Carp Pox

Carp Pox is a herpes virus that koi and goldfish get.  It is not curable but it's also not dangerous.  Unfortunately, it's very unsightly.  The raised waxy "wart" will come up and seemingly go away.  In all reality, however, it never goes completely away.  It just "hides" for a while. 

How to Recognize, Treat and Prevent Carp Pox in Your Koi or Goldfish Pond

Carp Pox is a herpes virus that causes waxy growths to come up on koi and goldfish.  Although it's not harmful to the fish it is ugly.  We equate a carp pox on a koi or goldfish to a fever blister on us.  They come up mostly when the water is cold and as the water heats up they will recede.

Recognizing Carp Pox

Carp Pox is a raised "wart" that looks like drops of wax.  It can appear just about on any part of a koi or goldfish and often appears on the fins.  It is normally either milky white in color or clear and appears to be jelly-like though it is solid.  It can be mistaken for coldwater ich which is a parasite that burrows beneath the scales and can look like carp pox.  One source in the UK states that Carp Pox is rare.  We do not find it to be rare at all.  In fact, we have a couple of koi right now that have carp pox.  

Treating Carp Pox

I know of no treatment for carp pox at all.  It's a herpes virus that will remain with the fish for life.  Do not attempt to scrape them off.  That will injure your fish.  You could try heating up the water to see if the lesions hide.

Preventing Carp Pox

I believe carp pox is extremely contagious but most koi or goldfish have built up a resistance for the virus and are basically immune to it.  For over 10 years we have had the same koi with carp pox in the same pond as the rest of our personal collection and only one or two out of over 50 fish have ever shown a carp pox.  It's a gamble on your part whether you want to separate those that show the carp pox or not.

Though Orengi (our oldest koi with the virus) is riddled with ugly "warts" we choose not to disown him and we've never separated him from his brothers and sisters.  After all, he's our koi child like the rest of them. 

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