Uggh, my Koi has dropsy!

First Koi added to my pond
Originally uploaded by { cary }.

The first koi I bought (orange and black in the photo,) now has dropsy. Dropsy is usually an indication of an internal bacterial infection, and the most obvious symptom is an INCREDIBLY bloated fish, including the eyes bulging out, and if it's very bad the scales will even start to poke outwards (this is sometimes called pinecone disease; you can't make this stuff up!)

Usually dropsy is fatal, however, I think I may have caught it in time (fingers crossed.) After reading up on it I decided to try a few things to attempt to save the fish. First off, because dropsy usually stems from less-than-perfect water quality, I did a 50% water change, making sure to add de-chlor so as not to stress the poor fish any more than necessary. Then I added about 10 tablespoons of pond salt to help kill bacteria in the water. Then I added antibiotics to do the same, and then, last but not least, tried the latest remedy for dropsy, Melafix. this is basically just Tea-Tree Oil. It has a soothing effect on the fish, and is anti-bacterial. It makes the pond smell wonderful too!

So, I've repeated this for three days and here are the current results: the Koi, who we named Gyoza, has gotten his appetite back, which of course is a really great sign for a sick fish. Also, he's not hiding out on the bottom of the pond anymore. He is still bloated, but I think that could take a while to clear up...so, I'm thinking Gyoza might make it, as long as I keep up on the treatment...I'll keep you posted.

Hardy Waterlily, Texas Dawn

first bloom, 2005 season
Originally uploaded by cary_miller.

Wow, so it's late April and I've already got the first bloom on my new hardy waterlily "Texas Dawn." These are known for their long blooming season, but I had no idea it would be THIS long...if it blooms into October I'll have six months of flowers; incredible. This photo hardly does it justice, but the flower is a beautiful lemon-yellow, and quite large...easily six inches across.

Can't wait to see what this baby can do when the weather gets really hot : )

Pond waking up from winter!

The view across my watergarden.

So this is my NEW pond, just waking up from a wet Sacramento winter. Thanks to my lovely wife Lori, this year's pond is about four times larger than last year's, which was really just a tiny 50-gallon wine barrel. This baby's a 200-gallon steel horse-trough! In my tiny backyard I'm lucky to even have room for this ; )

This year I've stuck to mainly hardy water plants, as I've found that replacing all those lovely tropicals every year gets tedious and expensive : ( My big purchase for 2005 is a Texas Dawn waterlily, which carries a huge yellow blossom high above the water (much like a tropical variety,) and has gorgeous purple and green specked foliage. Can't wait for this thing to bloom!

First lotus leaf emerges

First Lotus Leaf Emerges
Originally uploaded by cary_miller.

So here it is, all of two weeks later, and the very first lotus leaf is emerging. It came up brown, and has quickly turned a healthy looking yellow. I'm guessing a small, beautiful green lotus pad is right around the corner...we'll see : )