15/06/2026
💬 Client Testimonial - Boris, a Very Special Fish 💙🧡🐟
I’ve been keeping koi since 1980, after discovering them as a 15 year old, and I’ve loved them ever since. Over the years I’ve learned that koi (and carp in general) all have their own personalities—some are shy, some reserved, some never really become tame… and some are like friendly Labradors. Boris is definitely the latter.
I bought her back in 2002 as a barely one year old fish, around 5 inches long - a lovely kigoi (a yellow/orange koi). I introduced her into my pond (14 x 13 x 6 feet), which already had much larger fish. Amazingly, within just a day or two she was already taking food from my hand. That’s incredibly rare for such a small fish in a big pond, surrounded by larger koi - it showed just how bold she was right from the start.
That boldness is how she got her name. There was a Czech children’s cartoon in the 1970’s called Boris the Bold, about a brave character who went on adventures. At the time, I didn’t realise Boris was female (it’s difficult to tell until they’re 2–3 years old!), but the name suited her nature perfectly—and it stuck.
Over the next 24 years, Boris grew into a beautiful fish (now about 30 inches / 77cm) and never lost that calm, friendly nature. She’s always been my favourite—although my oldest and largest fish, Sioux (now 43 years old!) might have something to say about that.
Until this March, Boris had never had any health issues. Then a scrape on her side became infected. I had a net over the pond to keep leaves out, which unfortunately meant I couldn’t properly see how bad things had become. With the cold water suppressing her immune system, the infection worsened—her left flank became swollen and her scales started to raise. From experience, I knew this meant the infection had spread internally, and without antibiotics she wouldn’t survive.
The thought of losing Boris wasn’t something I could accept. But she’s a very large fish, and transporting her would have been extremely difficult. I contacted Ocean Vets in Alderholt, who—despite koi not being their usual patients—asked me to send photos and quickly got back to me.
That same afternoon, Jeremy French phoned and confirmed Boris needed antibiotics. He very kindly offered to come out rather than put Boris through the stress of transport, and started her on a course of Baytril injections. Jeremy was genuinely interested in my fish - and Boris in particular—which was incredibly reassuring.
The first course reduced the swelling and she became more symmetrical again, but the infection hadn’t completely gone. After a second course of Baytril, the improvement was remarkable - Boris is now acting completely normally, eating well, and is still as friendly as ever… my “Labrador of the pond” 🐟
There’s still a small area where the scales aren’t quite flat yet, but these will settle, and her protective mucus layer will fully restore. I’m confident she’ll make a full recovery.
I’m incredibly grateful to Jeremy and the team at Ocean Vets for their care, help, and willingness to treat something a little out of the ordinary—it really made all the difference. So glad I made that call in April 🙏
📷The photos capture Boris’s recovery journey from mid-April through to May. Despite a little glare in the final image taken on 24 May, she’s looking so much better, with just a small external area still healing. She’s almost there!
