Remember even a crystal clear pond might contain toxic levels of chemicals potentially lethal to your Koi, while an algae bloom might look repulsive; (makes it challenging or impossible to see your Koi) but actually could be beneficial to your Koi.
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| Butterfly Koi |
Koi ponds are artificial self-contained ecosystems. Koi are ammonotelic, that is, the majority of their nitrogenous waste is excreted by diffusion (the movement of a substance from an area of higher concentration to one of lower concentration attempting to achieve equilibrium) via the gills, into the water, as ammonia. Ammonia is excreted in two forms: NH3 the toxic form, and NH4+ the ionized and nontoxic form.
The relationship between these two forms is greatly pH and temperature
dependent;-The higher (more alkaline) the pH, the greater the amount of (toxic) NH3, while the lower (more acidic) the pH, the greater the amount of (nontoxic) NH4+- The warmer the water, the more NH3, the colder, the more NH4+.
Because the unionized form of ammonia (NH3) is the toxic form, and because this form is more prevalent at higher pH and temperatures, ammonia-Becomes dramatically more toxic with increasing pH & temperature.
From Roark’s web site: www.click2roark.com biofilters become populated with families of bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite. Nitrite is also a very toxic substance.
Unlike ammonia, it does not come directly from Koi, but is formed almost solely in the filter or source of that family of bacteria. Because nitrite does not come from the Koi, when it contacts the Koi’s gills it enters the fish by diffusion (again from the area of higher concentration, the pond, into the lower concentration of the Koi blood) binding hemoglobin in blood rendering it unable to carry oxygen.
A second population of bacteria grow in our biofilters to convert nitrite to nitrate, fairly harmless to Koi but usable by algae and plants. As the Koi eat the algae and plants, this cycle begins all over again. The bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate are the most susceptible to aberrations in water quality and are therefore the first to decrease in number ammonia is harmful to Koi, and even extremely small amounts in the water over an extended time may cause permanent gill damage.
Treatment for high nitrite includes water changes, suspended feeding, salting to 0.1% and increased oxygenation. Again, these are meant to temporarily improve the situation until the filter is working.
In all cases address the underlying causes- start with checking your filter. In the spring, check ammonia, nitrite, pH and KH (total alkalinity or Carbonates) with your test kits daily until your bacterial colonies are populated each spring, then weekly during the summer. An ounce of prevention is worth pound of cure. These forthright simple precautions can prevent a small problem evolving into a catastrophe failure and your investment is shattered.
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