A couple on months after this 58cm Nagoshi Kindai Show landed she was attacked by bacterial infections and I have been nursing her for the past 16 months. Over the winter period I had a 2kw heater running full time and today she showed a very definite improvement from her last lift 6 weeks ago and to me it looks like she is at last on her way back to recovery. I received lots of help and advice from many Koi keepers over this period in time. Without their input and help this Kindai would have been long gone. A Gouteng Vet known to Julie from KoiCare mentioned he would have put her out months ago and said maybe we are hasty and that Koi is stronger than what we want to believe.

When she arrived ex Japan



Bacterial infection May 2008



April 2008



April 2008

More Pics on Kindai



November 2009

February 2009

Today 20 September 2009 she made my day!!!! Thanks to all the advice from Julie at KoiCare and others, I can now relax and enjoy her.



On the road to recovery. Maybe its what I would like to see, to save on my electrical bill, the healing should now be faster in summer.



You will see her at a Show sometime in the future. LOL She must hold the record for the amount of times being put under over the last 16 months
Thank goodness for Knock-out, she recovers very fast and it seems to have very little side effect on her.



The mark is under the right pictorial fin close to the hart and luckily not spoiling her appearance. All the marks on the belly has cleared

Knap gedaan Bobby. Hopelik sal ek ook eendag die punt kan bereik waar ek genoegsame kennis het om my visse gesond kan kry. My koi wat sere gehad het, het almal gevrek voordat ek enige positiewe resultate kon bereik.

Amazing, thanks for sharing and well done.

Hi LG,

Jy moet net versigtig wees, die "velletjie" oor die wond is nog baie dun, dit neem ongeveer 12 maande voordat dit "sterk" genoeg is.

Enige stamp of irritasie (soos 'n vang net) kan dit weer laat skeur wat die probleem weer kan vererger.

Dit laat my dink aan die gesegde; "Aanhouer wen!"

Dankie julle
Stem saam met Pieter dis hoekom ek haar nou so min moontlik uithaal, dit gaan nog lank neem maar ek hoop die langer en warmer dae sal die proses bespoedig. Sy gaan nog lank in haar eie QT wees met maaitjie, sou die mannetjies haar nou wil stamp is dit weer nag.
Die pictorial spier lyk ook nou baie beter!
Ek weet nie of dit eiers is en of dit die daaglikse Low GI brood met peanut botter, heunig, garlic en antibiotica is nie, maar sy lyk goed rond.
As ek nader kom gaan die mond oop en wag sy vir kos!

WOW!!!!

Awesome, welldone on your commitment bobby!!!

Update on my Kindai Showa today 21 December 2009

LG,

Die wond kom pragtig reg, wees net geduldig en handeer haar maar baie verstigtig! As daai seer weer stukkend gaan, begin die hele gesukkel van vooraf.
Hou maar nog in die QT, 'n biedjie Methlene blue (2gram/1000lt) kan ook net goed doen.

Goeie werk Bobby - dit wil gedoen wees. Wat jy hier vermag het sit nie in baie van ons se broek nie! Hoop sy sal ook iewers die sommer nog die 'upgrade' na die groot meer ervaar!

Hi Ernst, Dankie vir die mooi woorde komende van 'n kenner soos jy beteken baie. Ek is aan baie mense dank verskuldig en alhoewel sy nooit heeltemal sal reg wees nie, sal sy vir my special bly.

Here is my Lady, She is living proof that Koi can be pretty tuff. A very experienced Vet that deals with Koi said that he would have given up on her some time back. Well I am satisfied that should she not make it, I have given her my best shot. (remember the virus came back a couple of times) but this time I feel it is nuked and she is not going to let us both down.

Well done Bobby - just to correct you - I think you meant to say "bacteria" not "virus" ...

Bobby you have done really very well with her and you should be proud!!! MOST if not ALL koi keepers would have given up long ago.....

She is testament to us all (a very valuable lesson to be learnt from this) that no matter how bad a situation is - if the koi has some fight in her...she can make it!

I think you (and me, and everyone else who was involved with her) learnt some valuable lessons from this fish - which you should share with others......

1) When you do a swab and the results come back and say that you can treat with "x", and "y" ...... you do it ... if there is a relapse or the wound is getting worse you swab again and again send for pathology..... one can never assume that because the wound looks the same that you are dealing with the same strain of bacteria.... this is a common mistake that many of us make, or worse a swab is never done and you do what "Jack" said worked for his fish who had an ulcer.... the wound might look the same..... but the bacteria could (and usually is) different. Also just blindly picking for example the "hammer" of all antibiotics - ie: Amikacin would not work in all cases - it is a shot in the dark in the best circumstances - you again can not assume that if an antibiotic is for gram+ andgram - bacteria that it is going to whack all bacteria....... she if proof of the pudding....... In this case first Kindai was swabbed and treated with Amikacin, which worked initially ..... in the next swab which was done she actually now needed a 3rd Generation Cephlasporin and now "Ranceph' was chosen.... so bacterium change... the wound can look the same..but the bacteria can be different!

2) She was also fed a diet of highly digestible protein....... Shrimps (how are those hands smelling Bobby ), EA ONE and Saki Hikari......

3) and even though she was in a heated tank the vet already warned that the major healing would only take place in summer...not just due to temperatures increasing (which you can achieve with a heater...) but because of the longer daylight hours.... this vet has personally seen and experienced that fish for some reason heal quicker in longer daylight hours..... regardless of temperature of water..... I saw this with her healing as well... one minute she was healing but very very slowly and each lift showed healing somewhere and relapse somewhere...and next minute the wound was covered....

4) Pristine water is an essential - with loads and loads of oxygen.....

6) Being able to safely handle and anaethestise a fish is an essential....

7) Having a good topical antibiotic, which sticks is important - as well as knowing when to touch and fiddle in cleaning and when not to....

Always take photos..... this is the only way you can actually visibly see if healing is taking place...you can never remember how bad it was 2, 3 or 4 weeks ago....

9) and lastly - NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL THE FISH SAYS SO.....

Bobby you really deserve a medal - you fought and fought....and it really looks like it paid off - smelly hands and all!

Hopefully she will be up to swimming in her new pond before Winter comes.... I hold thumbs!

Julie. KoiCare
The Kindai and me say thank you for all the hours of mail, keeping me on the right track was a job on its own all the advice and support when I was down and for the continuous step by step feedback how to treat her after every photo you relieved.
Irrespective of what happens in the future with the Kindai you are a star and I had magical and valuable training in treating the Kindai.

Bobby, this is truely an amazing story of dedication and love for an animal, the world needs more people like you in it...........

Thanks for the kind words neil h, should you stay in the Western Cape please PM me and so we can arrange a Koi visit.

Bobby wrote:

Thanks for the kind words neil h, should you stay in the Western Cape please PM me and so we can arrange a Koi visit.

The words were well deserved !

Unfortunately I live in JHB, but next time I am in WC i would LOVE to have a look at some Koi !!!

neil h wrote:

Unfortunately I live in JHB, but next time I am in WC i would LOVE to have a look at some Koi !!!

I can only sympathise with the unfortunate part of living in JNB
Showing you quality Koi and dealers in Western Cape is the easy part. You are very welcome !

LG,

JNB???????..................JHB!?..............Johannesburg.

Quote :

I can only sympathise with the unfortunate part of living in JNB

Do you imply that there is only good Koi in the WP?

Sy Edele die SF askies Na 28 jaar diens by Lagdiens (SAL) sal jy weet van JNB.

Nou ja as hulle jou eendag 'n visum toestaan om die Kaap te besoek, kyk bietjie na jou bagasie tag wanneer jy terug vlieg. Wel dus ook nou al weer 10 jaar later so enige iets is seker moontlik! Die nuwe geheime magte kan seker wragtig jou in die Weskaap toelaat sonder om daai stambooooooom te check.


LG

Bobby wrote:

Sy Edele die SF askies Na 28 jaar diens by Lagdiens (SAL) sal jy weet van JNB.

Nou ja as hulle jou eendag 'n visum toestaan om die Kaap te besoek, kyk bietjie na jou bagasie tag wanneer jy terug vlieg. :
LG

Dis waar, daar staan JNB.

LG,

Jy noem stamboom! Kyk ek is nie van hier nie..............ek kan my stamboom tot in 1190 terug slaan.
Koning Augustia ( hy het tussen die twee Lodewyks regeer) het in 1190 'n familie skildwapen aan Armandi de Villiers toe geken nadat hy as ridder geslaan is, vir sy dienste aan die koningshuis tydens die Christen Kruistogte.

Hierdie familie wapen is vandag nog die amptelike een van die DE VIILERS famlies in Suid Afrika.

So die is goed gepas!

PS: As daar nou een "famlilie" in die Kaap welkom is, is dit DE VILLIERS....
.........en voordat jy beweer dat 'n sekere persoon familie van my is, hou tog ingedagte dat die de Villiers famlie in 1689 tot die afskafing van slawe, slawe gehad het. By vrylating van die slawe het hulle die naam van hulle "base" aangeneem.............my stamboom is tot jou beskiking!

Ek weet darem net om Sy Edele SF se snare styf te span.

LG