injured koi

[a_blast]

not sure where to post about fish injuries, i didnt see anything in the disease section that looked appropriate, so im posting for the type of fish

a silver koi of some kind, about six inches long, has a half circle missing from the base of its tail, where the fins meet the meat, like someone took a hole puncher to him. its very red and inflamed around the wound, which is a couple of centimeters in diameter. i know i shouldnt be mixing the fancy golds and common golds and all but it was originally an oversized goldfish tank, and i didnt want to kick anyone out, all is well, except till this injury. the koi is the largest fish in the tank, by far, the rest are about half his size, and ive never witnessed anyone chasing or attacking the koi, i have removed any questionable decorations, i had some sea glass in there, which im ashamed to admit, but it was uber smooth, i could squeeze it in my hand without fear of injury. regardless it was removed. ive been doing frequent water changes and under dosing with aquarium salt and prime as well. this injury is over a week old. its not looking any better or any worse. the fish swims fine. i havent seen anyone nipping at the injury and the tank is right here next to me so it doesn't go long without some watching. the fish does look sad, which is probably more of an indicator of my guilt than it is an actual symptom, but its swimming normally, and eating well. its got to hurt him though every time he moves i imagine, since its at the base of the tail. it goes almost half way up the base. can i catch and treat the fish with some kind of ointment and a fish bandaid? everything i read via google was pretty injury specific, so AC, i turn to you! please dont chew me out if this sounds like something golds would never do, id cut the base of my tail if i thought it helped the fish. if a picture will make all the difference then i can make a point to learn how to post them here for sake of the fish. any input is helpful, thanks in advance!

[Funfin]

What's your water parameters and tank size? When you have an injured fish that makes no sense - check the water.

Is your fish on the mend?

[a_blast]

i just completed isolating him into a cycled 29 gal, which i know is small for a koi, but hes still only six inches, and its really the biggest i can provide for a hospital. i did an under dose of salt and prime, a little less than half his tail is gone from the bottom up. the wound is still pretty red, but instead of being red all the way back to the missing tail section, the red seems stemmed for now, and it has a white edge to it. i never had an injured fish live this long, its usually better or dead in a couple days tops. hes still eating fine and swimming actively, and it might just be because im not used to larger fish yet, but the wound looks gnarly. i saw a fish diseases forum here, but i couldnt find anything particularly for injuries, if you think i could ask around in a different area pertaining more to injuries id be more than happy to. i dont even know what standard measures are for treating a wounded fish, im still very wet behind the ears. can i do more than salt and stress coat? should i not even be using that? thanks for the initial response, i feel so bad for this poor fish!

[Funfin]

Can you post a pic?

Keep up on the water changes. Clean water helps a fish heal. Test your water for toxins and do water changes more frequently if toxins are present.

Does the fish tail look fuzzy white?

[HarryB]

from what info is posted here it is sounded like general physical damage, a picture would most definitely help diagnose this though :)

however as far as a treatment, so far the salt will be very benificial as it will help slow down bacterial infections around the wound but i would also back the salt up with an antibacterial treatment that you should be able to get from your LFS. These treatments combined will hopefully stop any infections from the wound until we can identify what it is or it starts to heal up on its own :)

[a_blast]

i hope this attachment worked...the red at the base of the tail has been like that, its what helped me spot the injury, but now everything past the tail on that lower half as you can see is gone. the tail fin was whole when i first noticed the wound. the horizontal red line you see in the center (or what is now the bottom) of the tail fin was not there a couple days ago. the white behind the wound, the little piece looks as though its trying to grow back, but could it just be dead flesh? he still swims like fish though. it took about a hundred photos, literally, to get this one pathetic picture. still eating and behaving normally, not even seeming to favor his tail. i will pick up some meds tomorrow. is this a god awful wound? should i euthanize it? i feel like the fact that hes lasted a couple few weeks means its going to be okay as long as i dont put him with other fish. will the red ever go away? or is it blood/inflamation the way it looks to be? parameters are good, i use this incredible mineral water filter on my tap so when i add new water it starts off almost perfect, but im worried that if i change the water too frequently that i might further stress this injured guy. or girl i really dont know. is this a realistic worry? how often should i change the water for an injured fish? even though my parameters are fine i feel like there are bacteria and other germs in the water that my master kit just wasn't made to test for, that maybe would be no issue to a healthy fish, so i've been feeding every other day and doing a water change once every three days. i know cold water fish dont appreciate it being hot obviously, but would a heater help stave off infection or aid in the fish's metabolism so he can fight this better? i feel the worst about this and i panic every time i look at his poor hide! thank you so much for responding!

[a_blast]

i followed the instructions on the sticky in the how to forum, but im not seeing any success with uploading the photo

[a_blast]

it worked! sorry about the motion blur, hes a busy dude, i had to trim it up to be able to upload it, so some quality loss, but as far as perspective he's mid turn if that helps you imagine the tail more clearly

[Funfin]

Ok I think with time and proper care your fish will get better. If its eating and moving around - that's good signs.

To start with what are your water parameters?
Ammonia?
Nitrites ?
Nitrates?

Does your filter system change GH and KH?

Do add aquarium salt. That will help the fish heal. I'm not sure which medication to buy. Hopefully someone will chime in and recommend a treatment.