Not everyone can give a fish an "injection" of medicine to stop its illness. Sometimes there are too many fish which need injections. Sometimes a person will prefer "recently transported" fish to have medicine to prevent infection. Other times, a person is injecting the sickest fish but wants to use a medicated food to limit the infection in other normally-appearing fish. In any of the above cases, giving a food which will be eaten by the fish and which contains antibiotics will go a long way towards stopping infections in fish.
Pros
When fed properly, this combination of antimicrobials works extremely well and has given MediKoi a very good reputation/. This is a SINKING pellet which suits sick fish perfectly as they are seldom inclined to top feed.
Cons
None, anymore. Used to be 'expensive' but the advent of the new eight pound size MediKoi at it's very favorable price-point has eased consumer complaints when offering the remedy to large groups of fish
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I ordered some medikoi from you last week, and haven't heard anything. Did you receive my order, and has it been shipped? Thanks for your prompt response. Leah C. San Leandro, CA
A: Hey there and thanks for your order! The Frequently Asked Questions area isn't the "best" for checking on an order. This is because I check these questions about every two weeks. So, a lot of time will have passed. Instead, you should email PondRx directly instead. But better still, call our office at 706 374 3037 and get a logistics update right away. Here's the RULE OF THUMB: If your order isn't confirmed 'received' by email in 24 hours, there's a problem, and you should be in touch by email or phone.
Q: What is the shelf life of the medicated food?
A: Count on the medicated foods for one year to eighteen months under refrigeration. Currently, the food has no "stated" expiration date simply because regulations haven't pushed the initiative on the manufacturer, but I would stake my reputation on it's performance up to 18 months. Probably longer but let's not go crazy, eh? ~ Dr. Erik Johnson
Q: I have a butterfly koi about 2 feet long in an open pond, I have noticed that his/her tail looks bloodshot (pink, could be ulcerations) I can't catch this fish, its far smarter than I am. Would that Medikoi help? Got any suggestions, I really need help!
A: Water testing (especially nitrates) and a careful evaluation of the crowding of the pond (is it crowded? Are there more than 1 inch of fish per ten gallons of water?) would help tell you why the fish is pinking up and developing ragged fins. Past that, we've seen astounding success with Tricide Neo used as a spray and then MediKoi food. The combination usually gets excellent results in a short time ASSUMING you've fixed anything that might be impeding health in the pond to begin with. ~ Doc Johnson
Q: Can Medikoi and Tricide Neo be bought in the UK and if so who are the dealers? If not do you ship to the UK from USA or would the cost be prohibitive?
Regards
Dennis
A: I don't know. I'm sorry. We don't currently ship into the UK, especially on medications it's more than likely they'd be waylaid on our docks or yours due to the material-contents. Costs for shipping to the UK may be considered unreasonable by most folks. So I am sorry we cannot currently help in the UK.
Q: Is Medikoi safe if my pond turtle eats it also?
A: Great question, any animal around the pond can safely eat the MediKoi including your dog and cat. This is NOT recommended or endorsed however if you saw a bird or pet eating the stuff you could worry unecessarily. It's fine. The food is safe for animal consumption and the antimicrobials in the diet will not harm, nor exceed the safe ranges for most animals per unit body weight. NO worries.
Dr Erik Johnson
Q: If my koi is not sick can I still feed my fish medikoi?
A: I would not recommend MediKoi as a staple food for Koi or Goldfish. It should be fed to fish with infections, or to prevent any infections at vulnerable times of year (after transport and in the Springtime) for two to three weeks at a run, maximum. Not all the time. If you fed this food all the time, the bacteria in the fishes' environment would eventually tolerate and become immune to the medicine in this food. Not for use on fish intended for food.
Q: What meds are in this food? I am seeing stuff with no antibiotics at ALL being sold as medicated food!
A: This medicated food contains a potentiated Sulfa drug, a quinolone not unlike Oxolinic acid, and a third medication which is an aminoglycoside antibiotic with very decent gastric absorbtion.
Q: Hi Doc, Are you still recommending feeding Medi-Koi as the first food of the spring? And if so, for how long? With 22 (some large) fish in my pond I can never figure out how much to buy, so I keep buying this in 3 pound bags. How long will it keep (ie: if I get the eight pound bag) if opened? Thanks
A: The food is good under refrigeration for slightly over a year. That's based on the known stability of the least durable of the unheated medications incorporated into the diet. The diet itself would be considered stable longer than that as it is made with stabilized Vitamin C and extra antioxidants to prevent rancidity. It's a good food. You should probably not need, nor feed this food for more than 2-3 weeks. If you still need that after two to three weeks then it would suggest you have not corrected the cause of the Ulcers, or you have not met the conditions necessary for healing, such as warmer water, less crowding, no nitrogen (ammonia or nitrite) accumulation, and optimal oxygenation. ~ Dr. Erik Johnson
Q: At what water temperature can I feed the Medi Koi. We have had a particularly harsh winter up in Canada, and I noticed the other day, a few Koi 'laying over'. Even though the water is now gradually warming, I want to get Medi Koi into them as soon as possible, but I want to be sure of the water temp first. Thanks!
Christine
A: Good question, because MediKoi is very nutritious and quite high in protein, you should resist feeding it in water BELOW fifty five degrees, Fahrenheit. Above this, and especiallly when the weather report suggests that you're not in for a cold snap, it's fine to feed MediKoi at will as long as the fish are warmer than 55 DF. [Doc Johnson]
Q: Hi, do you recommend feeding Medikoi as a 'preventive' when water temp reaches 60 degrees? I have read articles suggesting that koi should be given an antibiotic food for the 60 to 70 degree range, what is your recommendation? Thanks in advance, Sarah
A: Sarah, thank you. I don't feed my fish any antibiotic food in the Spring because they remain heated all winter, and there fore they are not subjected to the stress of chilling and 'no food' of winter - therefore they are not vulnerable in the Spring to pathogens like bacteria and fungi. So, for those in warm climates or who heat, the answer is NO.
For those whose fish get cold and are not fed all winter, the fish are stressed by Spring and are vulnerable to various opportunistic infections. So these fish, for preventative reasons, would be well done to be eating MediKoi in the Spring to prevent or curb any infectious process.
Medikoi is better than other medicated foods for several reasons, for one thing, it's not 'top dressed' - there are foods out there with medications ON them, just sprayed on. There are other foods which are nothing but Romet-B (the old catfish drug) to which most Aeromonas and Pseudomonas is immune. They repack this Romet food and call it "Magic Medicated Food" or whatever and you overpay for it.
Finally, we know what's in Medikoi. It's not a secret. There are three DIFFERENT antibiotics. This is good.
In some foods, they have a quinolone, another quinolone, and a Sulfa. More than ONE of any class of antibiotics is redundant and doesn't make it stronger. Medicated foods will improve every year, but for now, the best one is MediKoi. [Doc Johnson]
Q: I want to purchase Amikacin or Baytrill to treat my fish and I have try Amikacin from one of the koi dealer, and my fish getting better, but I don't have any more, so how do I buy Amikacin or Baytril.
A: Have you seen those 'online' pet pharmacies? I think one is called Pe_Meds E_press. These type pet pharmacies can (and will) sell you ANYTHING you want, without so much as a prescription. Some of these pet pharmacies even sell "Medicinal Use" cannabis (marijuana) for "human glaucoma patients", no lie.
Here's how it works: They will ask you for your vets name, they will send the vet a prescription to sign-off on, and (here's the very best part) even if he does not sign it, they will ship your product one week later, or at least that has been my experience on several documented occasions. Pondrx.com does not ship or provide Baytril or Amikacin injection.
Q: OCHIBA 26 inch KEEPS GETTING PIMPLES ABOVE EYES THEY BURST THE SKIN. OPEN WOUNDS APPEAR THEN THEY TURN BLACK AND START TO HEAL... NO OTHER KOI IS AFFECTTED... ALL WATER PARAMETERS CHECK OK. PLEASE HELP ?
A: You should find that two to three dips in Tricide Neo (we sell it) and feeding MediKoi should remedy this situation. Chronic non healing wounds are common in systems which are:
1) Overfed
2) High nitrates
3) Overcrowded.
Water changes will go the furthest in all of the above, try 20% every two weeks and see if it does not also help reduce the recurrence of these chronic bacterial issues.
Q: Is this produst available in a mini pellet size and smaller quantity for small goldfish?
A: While this product is in fact packaged under another name, (MediGold) I believe, the pellet size and antibiotic formulation is the same. All I could suggest is the smallest package of 1.25 pounds. Thank you for the question. (Doc Johnson)
