Health FAQs 2024

We are in the process of canceling and refunding all orders that were pending when we halted shipping on May 10, 2024.

Always quarantine new fish before introducing them to an established pond. You can read more about setting up a quarantine tank and procedures in our Ultimate Guide to Quaranting Your Koi & Goldfish.

With the information that we currently have, it is not possible to say with any high degree of certainty if fish that you received prior to April 15, 2024, are infected with KHV. We have no evidence that indicates risk of KHV in fish received prior to April 15, 2024.

Please read the rest of the information in this FAQ, and continue to monitor your fish. Notify us of any behavioral or physical symptoms that you observe in your fish.

We submitted a total of 31 samples from each recirculating system at our facility for KHV testing. 14 of the 31 samples returned a positive KHV test result, indicating that the virus is present in some systems.

When we received these test results, out of an abundance of caution, we stopped new orders and halted shipping fish.

KHV was first documented in common carp in 1998. Many Koi farms and Koi dealers around the world have been affected in the decades since. Next Day Koi opened for business in 2006 and operated for 18 years without infection.

Koi herpes virus or KHV is a highly transmissible, incurable and deadly virus that affects all strains of common carp, including koi and butterfly koi.

We have never sold vaccinated fish at Next Day Koi. 

All koi and butterfly koi sold by Next Day Koi originate from two sources:

• Indoor, biosecure-grown koi and butterfly koi from Aquamade
• Outdoor-grown koi and butterfly koi from Blue Ridge Koi

Neither population is vaccinated against KHV. All fish sold at Next Day Koi originated from naive, unvaccinated sources.

All Koi and Butterfly Koi are the same species of common carp and are susceptible to KHV infection. It is our current understanding that goldfish cannot be infected and cannot transmit the KHV virus. While goldfish cannot become infected and shed the virus, it is possible the virus can exist on any surface in an aquatic environment, which includes goldfish.

All Koi and Butterfly Koi are the same species of common carp and are susceptible to KHV infection. It is our current understanding that High-Fin Sharks cannot be infected and cannot transmit the KHV virus. While High-Fin Sharks cannot become infected and shed the virus, it is possible the virus can exist on any surface in an aquatic environment, which includes High-Fin Sharks.

There is no evidence to suggest that animals other than common carp are susceptible to KHV infection.

There is some risk of infection in any fish that have been received since April 15th, 2024. We are not able to tell you with any high degree of certainty if the fish that you have received were in tanks with infected fish or not. We are notifying you so that you can proceed with as much caution as possible.

If you currently have symptoms or mortality in your fish, please contact us with any information that you have. If your fish are healthy and are not displaying symptoms, please continue monitoring them closely and notify us if you observe any symptoms.

There is some risk of infection in any fish that have been received since April 15, 2024. With the current information that we have, we cannot say with a high degree of certainty whether there are reliable patterns of infection. We are notifying you so that you can proceed with as much caution as possible.

If you currently have symptoms or mortality in your fish, please contact us with any information that you have. If your fish are healthy and are not displaying symptoms, please continue monitoring them closely and notify us if you observe any symptoms.

KHV shares many of the same symptoms that are caused by other routine and treatable parasite and bacterial issues. If you have fish with symptoms, it is important to rule out other possible causes via microscopy and treatment before assuming that you have a KHV infection.

KHV symptoms can include “difficulty breathing, gathering near oxygen-rich areas (such as waterfalls or aerators), excessive mucous production from gills, swollen gills, gill necrosis/discoloration, ulcerations, reddened skin/fins/tail, pale patches, sloughing of scales, increased/decreased mucous production, ‘sandpaper’ texture to the skin, decreased appetite/refusal of food, lethargy, sunken eyes, erratic swimming, and ‘hanging’ with a head down position.”¹

The only way to know for certain if a fish is infected is to submit a biological sample for PCR testing. Information on PCR testing can be found below in a separate answer.

“KHV disease (KHVD) outbreaks typically occur in spring and autumn when water temperatures are between 60° and 77°F (16° and 25 °C) with an incubation period of 7–21 days depending upon water temperature.” ²

Fish purchased from Next Day Koi in previous years are not affected by this health alert.

KHV shares many of the same symptoms that are caused by other routine and treatable parasitic and bacterial issues. If you have fish with symptoms, it is important to rule out other possible causes via microscopy and treatment before assuming that you have a KHV infection.

KHV symptoms can include “difficulty breathing, gathering near oxygen-rich areas (such as waterfalls or aerators), excessive mucous production from gills, swollen gills, gill necrosis/discoloration, ulcerations, reddened skin/fins/tail, pale patches, sloughing of scales, increased/decreased mucous production, “sandpaper” texture to the skin, decreased appetite/refusal of food, lethargy, sunken eyes, erratic swimming, and “hanging” with a head down position.”¹

There is no known cure for a KHV infection. Heating tank or pond water to 86°F has been shown to stop mortality in infected fish and help the fish to recover. Fish that recover after heat treatment may still be carriers of the virus and contagious to other fish.

If your fish are still in quarantine, you can leave them there until more information is available and we all have a better understanding of the situation.

If you choose to euthanize a fish received from Next Day Koi between April 15th and May 10th, you can submit photos to us for a refund.

If you made the decision to forgo quarantine and add new fish directly to your primary tank or pond, we are not aware of any action that you can take to reduce or eliminate the possibility of infection.

If your fish are currently healthy and not displaying symptoms, there is no immediate need to dispose of your fish and disinfect your system. If you choose to disinfect or feel that you must disinfect your system, these are the directions that we have received from a veterinarian expert:

In order to disinfect a tank or pond, dispose of every fish. Run bleach solution through the entire system for 24 hours at dosage of 1 cup per 1,000 gallons. Drain system and spray tank or pond with bleach solution, let sit for 24 hours and then rinse well. Fill system or pond back up and treat with Cloram X or other sodium thiosulfate product to neutralize chlorine and make the system safe for fish again. Follow manufacturer’s recommended dosage for Cloram X or other sodium thiosulfate product.

A virus needs a host to live in. If every susceptible fish in a tank or pond dies and there are no live common carp left in the pond, then the virus does not have a host to infect, and the virus will die out.

Yes. You can submit a sample or samples to the Real-time PCR Research and Diagnostics Core Facility at UC Davis for testing. Healthy fish that are not presenting symptoms are less likely to test positive, but could still be infected.

While several different types of samples can be submitted for testing, it may be easiest to submit a gill cutting. To submit a gill cutting, use small surgical scissors to remove a portion of the gill. Enclose the gill tissue in a sealed container, and send the sample along with the required paperwork to the UC Davis lab via UPS or Fed Ex. Further instructions and the mailing address can be found at the link above.

If you do submit a sample for testing, please share the results with us once they are returned to you.

We are not able to facilitate or fund testing at this time.

However, we are extending our  14-Day Worry-Free Guarantee to cover any sick or dying fish that were received between April 15, 2024, through May 10, 2024.

Read our Statement Regarding Initial Source of Infection.

We are extending our  14-Day Worry-Free Guarantee to cover any sick or dying fish that were received between April 15, 2024, through May 10, 2024. 

Please email us details of fish that were lost outside of the refund period, and we will review these on a case-by-case basis in the order they were received.

We can only issue refunds for fish purchased from Next Day Koi between April 15–May 10, 2024. While we can’t refund you for fish purchased from other vendors, we can work with you to help you restock.

We anticipate refunds for pending orders to be issued this week, and they should appear in the normal 5-7 business days. We are working with our payment processor to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.

We anticipate that we will have our facilities fully disinfected and be back up and running in a matter of weeks. We will send an email when we are accepting orders again. You can join our mailing list here.