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What is the difference between a koi fish that has dropsy and a pregnant one2007-11-24 23:12:00

plz answer if u know and cite it

Answers:

A female koi with eggs is only slightly fatter than a female koi that has just thrown all of hers. It's actually quite difficult to tell whether or not a koi has eggs, even for someone fairly well experienced in koi keeping and husbandry, and normally they only spawn once a year, in the late spring/early summer (generally around May or June, where I'm at).

Once you see a koi with dropsy, though, there will be no question in your mind whether or not that's what it has. They balloon up and look more like a puffer-fish than a koi - the scales stick up and they look bloated - like a football with fins, seriously! I have only ever had one fish with this disease, and yes, we lost him. It so changes their appearance, though, that I would recognize another fish with this problem in a heart-beat!

Go to www.koivet.com for more information on koi keeping in general, and dropsy and spawning, in particular.

Hope this helps.

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If a fish has Dropsy its scales will be raised away from its body like it stuck a fin in a light socket and will be "fat" all over due to the excess fluid. Pregnant fish's scales do not stand out like this. They just look fat right in front of their bottom fins.

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Koi don't get pregnant, they lay eggs. If the koi is a good healthy size, you would barely notice the difference when it is ready to drop eggs. You could also sex the koi by looking for the ovipositor sticking from the vent which indicates a female.