One of the most important things in keeping your pond and your fish healthy is understanding pathogenic bacteria. There are a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria that can infect your pond. By far the most common are Aeromonas and Pseudomonas. These two bacteria kill more koi each year than all the other pathogens combined. Understanding how these pathogens live, eat and attack your koi is vital to controlling them.   Aeromonas and Pseudomonas cause ulcers (also known as “hole in the side disease”), fin rot, mouth rot and tail rot. If left untreated the damage they inflict will eventually kill the fish. Many hobbyists believe that their ponds do not have either of these bacteria when their fish are not currently experiencing any of the above symptoms. This simply is not true. Aeromonas and/or Pseudomonas exist in almost every koi pond the world. You must understand that it is possible for koi to be around these bacteria and NOT be infected. Koi have a defense mechanism that helps protect them against these bacteria. This defense is made up of primarily their slime coat and their immune system. It is important not to have a false sense of security because all your fish appear healthy. This can change quickly. The big question is: How much Aeromonas and Pseudomonas can koi be exposed to without getting sick?   In 2000 when Koizyme was first introduced to the koi hobby, many hobbyists and dealers conducted their own tests to verif ...

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