Spring and Summer Wed-Fri: 10-5 Sat: 10-5 Sun: 10-4
Have you seen this before on your koi? It is a fairly common occurrence with koi. There are several different reasons this can happen, some are poor water quality or poor husbandry but a more common reason is from parasites. Actually a parasite will cause the initial sore but certain types of bacteria will cause it to turn into an ulcer. So this is commonly referred to as a secondary bacterial infection. When treating this problem you have to treat the wound but also the underlying problem that caused it. (More on parasite treatments and husbandry later) We anesthetized this koi so we could inspect it and treat the infection. Not everyone will knock out a koi to work on it but in my experience it is easier on the koi and on your nerves. By knocking the koi out you can really look the fish over and treat the sore. With the fish knocked out we start by cleaning the wound and removing any damaged scales or skin also in this condition it is very easy to put a topical treatment on the koi along with injecting it. I've seen people catch their koi put them into a bag, drain the water from the bag and inject the koi through the bag. I guess this is better then not injecting at all but because the koi is conscious it will be freaking out, you will be stressed out from catching the koi and lets face it, it isn't every day you give a fish a shot! There has been more then one scale unnecessarily knocked from a koi because it was accidentally missed handled without anesthesia. Also if dead scales and skin are not removed from ulcers they either will not heal or it takes them a very, very long time to do so. Trust me knock the koi out and relax while you look it over carefully to treat it. I had my appendix out a few years back and if someone had mentioned doing it without anesthesia I would have freaked out just like a koi in a bag!
After the koi is anestized we take a good look at it to see if there are raised scales, lesions or any other issues that need attention.
If a koi does have an ulcer we will remove any dead skin or scales from the area and topically treat the wound. In the case of this koi with mouth rot it was examined and topically treated with one of these commonly used treatments:
Potassium Permanganate mixed into a liquid
Bee Propolis/alcohol mixture
Debride
There are a couple of places that you can inject the koi but intrapernioally or IP is most common in my experience. Here is a picture to help you see exactly where to give the shot. I won't get into specific antibiotics, needle sizes or drug amounts because I think you should probably work with a vet, pick up a copy of Koi Health And Disease or call/email me for more specific advice to help guide you through this. With the koi on its back and his nose pointed towards you seems to be the best way to hold smaller koi to give them injections. It isn't necessary to inject every fish with a red scale, fin rot or mouth rot but if a koi has a life threatening ulcer or mouth deforming issue then I recommend doing it to insure the koi will heal. A shot is not all that the koi will need to heal it will also require pristine water quality even if it means with holding food. Also warm (75° to 80°) salty (3ppt) water goes a long way in healing a koi. In most cases of fin and mouth rot clean, warm, salty water is enough for the koi to heal on its own.
This is just another view of the same koi. Holding the koi in your hand or with it laid out on a table, with its head pointed towards you, you can easily lift a scale and slide the needle under a scale to give the injection. Being careful not to pull the scale out give the shot and slide the needle out holding the scales down with your finger just to make sure.
OUCH! Here is what a typical ulcer looks like. This one was not easy to see because it is located underneath the koi on its belly. This koi might have dropsy besides the ulcer only time can prove this out. This sore was cleaned out with a Q-Tip and a liquid mixture of PP was applied. The koi was then injected but instead of injecting it IP it was injected Intramuscularly or IM.
Proper placement of pond de-icers is crucial to optimum performance. Make sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions. The de-icer should generally be placed at the edge of the pond in a shallow area.
It is a fairly common occurrence with koi. There are several different reasons this can happen, some are poor water quality or poor husbandry but a more common reason is from parasites. Actually a parasite will cause the initial sore but certain types of bacteria will cause it to turn into an ulcer. So this is commonly referred to as a secondary bacterial infection. When treating this problem you have to treat the wound but also the underlying problem that caused it. (More on parasite treatments and husbandry later) We anesthetized this koi so we could inspect it and treat the infection. Not everyone will knock out a koi to work on it but in my experience it is easier on the koi and on your nerves. By knocking the koi out you can really look the fish over and treat the sore. With the fish knocked out we start by cleaning the wound and 
removing any damaged scales or skin also in this condition it is very easy to put a topical treatment on the koi along with injecting it. I've seen people catch their koi put them into a bag, drain the water from the bag and inject the koi through the bag. I guess this is better then not injecting at all but because the koi is conscious it will be freaking out, you will be stressed out from catching the koi and lets face it, it isn't every day you give a fish a shot! There has been more then one scale unnecessarily knocked from a koi because it was accidentally missed handled without anesthesia. Also if dead scales and skin are not removed from ulcers they either will not heal or it takes them a very, very long time to do so. Trust me knock the koi out and relax while you look it over carefully to treat it. I had my appendix out a few years back and if someone had mentioned doing it without anesthesia I would have freaked out just like a koi in a bag! 
There are a couple of places that you can inject the koi but intrapernioally or IP is most common in my experience. Here is a picture to help you see exactly where to give the shot. I won't get into specific antibiotics, needle sizes or drug amounts because I think you should probably work with a vet, pick up a copy of 
This is just another view of the same koi. Holding the koi in your hand or with it laid out on a table, with its head pointed towards you, you can easily lift a scale and slide the needle under a scale to give the injection. Being careful not to pull the scale out give the shot and slide the needle out holding the scales down with your finger just to make sure.
OUCH! Here is what a typical ulcer looks like. This one was not easy to see because it is located underneath the koi on its belly. This koi might have dropsy besides the ulcer only time can prove this out. This sore was cleaned out with a Q-Tip and a liquid mixture of PP was applied. The koi was then injected but instead of injecting it IP it was injected Intramuscularly or IM.
