lump on 'carp'??

Hi

I'm new here and I've had bad experiences with newsgroups so I'm
treading carefully here....

I have 1 Koi, 1 Ghost Koi and 1 carp??(it was sold as a carp but I have
my doubts).

The 'carp' is long in the body, very narrow, kinked tail(fault I think)
and down turned mouth. I have noticed that this fish has a swelling just
below its gills on the underside. Is this eggs or a lump of more
sinister origins? I am grateful for any advice or suggestions...

This fish cost me £12 which was more than the Grade A Koi.

The tank is 24", fluval 1 filter and aeration stone. I do fortnightly
water changes at 50%, gravel cleaning etc. I feed a combination of
flakes and pellets. The 'carp' was used to pellets so I continue with those.

The fish is feeding well and appears quite well.

Carrie

Koi really shouldn't be kept in tanks unless they are incredibly large (the
tanks not the fish!), which yours isn't. In fact, if it's 24 inches long
then it's not even big enough to house 3 goldfish let alone 3 koi! I should
imagine that your water quality is terrible especially as you only do a
fortnightly 50% water change. Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite and
nitrate? If not then you should do so immediately. Ammonia and nitrite
should be 0, and nitrate should be under 20. If they aren't at these levels
then you need to do daily water changes of 30% until they are, which could
be never in such a small area.
I would advise rehousing these fish in a pond if you possibly can. If not
then at least try to get a bigger tank and a much bigger filter. With
goldfish alone it's advisable to have the volume of your water turned over
8-10 times per hour, and as good as they are a fluval 1 just wouldn't do
this. If you can't get one big filter, then have one at each end of the
tank. This will help you out in the short term but these fish really aren't
meant to be in tanks.
I should imagine that the problem you are experiencing with your fish is due
to the poor water quality, especially as it is in the gill area. Get the
water quality better and it may well improve.
Mel.


"Carrie White" <carrie.RemoveThis@hentracks.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bomhl4$e57$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi
>
> I'm new here and I've had bad experiences with newsgroups so I'm
> treading carefully here....
>
> I have 1 Koi, 1 Ghost Koi and 1 carp??(it was sold as a carp but I have
> my doubts).
>
> The 'carp' is long in the body, very narrow, kinked tail(fault I think)
> and down turned mouth. I have noticed that this fish has a swelling just
> below its gills on the underside. Is this eggs or a lump of more
> sinister origins? I am grateful for any advice or suggestions...
>
> This fish cost me £12 which was more than the Grade A Koi.
>
> The tank is 24", fluval 1 filter and aeration stone. I do fortnightly
> water changes at 50%, gravel cleaning etc. I feed a combination of
> flakes and pellets. The 'carp' was used to pellets so I continue with
those.
>
> The fish is feeding well and appears quite well.
>
> Carrie
>