Disasters strike when you least expect them (and usually when you are least prepared for them). If you have fish in your pond, it is a good idea to have some form of a koi pond first aid kit on hand, because the sooner you are able to begin treating a sick fish, the better chances it has of recovering. Koi disease outbreaks or injuries always seem to follow ‘Murphy’s Law’ and happen at the worst possible time, when stores are closed, or on holidays when you can’t buy medications. Having a basic koi first aid kit will give you piece of mind knowing that if you ever need it – everything you really need will be on hand.

Here is a list of items to keep on hand so you will be ready to handle any emergency.

• Water Quality Test Kit – pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, chlorine
• Pond Salt – always have this on hand. Read our Salt in the Pond article to see why.
• Parasite Treatment – Parazoryne (Knockout, ProForm C, Broad Spectrum Disease Treatment no longer available in Canada)
• Bacterial Treatment –  Sabbactisun, Melafix, Pimafix are just some of the anti-bacterial products that are a good choice.
• Tricide Neo – is an antibiotic bath that works almost as well as injections, without the headache. 
• Extra Dechlorinator – we’ve seen many cases where a pond is accidentally over-filled (someone has left the tap running for many hours) or a pond has drained because tubing has sprung a leak or come loose from a filter.
• Spare Air Pump / Aeration Kit (w/ airline air stones) for aerating holding / quarantine tubs, or in case your main pond pump fails.

• A Net for catching fish
• Q-Tips – for cleaning and disinfecting wounds
• Hydrogen Peroxide – for cleaning and disinfecting wounds
• Quarantine tank or holding tank (large Rubbermaid container that has never been used with any chemicals)

• The Volume of Your Pond – measure your pond, use our Pond Volume Calculator, write it down and keep it in your First Aid Kit. Trying to calculate your pond volume while you are in an a panic as your fish are laying on the bottom of the pond could easily lead to a mistake and result in over-dosing or under-dosing medication in your pond.