Kusuri Sabbactisun
Duncan
Griffiths
Disclaimer.
Whilst having a personal
preference for Kusuri products and seldom use any other treatments and applications,
I think its fair to point out to those reading this article, I and Koi-unleashed
have no vested interest in Sabbactisun or Kusuri Products.
We do not work for
the afore mentioned. Also I/we pay the exact same price the general public
pay for Kusuri products and gain no commission from any recommendations.
My/Koi-Unleashed’s
only interest is in the testing of new exciting products to further the education
of the koi hobbyist, and if that product happens to fail, it will be reported
as such.
Thanks
Duncan
Before this article commences, I think a word or two from the main importer
and appointed research and testing consultants of Sabbactisun, “Kusuri products”
would be first order of the day, in that way we will gain a better picture
of what this treatment is aimed at and all about.
Over to
Kevin at Kusuri.
Kusuri-Sabbactisun
A treatment Totally free of toxic chemicals for bacterial infections
European aquatic development specialists, Fish Health Pro, in conjunction
with Kusuri Products are proud to announce the release of Sabbactisun.
Kusuri-Sabbactisun (KS)
Is a unique natural remedy for use against bacterial infections in fish, which
can be manifest as many and varied symptoms such as fin rot, ulcers, bulging
eyes (exophthalmia) mouth rot, fungus, raised scales, and bacterial related
dropsy. KS enhances the immune system of the fish without any risk of resistance
as with antibiotics and chemicals.
KS IS NOT AN ANTI- BACTERICIDE! It is harmless to all nitrifying filter bacteria,
all aquatic plants, KS is rapidly biodegradable. KS is so safe it has been
thoroughly tested on very sensitive aquatic creatures even shrimps & fry.
KS works by expelling external pathogens from the host and stimulating the
immune response system.
Background:
Regular treatments such as antibiotics target and kill the non-resistant bacteria
that destroy cellular tissue. However this does not repair damaged tissue.
KS stimulates immune response and speeds up damaged tissue regeneration. Even
deep ulcerations can be healed in a surprisingly short time span. A wound
or ulcer that has been treated with antibiotics still remains a sensitive
point for re-infection so even if an antibiotic treatment has been administered
use KS to prevent possible re-infection. Most Chemicals and all antibiotics
are detrimental to vital nitrifying bacteria ( the filter bio mass). KS does
not kill nitrifying bacteria; water quality is an important factor in any
disease treatment. Feeding can continue and Filters systems can safely operate
and should be left running. KS facilitates this key factor as a suitable stable
pH; near zero Ammonia & Nitrite are critical for any effective therapy.
Abuse and misuse of Antibiotics now more than ever result if fish not
responding to treatment as many bacteria are resistant to many antibiotics,
using antibiotics without anti- biogram investigation is literally “a shot
in the dark” With the emergence of now many antibiotic resistant bacterial
strains KS can be invaluable aid in treating diseased fish.
A treatment course in a quarantine tank will always be more economical, but
when it is not possible to catch affected fish KS can be safely used in all
ponds {provided ozone if used and activated carbon are either switched off
or bypassed}.
Advantages over chemical bactericides
1.No detriment to any filter bacteria (nitrifying cycle) or friendly bacterial
additives such as Pro-100, sludge reducing or natural blanket weed cures etc,
3. 100% natural plant and herbal products.
4. Stimulates immune system
5. Non toxic, for fish and humans and plants
6. Effective and can even be used in salted freshwater ponds.
7. Feeding may be continued.
8. Reduces stress
9. Unlike harsh chemicals, there is no significant depletion of dissolved
oxygen in water.
10. Does not cause resistance
11. Does not discolour water or damage silicone sealants.
12. Safe! Even if accidentally overdosed.
13. Can be used for stress reduction during and after transport.
14. Can be used in quarantine tanks or ponds and interconnected systems
How to use Kusuri- Sabbactisun
For best results use KS in hospital/ quarantine arrangement, water temperature
is critical to successful treatment and 72f (22c) is recommended.
1.Curing the inflammation / wound.
The blood red colour will gradually change to light pink or white. This will
take between 5 to 20 days depending on the severity of the ulcer. Dose daily
until the ulcers have changed to light pink / white.
2. Regeneration of the missing tissue.
Because fish are cold-blooded creatures, tissue regeneration has a direct
correlation to the water temperature and again will be dependent on the severity
of the damage and this can take from 2- 6 weeks. Dose every other day until
the wound is healed. (Dosing daily can speed repair) Little tissue repair
will occur if water temperature is below 65F (18c)
3. Acclimatising fish to ponds / tanks
Add 1 dose as an immune stimulant / de-stressant on the addition of new stock
to new ponds/ tanks etc.
4. Transport additive
For moving or shipping fish in transport bags etc add at standard dose rate
(1 ml to 20 litres)
In many cases fish health diseases are caused by bad living conditions (overcrowding,
poor water quality, parasitic induced damage) persistent chemical immersion.
Always examine potential root causes to avoid recurrent problems.
KS has a guaranteed shelf life of 1 year when if kept at room temperature.
Store in the dark away from sunlight do not freeze.
Dosage: 1ml to 4 UK gallons daily. Mix with tank / pond water and distribute
over surface.
Pretty impressive hey?
Having first heard of Sabbactisun, no one was more sceptical than myself.
A non-toxic, non-chemical, does not destroy the bio filter, completely natural
remedy; you can imagine the raised eyebrow.
You can further imagine the scepticism expanding when the price of £26 .99 per litre was mentioned and the recommended dose rate was 1 ml per 4 imp gallons daily for at least one week, not cheap!
Having spoken to Kevin Goodey of Kusuri about
Sabbactisun I was eager to trial the product as soon as it was made available.
this would be first of two trials of two new products, the other being a simlar
product PARAZORYNE which treats parasites. I understood
from kevin, that much of the development tests were done in holland in aquarium
tanks on several cold water & tropical spieces, koi where also used on many
tests due to their intollerance of poor water quality making koi an ideal
test subject as well.
As I had a likely test subject that was not responding to any and all antibiotics
in my possession and that list numbers some 6 differing types, also topical
treatments like Proflavine hemi sulphate was not getting results either. It
was becoming apparent the subject would very likely expire before I could
trial Sabbactisun.
Before Sabbactisun
Not the best picture but it does tell a sorry
tale
After Sabbactisun treatments
The Sabbactisun parcel arrived on the Wednesday night along with some other supplies. The test subject was already in the hospital facility the water had previously been refreshed and salted 0.3% in readiness of the arrival of Sabbactisun. The dose was worked out as per 1ml per 4 imperial gallons and duly administered.
I feel it only fair to mention that the koi not only had not responded to my best attempts at medication
further that multiple invasive chemicl treatments had taken their toll on the koi as ironically chemical and antibiotics we use to cure koi of disease are stressfull in the first place. stress of course is dibilitating to the immune system which is thew complete opposite of what we need to effect a cure. therefore the koi in question looked as though it would expire at any time as it would not feed and just sat motionless in the corner of the tank.
The daily dose was administered religiously with no immediate noticeable difference observed in the fish, but on about the fifth day I noticed that the koi was beginning to show encouraging signs, swimming about and looking hungry, so, the koi was duly offered some pellets which although were not taken immediately, were in fact gone in an hour or so.
As the next couple of days past the fish looked more alert and hungry and had no trouble in taking food, up until now I had resisted the temptation to look at the ulcer, which was a real nasty one. Early indicators were of healing in progress
Also on about the seventh day whilst viewing my main pond I noticed a showa of around 20” with an infection over the right eye, as the temperatures in the main pond and hospital facility were not that dissimilar (a round 16.5 c) the showa was dispatched to the hospital tank with the other koi and the showa was subjected to the continuing Sabbactisun treatments, after a clean up of course.
Before Sabbactisun treatments
After Sabbactisun
The treatment has run for over twenty one days now and not only has a litre of Sabbactisun been duly dispatched but both fish have made a full and impressive recovery, so much so they have been returned to their respective pond systems.
Further there was a very small Hi Utsuri of about 6” which developed an infection at the base of the leading ray of the dorsal fin and had gone into a hole, this was placed into the tank at the same time as the original koi and has also made a complete and full recovery, but alas I did not picture this one koi at the start, but have had the opportunity to picture this koi prior to the return to the top pond.
So what do I think of Sabbactisun?
Does it harm the bio filter? No!
Can you over-dose it? safe at double doseage!
Do you need to do water changes? NO! or no more than would be considered prudent 10%
Can you use it with salt? Yes!
Is it toxic? NO!
Does it discolour the water? NO!
Does it work? YES it appears to work very well, these are my first and early impressions
Are there any down sides? NO there does not appear to be!
Is it expensive? In my opinion, Yes! But I ask you to consider this: - the Showa it saved was worth 20 times that amount of money! Also,as with the first koi more than the total amount of money Sabbactisun costs was wasted on treatments that did nothing, in fact early non-responsive treatments allowed the ulcer to progress until a relatively expensive fish was rendered worthless fit only as cat food
So what price would you place on that?
further benefits would be:-
sabbactisun can be used in a growing on facility with healthy fish in situ as it does not damage the eco-system{ no need for a seperate hospital facility
sabbactissun could be used when the hobbyist has no space or resourse for a seperate hospital facility
you could use it in a small size tank or callapsible vat with a small tank heater and prudent partial water changes, possibly without a dedicated filter.
And the Big one
For those who have *NO*
access to antibiotics!
My recommendation would always to use Sabbactisun in a smallish hospital facility to save a little money on the treatment, as Sabbactisun will preserve the bio filter this should not represent a problem short term, further as a typical 4000 gallon pond would use one litre of Sabbactisun daily its not entirely impossible to treat the pond but not really practical in monetary terms, a weeks course of Sabbactisun in a 4000 gallon pond costing around £188.00 not completely out of the question if the collection of koi is worth thousands.
Once again I leave it to you to decide, as I say its early days for this new
treatment. I am about to order more Sabbactisun for further investigations
I recommend you at least give it try..
Duncan
Further Sabbactisun successes
Before
After
Before
After
