Potassium Permanganate-Superb disinfectant and parasiticide, from Koi Health and Disease (part 2)

Part 2

Potassium permanganate is very effective at treating flukes. Both gyrodactylus and dactylogyrus can be cleared within 8 hours with a 3ppm concentration, although the full concentration should be maintained for 1 to 12 hours and a second dose at 2pm 2 to 3 days later is also recommended.

Potassium permanganate is also very effective at reducing columnaris, aeromonas, edwardsiela bacteria, and true fungal infections.

The author (Dr. Erik Johnson) has run trails with potassium permanganate in crowded holding systems containing fish infested with flukes that had developed ulcers as well. These systems also often contained high levels of nitrogenous waste.

Applying potassium permanganate to these systems was found to have several positive effects:

• All flukes annihilated
• Wounds were disinfected
• Reduction by up to 99% of all aeromonad and other gram-negative bacteria in the environment
• Destruction of saprolegnia (a common secondary invader of ulcers)
• Massive oxidation of organic material which can then be removed by filtration and water changes

With two treatments spaced three days apart, fish are healing ulcers that are effectively parasite free in water containing considerably less organic material.

Another strong suit of potassium permanganate is the treatment of “winter fungus” which may be either columnaris or saprolegnia. Infected fish can be cleared of lesions with two applications as described above.

Potassium permanganate’s effect on ciliated protozoans has been the subject of a lot of research and writing. It has been determined that it’s strongest suit in the protozoan class is against trichodina, which is very tolerant of salt (AL8354).

Potassium permanganate picks up where salt leaves off, by taking out trichodina and flukes which salt may have missed. It also extends into killing off fungus as well as disinfecting and resolving superficial bacterial ulcerations.

To be continued.