Koi Food - what are you feeding your koi?

Greetings all!

I have fed my koi everything from Wardley's (when I first started my
pond) to so called "custom blended" new england breeders special koi
food.

Now that I have re dug my pond (I think this is my 3rd dig - the 1st,
a 2nd in 2006 and now my 3rd where I 'fix everything that was not
exactly right and adding bottom drains) and am just about ready to
refill it and put the koi back.

However, I have some food that is 1 year old that has been stored in
the basement and I have been reading that food more than 6 months old
is useless. I am considering feeding my koi, many which are more than
12 inches long now, a 'better, higher quality' food such as (hype time
- good marketing too!) Saki Hikari Koi food.or that like.

What are many of you out there feeding your koi? I am convinced that
food quality is important yet, I don't want to just set my few
remaining dollars (after I buy gasoline for my car!) on fire with
overly expensive food for my koi.

I look forward to your insights and suggestions.

Have a great weekend!
W. Dale

Hey, that's my question! ;-)

Look back to the thread started on 3/16/08, titled "What are You
Feeding? Where are you Buying"

Me. I'm currently serving Sho Koi.

JB


"W Dale" <> wrote in message
news:24b234f9-b9b0-4c24-848d-...

> Greetings all!
>
> I have fed my koi everything from Wardley's (when I first started my
> pond) to so called "custom blended" new england breeders special koi
> food.
>
> Now that I have re dug my pond (I think this is my 3rd dig - the 1st,
> a 2nd in 2006 and now my 3rd where I 'fix everything that was not
> exactly right and adding bottom drains) and am just about ready to
> refill it and put the koi back.
>
> However, I have some food that is 1 year old that has been stored in
> the basement and I have been reading that food more than 6 months old
> is useless. I am considering feeding my koi, many which are more than
> 12 inches long now, a 'better, higher quality' food such as (hype time
> - good marketing too!) Saki Hikari Koi food.or that like.
>
> What are many of you out there feeding your koi? I am convinced that
> food quality is important yet, I don't want to just set my few
> remaining dollars (after I buy gasoline for my car!) on fire with
> overly expensive food for my koi.
>
> I look forward to your insights and suggestions.
>
> Have a great weekend!
> W. Dale
>

Though it may not be as good for them, Phyllis and I have used catfish
food for more than a decade. I gather it is growth oriented. Our koi
and goldies seem to be thriving on it (and the bluegills in our acre
pond). It is so cheap at $12/50 pound bag that we cannot see feeding
other food to our $3.95 koi.

Others will have more formal advice for you.

Jim

"W Dale" <> wrote in message
news:24b234f9-b9b0-4c24-848d-...
>
> What are many of you out there feeding your koi? I am convinced that
> food quality is important yet, I don't want to just set my few
> remaining dollars (after I buy gasoline for my car!) on fire with
> overly expensive food for my koi.
===========================
My koi are thriving and breeding like rabbits on inexpensive trout and
catfish chow with treats of kitten chow, bread, earthworms and a high meat
canned dog food. They're not obese as some people fear they become on
cheaper foods. Fish get obese when overfed.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

"Phyllis and Jim" <> wrote in message
news:3425504f-bcae-4e34-b26d-...
> Though it may not be as good for them, Phyllis and I have used catfish
> food for more than a decade. I gather it is growth oriented. Our koi
> and goldies seem to be thriving on it (and the bluegills in our acre
> pond). It is so cheap at $12/50 pound bag that we cannot see feeding
> other food to our $3.95 koi.
>
> Others will have more formal advice for you.
>
> Jim
======================
Mine have been thriving on catfish and trout food the same amount of time. I
can't justify paying the outrageous prices they charge for koi food.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

On May 30, 6:39 pm, "JB" <jr...@spamnoipa.net> wrote:
> Hey, that's my question! ;-)
>
> Look back to the thread started on 3/16/08, titled "What are You
> Feeding? Where are you Buying"
>
> Me. I'm currently serving Sho Koi.
>
> JB
>
> "W Dale" <muad...@pcisys.net> wrote in message
>
> news:24b234f9-b9b0-4c24-848d-...
>
> > Greetings all!
>
> > I have fed my koi everything from Wardley's (when I first started my
> > pond) to so called "custom blended" new england breeders special koi
> > food.
>
> > Now that I have re dug my pond (I think this is my 3rd dig - the 1st,
> > a 2nd in 2006 and now my 3rd where I 'fix everything that was not
> > exactly right and adding bottom drains) and am just about ready to
> > refill it and put the koi back.
>
> > However, I have some food that is 1 year old that has been stored in
> > the basement and I have been reading that food more than 6 months old
> > is useless. I am considering feeding my koi, many which are more than
> > 12 inches long now, a 'better, higher quality' food such as (hype time
> > - good marketing too!) Saki Hikari Koi food.or that like.
>
> > What are many of you out there feeding your koi? I am convinced that
> > food quality is important yet, I don't want to just set my few
> > remaining dollars (after I buy gasoline for my car!) on fire with
> > overly expensive food for my koi.
>
> > I look forward to your insights and suggestions.
>
> > Have a great weekend!
> > W. Dale

Hey JB!
I see your thread now! I really did look for something but I guess I
over looked it. So sorry!
I had heard about the trout food and all and was wondering what
commercial koi food people are using and recommending. I have use
much less expensive food too, but would like to try something
different this year. I have even remodeled my pond this season and
thought I would see how the koi like the new digs and what effect the
so called higher quality commercial koi food may have on them.
Thanks !
W. Dale

On Fri, 30 May 2008 12:25:56 EDT, W Dale <> wrote:

>However, I have some food that is 1 year old that has been stored in
>the basement

Toss it. Now if it had been kept in a (non-auto defrost) freezer it
probably would have still been good.

> I am considering feeding my koi, many which are more than
>12 inches long now, a 'better, higher quality' food such as (hype time
>- good marketing too!) Saki Hikari Koi food.or that like.

Shokoi here also. I keep all my koi food frozen and only take out what I'll
use in about a week. I buy from Western Pond Supplies as they have free
shipping if you spend over $60.

I also like to feed Manda Fu, but the shipping was ridiculously high for
something as light as packing peanuts. So I passed on that this year. I
also feed thawed frozen peas. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Sat, 31 May 2008 1837 EDT, W Dale <> wrote:

>Hey JB!
>I see your thread now! I really did look for something but I guess I
>over looked it. So sorry!
>I had heard about the trout food and all and was wondering what
>commercial koi food people are using and recommending. W. Dale

IMO, It isn't the commercial food people you want to listen to, but people
who have spent bucco bucks on an education around what is best for fish.
http://www.akca.org/kht/nutrit.pdf ~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

GF and koi need protein for building mass and oil for energy. They dont digest or
utilize carbohydrates. Koi have "short" digestive tracts so carbs will not get
broken down fast enough anyway before the digesting mass is expelled into the water.
In the water it will continue to be broken down by bacteria and produce wastes.

There are big differences in land based nutrients and those in the water.

land plants also need a lot of cellulose to "stand up" whereas water based plants
dont need much cellulose. this makes land based plant material difficult to digest.
The same is true of proteins. Plants have no muscle, so they have very low levels of
proteins and those they have are enzymes. The oil in land plants can withstand a lot
of heat and desiccation, whereas "water based" oils quickly go rancid at room temp.
So fish starts going "bad" very fast. Of course, a natural diet is much better for
any animal. What GF and Koi eat are the tiny critters that live on the algae and
bacteria in the pond. The daphnia, the rotifers, the little worms and insect larvae.
I feed my koi freeze dried krill. the pacifica 1kilo size. it lasts for months with
my 22 koi. they only get 1/2 cup a day.
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/sea...n73t87mi728mt6

However, I am considering feeding them finely chopped raw shrimp and fish instead/in
addition. Ingrid

On Fri, 30 May 2008 12:25:56 EDT, W Dale <> wrote:
>However, I have some food that is 1 year old that has been stored in
>the basement and I have been reading that food more than 6 months old
>is useless.
>What are many of you out there feeding your koi?

On Jun 1, 11:12 am, ~ jan <Seewebs...@jjspond.us> wrote:
> On Sat, 31 May 2008 1837 EDT, W Dale <muad...@pcisys.net> wrote:
> >Hey JB!
> >I see your thread now! I really did look for something but I guess I
> >over looked it. So sorry!
> >I had heard about the trout food and all and was wondering what
> >commercial koi food people are using and recommending. W. Dale
>
> IMO, It isn't the commercial food people you want to listen to, but people
> who have spent bucco bucks on an education around what is best for fish.http://www.akca.org/kht/nutrit.pdf ~ jan
>
> ------------
> Zone 7a, SE Washington State
> Ponds:www.jjspond.us

True!
Great article on food and koi in general! Thanks for sharing!
W. Dale