removed. Allowing light to penetrate the pond prevents remaining algae and any submersible plants from thinking its night all the time. Plants expire CO2 and take up O2 during the night then, reverse the process during the daylight hours adding O2 back to the water. If they think it's night all the time they can contribute to the CO2 problems that already exist in a winter pond. Excess CO2 can contribute to a falling pH over time. In addition, snow, like rain, is very "soft" (like distilled water) in nature or can be very acidic, in certain regions like big polluted cities. Massive amounts of melting snow entering the pond can contribute to big pH changes. So for these reasons, and the fact we just want the fish to continue to have ordinary light/dark cycles, that we clean the snow off. Our pond has no submersible plants in it at all, but does have a healthy growth of algae on the sides. Technically, it's not the water surface that freezes, but the evaporating water from the surface that freezes. As water evaporates into the air, it becomes less dense as O2 mixes with it. This less dense vapor freezes. That is why there is always a small space of air between the water and the ice covering. Once a pond is covered with ice, freezing slows as the surface is now protected from blowing wind that contributes to the evaporation speed. Ice on the pond does not really "seal" a pond up tight. The ice actually does breath somewhat and there is still a gas exchange happening at the edges, but it is greatly limited and that is why a maintained hole is the common safety precaution advised. The hole produced from my aerator (pictured earlier) is completely froze over. Only the hole created by my floating light bulb is still open. The inner tube that supports it is frozen in the ice too, but the hole in the center of the tube remains open. The fish are still stacked directly under it in the shallow water and have not moved to the deeper warmer pond water. Hopefully the light is keeping the shallow water a tad warmer. I dug out a thermometer I hope to drop in this weekend. So, we'll see. I really just want it to warm up a little. A little solar heat would help both the pond and me a lot!

Dreaming of being a millionaire....

Bracing for more snow today. Suppose to get an additional 4-7 inches followed by high winds. Its the day following the Orange Bowl game so the office and emails are all about those Hawkeyes. Its a nice diversion from all the talk about the severe cold. Harry got up this morning and was excitedly telling me all about this dream he had. He was driving around with this big truck full of pond supplies. Wasn't sure why, but thought there was some sort of seminar or pond expo in a big field someplace. Anyway, he was hauling around this big plastic container with some sort of big shoot that wrapped around it. He seemed to think it was a filter but it didn't have any media in it just the container. He said he started to wake up but tried to go back to his dream so he could figure out just what it was all about. You know how some people get this million dollar idea that comes to them in their sleep. He thought maybe this was some epiphany of an idea and we'd both be millionaire. Unfortunately, he woke up without ever realizing just what this all meant. So guess I'd better not quit my day job, right? Funny how dreams work isn't it?
Received an email from Monica this morning. She keeps her waterfalls and streams running all winter. She reported that their stream had frozen over and she could only see a little bit of water flowing under the icy covering. They were adding a little water to the pond threw the open skimmer box. I wanted to take advantage of the topic and warn people about ice dams. Streams and waterfalls can easily freeze and divert water out of the pond. So if you are one of those people that like to leave things running all year round, please do daily checks on your pond volume so you don't pump your own ponds dry. It's not just something we read about happening in the books, but has happened to several members. So just be watchful. I, personally, shut everything down and pull the pumps. I've had the water freeze and make my pump begin to cavetate (suck air instead of water). I've also had the electricity go out and then had to pull pumps in the middle of a snow storm so that the pipes could drain and not freeze and burst. Something, Harry will never let me forget, cause it was my idea to leave them running, while he wanted to pull the pumps early. Live and learn, has to be my ponding mantra. Trust me, I've made all the mistakes. I'm not trying to upstage anybody by talking about all the horrible things that could happen, but letting you know experience is the best teacher. And, seems I've had more than my share of experiences. So while everybody must learn and make judgement calls for their own pond, I'm here to make you think about what "could happen" as a result of your choices. Meanwhile, maybe Harry will dream about some sort of super filter that he can invent and I can build a huge pavilion for my fish to winter over in. Never thought I'd be encouraging Harry to nap.

There's a stray cat near the pond.....

My Lord, its cold out there!!! The new year certainly came in like a lion. Not so much snow but bitter cold. Last week saw temps routinely below zero and this week promises lows double digit below zero and only single digits during the day. About the only consolation is the sun has been shining and the beautiful full "blue moon" has been absolutely gorgeous on the sparkling white snow at night. Both are best enjoyed behind closed windows and standing near fire places inside, though. Its been so cold out that I didn't even leave the house all weekend to simply walk out and peek at the pond. I have a feeling that the ever enclosing aerator hole is even possibly frozen shut. My garage is not attached to the house and I must make the short jaunt outside to get into my vehicle every morning. As a normal ritual,I glance in the direction of the waterfall. This morning I happened to notice a stray cat sitting at the aerator hole. The hole is always surrounded by animal tracks as the birds, squirrels, rabbits, cats, and occasionally coons or dogs are attracted to the last bit of open water. And that pond owners, is how you get dead carcasses in your pond. Many a pond owner has had their pond thaw out in the Spring only to find decayed squirrels or rabbits rotting and deteriorating water quality. One more argument for water change outs even during the winter. While the cold temps certainly slow the process, it is still going on. Animals approach the hole not having a clue how thin the surrounding ice might be. Once in the freezing water and no footing, all animals are doomed to drown. Contrary to this morbid scene is the even more gruesome discovery that the nearby tracks belong to that of a mink. As one of our pond club members discovered last year, mink, who are excellent swimmers and not deterred by the cold water one little bit, can completely wipe out a pond of koi and without you even knowing about it if you don't do regular pond checks. The mink will enter through the conveniently provided open hole, chase your koi till they catch one and carry it back to the safety of their den or eat it pond side just to spite you. The fish they don't catch will be missing tails, fins, scales, and anything else the mink can get his teeth or claws into. Usually they will continue to return till they have depleted the food source, though. If this should ever happen to you, dieing the water jet black might help under emergency situations till you can get the mink trapped. The biggest problem with dieing the water is you can't see the fish either. Hopefully,none of you will ever have to experience this. So, I'll have to be sure to walk out to the pond tonight on the way from the garage to the warmth of the house. I'm thinking the hole will be closed, but I'll check it out anyway and double check the backup floating light too while I'm there. I feel so bad for my fish out there. It just seems so cruel to leave them out there in the near freezing water. Hopefully January will warm up soon. They say the snowfall is actually insulating the ground. So we have that going for us. Where's that January thaw thing, everybody talks about? In the mean time, its cold... its way cold!!!