Curing ulcers

[awarren]

Coming new to keeping of Koi and having built a pond within the last 6 months (6000 litre) and stocked it with koi (7) two have developed problems. The water balance is right but one has died of Dropsy and another has developed a small ulcer. I have been advised to add salt to the water (which I have done ) and treat with Bacterad (Anti-ulcer, Finrot and Flukes) at a dose rate of 10ml/182litres for three weeks. I have read that I should/could treat the ulcer with Propolis or Mercurchome but I am not sure what the difference is. Any advice as to what the correct treatment should be would be appreciated.

regards
Alan

[Duncan]

HI Alan

well Propolis is a sealer but I have to say not a very good one there are better
Mercurochrome is a soothing antiseptic

your probably need my book it will explain better how to deal with an ulcer

dunc

[Glenn]

Hi Alan,

As Duncan says you need his book, it is a bible for the koi keeper,

Regards

Glenn

[awarren]

Many thanks to you both. Looks like my Christmas list just got a bit longer

Alan

[Duncan]

well if I had one statement to make ref curing ulcers is this cleanliness is everything by that I mean clean the wound really well get rid of rotting tissue and all dead scales you cant cure what's already dead it just carries on reinfecting if you do just this one thing its probably better than anything else you will do and if its not getting better look for what you missed when you did this one thing

next good water and good nutrition is essential to good healing as well as heat if you have it

every thing else you will pick up as you go along its the icing on top of the cake

the book will help you loads http://www.koiquest.co.uk

dunc

[Airlite]

Hi Dunc, just seen this link on another forum and the skeptic in me wanted an expert's opinion:
http://www.nishikigoiyearbook.com/produ ... re-bottle/
Have you seen this before and are it's claims even possible?
Thanks, M

[Airlite]

Ref my post above; The following is an explanation of how this stuff is supposed to work - written by someone who sells it! Apologies for quoting from another forum, I don't want to break any rules but I think these claims are bogus and just wanted confirmation or otherwise from you guys because you know about this stuff:

Re: Genesyz
Post by Nigel caddock » Tue May 17, 2016 3:45 pm

Hi Guys - Just a bit of background. Genesyz was launched in the UK in May 2000 and has been successfully sold ever since. Following on from that a "me too" product was launched onto the market at half the price. What they failed to mention is that you needed to use more than twie as much. What they also failed to do was sell a properly researched, developed and manufatured product that, unlike Genesyz, didn't do what it claimed so people, quite justifiably got hacked off and the general market for what is a fantastic preventative tool, shrunk.

However, hundreds of smart Koi keepers all over the UK quietly use lots and lots of Genesyz as a preventative tool. Genesyz works by "competitive exclusion" which is a tried and tested process used widely in agriculture and aquaculture where the use of chemicals is not allowed. The Genesyz microbes are activated by Calcium Carbonate in our ponds and as they consume the same food source as pathogenic bacteria but because there are more of them the pathogens simply starve to death. Like all great solutions its simple. But the product is very far from simple and very hard to manufacture which is why its "expensive". The downside is the Genesyz microbes have a limited lifespan which is why regular dosing is required.

Its also important to mention that its not a magic wand. It will not compensate for poor water quality, inadequate filtration overstocking, overfeeding etc. What is does do however is effectively eradicate pathogenic bacteria including Aeromonas which causes ulcers. Its also great if you dont like chemicals, of course there are many ways to kill bacteria, but this is the only one we are aware of that just kills pathogens and specifically does NOT affect nitrifying bacteria, which eat a different food source.

Of course I would say all this because we sell it…But, it also happens to be true.
Nigel caddock
Manufacturer

Is this hoop or is there any substance in it? Thanks in advance, M

[Manky Sanke]

Competitive exclusion in biology is a well known principle. If two similar organisms compete for the same resources, the one that uses the most and multiplies the fastest will do better and may even push the other towards extinction. Examples are grey squirrels displacing red squirrels or tall plants depriving smaller plants of sunlight and becoming the dominant species in some environments. The principle also applies to bacteria so they are used in probiotic tablets or yoghurt type drinks or supplements.

There is good evidence that the liberal supply of benign bugs that multiply rapidly and compete with harmful bugs for the same nutrients will reduce the population of the bad bugs and this is how dietary supplements work. Some bacteria can form what are called endospores when their environment isn't to their liking. Endospores can be thought of as suspended animation capsules where a bug can wait until things, from its point of view, get better but aeromonas can't do this. So it's reasonable to assume that a suitable probiotic addition to a pond would eventually out compete aeromonas and, because they couldn't enter an endospore phase, their numbers would dwindle.

Whether this product is as effective as the manufacturer's sales talk says is something I have no firm evidence on but you asked whether the claims are possible and I can say for certain that they are possible but could be exaggerated as with most (all?) manufacturer's sales claims.

No time to write any more, my wife is just about to squirt some Mr Muscle at the oven and I want to watch the burnt-on grease completely vanish and be replaced by those little sparkles that we saw on the TV advert.

[Airlite]

Many thanks Manky. Best regards as always, M