sera guide - Healthy pond fish

38 Cause: page 22 Prevention/Recommendation: Whitish skin slime occurs at pH values above 9, the fins may become frayed and the gills can get burned. Check the pH value using the sera pH-Test (depends on the daytime, it is usu- ally highest at noon) and lower it with sera pH-minus if required. Ammonia intoxications cause symptoms similar to those of too high pH values. Therefore you should also check the ammonium level using the sera NH4/NH3-Test. At high pH levels, the ammo- nium is more and more converted into its extremely ichthyotoxic ammonia form. The measured value should ideally be below the detection level. In case of levels above 0.5 mg/l ammonium you should immediately react with a partial water change and by adding sera pond toxivec, especially if the pH value is above 7. Ammo- nia is fatal even in very low dosage. Alkalosis or ammonia intoxication 8 Preventing and remedying maintenance mistakes and intoxications Cause: page 21 Prevention/Recommendation: Measure the pH value with the sera pH-Test. Too low or strongly varying values are often related to too low carbonate hardness (KH). You should therefore also check the KH level (sera kH-Test). Please be aware that the pH value may vary during the day and may become consider- ably lower especially at night. If required, you can raise the pH value with sera pond bio balance and at Acidosis Cause: page 21 Prevention/Recommendation: Gas oversat- uration may for instance occur after a larger water change with colder water. Cold, well aerated water (e.g. directly from the faucet) dissolves more gas than possibly warm pond water that has stood for quite some time. Gas oversaturation then occurs when the added water quickly warms up in the warmer pond, since the warmer water cannot keep as much gas in solution. The gas oversaturation, which becomes visible by small air bubbles within the mucous membrane of the fish as well as on other surfaces, may cause an embolism within the veins. In case of gas oversatura- tion, you should agitate the water surface well (e.g. by increased activity of the pump), as to allow for intense exchange with the air and, accordingly, removal of excess gases. However, you should generally ensure care- fully to not alter the temperature by more than a few degrees during water changes or when transferring fish (e.g. in case of a treat- ment in a quarantine tank). Strongly varying temperatures – e.g. also due to rapid weather changes – weaken the disease resistance of the fish. Air bubble disease (oversaturation of the water with gas) the same time ensure suffi- cient buffering (due to the increased KH). Additionally, using sera KOI PROTECT helps alleviate the damages and makes them heal quicker.