Welfare of our catch

[weldec]

So you have settled down for a good days fishing with plenty of fish topping and leaping out of the water, my this looks promising you say to yourself, but have you ever sat and wondered WHY they are leaping out of the water, no its not to get away from Larry's pellets or the strong pungent smell of an additive . Parasitic infestation could be the cause of many a leaping fish. Once played and safely into your landing net do you ever cast an eye over the general condition of your prize and if you saw anything that may endanger the life of these fish what action could we take, maybe inform the owner of the complex of the problem they may not know and it could be some underlining factor that may save his livelihood and our passion for angling, after all if we care then we are looking after the future. We have all experienced fish in our hands with ulcers on them, this is more predominant in the breeding season. But a fish with an untreated ulcer can lead to a myriad of problems. I have caught carp and they have been covered with Argulus (fish lice), these can only cause the demise of its host and will suck the life blood out of the fish. Obviously with the temperatures well down at this time of year some forms of parasites are inactive but as the waters warm up these will be more of a threat, and will seek out a host and the cycle will start all over again. So do any of you carry any sort of treatments in your tackle boxes, just a squirt of some form of antibiotic will cleanse the wound and maybe save the fish to be caught another day.

So guys /galls what is your take on the general welfare and future of our fish stocks.

Over to you.

[Larry Teepot]

well Bill when i do catch fish...... one or two i have seen have had open wounds.....what should i do ...very serious question because if there is something to put on i really am a little ignorant of it and i feel i should know better and even know how to treat it

[weldec]

Hi Larry,

There are a wide range of topical treaments out there, but we can only do our best and hopefuly we can receed the infection before there is anymore damage, we have to appreciate also that these fish live in a very harsh enviroment (thats nature for you). but if we can do our little bit then we have the peace of mind that at least we are trying. Some of the topical treatments available are: Io-Sal, Antibiotic creams, Acriflavine, Aquatec, but to name a few, these are all available from fish/ koi outlets. But always read the labels and apply with caution only to the affected area care must be taken not to damage any other scales.

Ok guys this may sound a bit labourious and you may be thinking I aint gonna mess about like that i want to win this match, but none of us are winners if we leave fish in this condition.

[Kingfisher]

5 years sago we had a problem with our carp and quite a few perished after developing sores etc. On EA advice we ceased fishing for a number of months as stress to the fish was believed to be a factor. Subsequently when we started fishing again some fish had minor sores. It was most practical to attend to those at the weigh in when we sprayed them with MelaFix. This seemed to do the trick.I wondered at the time if a cream may have been even more effective.