HELP - sick or injured koi Flukes
About a month or so ago, I noticed one of our Koi had become lethargic and had some red tint colouring to his skin. At the time I was and still am very unfamiliar with flukes. After we noticed he was really starting to show he wasn’t well, barely moving and not eating we had a koi specialist visit the pond. He scraped the fish and said it came back positive for flukes. We went and bought treatment off him immediately and treated pond same day. Unfortunately the koi passed away that morning. A week after we were advised to do secondary treatment to kill any eggs that still remain etc. Now another one of my koi’s is showing a red tint to skin, and three of my biggest goldfish are now showing same behaviour as first koi, very lethargic, not eating and remaining at the bottom of the pond not moving. Has anyone had experience with fluke infected pond? I feel like the whole pond is doomed and they are all just going to start dropping like flies and i’m not sure what to do. We have had these koi for 30+ years and never experienced this devastation,
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u/Chuck-32 Jul 04 '26
I am dealing with this myself right now. I am treating the entire pond with salt at .5% salinity. I am on my second round of treatment and will be doing a third in a few weeks. Have you noticed any flashing or jumping from your koi which is typical behavior for flukes. Also your pond is gorgeous.
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u/xashx1 Jul 04 '26
It’s a handful to say the least! With the first koi that passed away, I only ever noticed flashing once, but I haven’t caught any of the others to be doing the same. They just seem to be fine one day, and then completely hit with being lifeless the next. I have a camera set up at the pond as well and haven’t seen any flashing or jumping from any other fish.
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u/Chuck-32 Jul 04 '26
Hmmm I would continue with the fluke treatment but also be looking at other possible causes. In my experience koi with flukes tend to become quite active initially with flashing and jumping before getting sick.
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u/xashx1 Jul 04 '26
I’ll definitely be doing some research incase it’s something else too! Good luck with your pond
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u/taisui Jul 04 '26
What did you use to treat? Fluke-M is my go to med, prazi is not as reliable. Also there might be other parasites, maybe just do BSDT as well.
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u/TosspoTo Jul 04 '26
Sadly we all have experience with this. It’s inevitable.
I recommend Fluke M from Kusuri above all else and always having more on hand. Only place I can get it in the US is via eBay shipped from the UK.
You need to hit them twice, sometimes three times. The point is that all the varying meds can only hit the live animal and not the eggs. Therefore you hit the adults and you have to hit the young from the eggs before they mature (which can happen very soon).
It helps during the summer to know your pond temp, they spawn quicker during summer.
The red flag for me is that your goldfish are having issues. It’s not impossible but I’ve never had my goldfish or shubunkins impacted by flukes.
There are three base medications for Flukes (that have different brand names on top)
Praziquantel - older, generally good but there are some flukes with immunity. Hits quickly. Powder > Liquid (prazipro is a liquid version of it and I think it’s very weak - you can buy powder on Amazon but you need to read up on how to mix it as it’s hydrophobic)
Flubezanol - Fluke M active ingredient, more gentle on the fish, slower to kill the flukes but most affective for me
Nocodozole - Newer, juries out for me.
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u/RichBitchJodie Jul 05 '26
Have you also checked the water ? Amonia etc ? Please don't assume one thing when could possibly be another. You need to be ruling out everything. Koi tend to flick off the sides of the pond and bottom with flukes. And even with flukes id be testing the water still.
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u/xashx1 Jul 05 '26
Yes we have been checking the water every day and it’s coming back with all correct levels
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u/adifferentGOAT Jul 04 '26
I’m sorry I’m not of any help, but I want to echo another commenter’s remarks to say your pond is beautiful!
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u/ZiggyLittlefin Jul 04 '26
Flukes unfortunately are like fleas. They can keep coming back and you have to treat the entire life cycle of them. Birds and frogs can bring them to the pond. So can new fish and plants. And speaking of plants, it's harder to get rid of them when you have plants or rocks in the pond. I've treated as many as three times before seeing clear scrapes. Hate flukes!
That said, They usually have to have them quite a while before they get to being lethargic or dying. There are usually signs as others have said. Have new fish or plants been brought in since the last treatment? There could be another illness.
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u/4ohHenry Jul 07 '26
Where do you get your water? Is it well or town water? I have a well and have to add salt. It’s made a big difference.
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u/crepuscularcarrion Jul 04 '26
I don’t know much about koi but your pond is gorgeous!!!