Hello everyone, hoping you can point me in the right direction ......

I have a koi with one-sided exopthalmos. The koi was a gift to me from my daughter about 3 weeks ago. I’m staggered that the aquatic centre even thought about selling this fish to her and I wasn’t in a position at the time to take it back and demand a refund or replacement. I saw it immediately I looked in the carrier bag, so how they didn’t; beggars belief.

Anyway, I have been reading up on this condition and as far as I can tell, (although I have had contradicting info), here’s basically what I found:-

A) one-sided exopthalmos may be due to a previous injury and will heal by itself
B) double –sided exopthalmos is due to bacterial infection and quite untreatable

This is not what I’m saying, but rather what I’ve read.

I’m tempted to scoop this fish out of the pond and give it a quick salt bath. I know salt to be a great cleanser / healer as we used quite a lot of salt bathes when I was nursing and it was very effective.
However, I’m not sure about salt to water ratio and what time to leave this fish before returning it to the pond. The eye doesn’t appear to be getting better; the fish is otherwise healthy, active and feeding well. I’m only suggesting a short salt bath purely because it isn’t getting better by itself and after 3 weeks I would have thought that if leaving it alone was the way to go; it would at least have shown some signs of improvement by now.

Any suggestions will be welcomed.

I also give my fish garlic every day combined in their pellets. The health benefits of garlic are well known and I take a great interest in the health giving properties of the foods we eat. Garlic helps to boost the fish’s immune system and apparently parasites don’t like the smell.

Many thanks ......

poor fish,

let me tell you a little truth parasites don't like it when the koi is fed garlic because the garlic enters the bloodstream and boosts the immune system and this is what they don't like.

from a nursing background you may have noticed a person who has a higher garlic content in there diet is less acceptable to flu and colds and studies show its good for the heart.

as for your salt bath dosage i would personally go for a mix at 3oz per gall UK but please bear in mind this pointers.


Make sure it is fully dissolved to prevent ‘salt burns’


Aerate water in short-term baths


Remove fish if they ‘go over’ as weaker ones may not stand the full treatment time


Use cooking salt. Do not use salt containing anti-caking agents such as sodium ferrocyanide (yellow prussiate of soda – this can release hydrogen cyanide when exposed to sunlight!)

Many thanks for that Koimaster, greatly appreciated. I have heard not to use salt with anti-caking agents, just wasn't sure what was an appropraite doseage level for the salt. What I was thinking of doing was dissolving the salt in a small amount of hot water first, then adding it to the rest of the gallon and give it a good stir.

I know one of the founders of a local aquarium centre, NOT the one my daughter got the 'pop-eyed' fish from I hasten to add, not sure if I will trust them again. He uses 8 oz salt in 1 gallon of water for an absolute maximum of 1 minute to treat fungus - I was shocked you could do that without causing injury etc ....

I believe in using natural remedies, even though my background is scientific through my nursing. Garlic along with other everyday foods is one of natures most pure antiseptics, Echinacea, (grows in my garden), boosts immune system I take it if I feel I'm getting a cold, Sage is brilliant as a gargle if you have a sore throat etc etc ...........

Again, many thanks for your help

It's refreshing to know someone is there to lend a helping hand - I now owe you a G & T

Hi,
I am new to this forums.........

welcome to the number one friendly koi forum in the uk