Aeromonas and Pseudomonas Bacteria Are Common Fish Disease Health Problems

Aeromonas & Pseudomonas Cause Bacterial Ulcer Disease

Bacterial Koi ulcer disease has long being a scourge to koi keeping and pond keeping enthusiasts. The diagram below shows a severe ulcer wound caused by an Aeromonas bacteria infestation.

Bacterial Ulcer Infection In Pond Fish

Aeromonas bacteria and sometimes Pseudomonas bacterial strains are in the vast majority of cases the cause of koi ulcer disease and dropsy aka pine cone disease. Bacterial infections, caused by members of the genus Aeromonas, are among the most common and troublesome pond fish diseases.

Whether acting alone or in mixed infections with other organisms, as is the case with Dropsy; which is fatal in the majority of cases, aeromonas are responsible for wiping out entire pond fish populations, when infected fish aren’t treated early enough.

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Aeromonas bacteria are ever present in organic rich fish ponds and are capable of surviving for extensive periods of time without a pond fish host. Certain strains have even become immune to medicated pond treatments, due to improper antibiotic treatments in the first instance.

Daily mortalities associated with this chronic form of fish ulcer disease may be low, but can rise to high levels over time.

What Do I Do If My Pond Fish Has Bacterial Ulcer Disease?

According to Ben Helm the following should be carried out ...

Isolate your infected Koi in a well oxygenated, filtered quarantine tank.
Add salt to the quarantine system as this will act as a mild antiseptic and will help to keep the ulcer wound free from bacteria.
Reduce the amount of fluid that is lost directly through the open ulcer by reducing the osmotic gradient between the pond water and Koi tissue. This will help to reduce stress in the Koi.
Use an anti bacterial pond treatment such as acriflavine or malachite green as a back up to the salt in its fight against further bacterial infection.
Apply a topical treatment directly on to the ulcer, after anaesthetizing the infected Koi and removing dead tissue and scales. This will need to be replaced every other day or so, being careful not to disturb the healing ulcer wound.
Feed the infected Koi with a high quality Koi food and increase the water temperature in the quarantine tank to 20 to 25 Celsius. Ensure that there is a plentiful supply of oxygenated water.
It may be necessary in severe cases to consult a Vet regarding the injection of a suitable antibiotic treatment.
Continue to monitor the infected Koi carp during disease treatment and quickly respond to any acute behavioral changes.

What Should I Do After The Bacterial Ulcer Treatment Has Finished

Keep a log of recorded koi and goldfish diseases encountered and learn from your mistakes and successes. Whilst you can't always prevent bacterial ulcer infection you can go a long way to preventing it from happening.

Always carry out regular pond water tests for ammonia, nitrite, pH, water hardness and total alkalinity, using a branded pond water testing kit ... This will help to identify problems with your bio pond filter (ammonia & nitrite concentrations are high). A high ammonia concentration, along with a high pH is particularly lethal for pond fish.

It can't be stressed enough that a major cause of bacterial ulcer infections and other bacterial infections is as an indirect result of poor water quality, often attributed to your biological pond filter not working properly. This may be due to ...

Your choice of pond filter is inadequate for the level of fish stocked and for the volume of pond water in your re-circulating pond system. Bead filter systems are best for large well stocked koi ponds ... gravity discharge box filters and pressurized pond filters are suitable for the majority of small to medium sized backyard garden ponds.
You are using the wrong type of pond filter system ... NEVER USE A SAND FILTER IN A GARDEN POND as the sand creates bacterial traps.
Pond filters (actually the beneficial bacteria Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter living on the pond filter media) are sometimes affected indirectly as a result of medicated pond treatments or other pond chemicals, including pond algaecides being added to the pond water ... ALWAYS read the label to ensure any pond water additive doesn't interfere with beneficial bacteria colonies living in your pond filter.
Oxygen is critical to the beneficial nitrifying bacteria that carry out the Nitrogen Cycle. As mentioned above these beneficial bacteria colonize the biomedia in your pond biofilter, and are responsible for breaking down ammonia compounds in pond water. The Nitrification process (Nitrogen Cycle) requires large quantities of oxygen. An insufficient supply of oxygenated pond water will inhibit the conversion of ammonia, by your biological pond filter, subsequently causing fish stress, which will make your Koi, goldfish etc susceptible to fish related diseases.

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