basic feeding guidelines according to water temps

[koiguy1969]

posted this in the pond talk section but this is likely a more relevant spot.
being a very frequently asked question. this may be worth pinning.

 

[sissy]

wow 3 or 4 times a day and mine get fed only 2 or 3 times a week and have not suffered .I wonder if that is for a better quality food .I know tetra is not the best but they get the koi treats to help and i have tried other kinds of food and it ends up I have to scoop it out because I am afraid after half an hour of it floating or getting soft it may cause water quality problems .They are from OSI .I wish they would post the types of food and what will happen if you feed them more or less food .

 

[crsublette]

Chart agrees with most of what I have read, with a few minor exceptions mainly in regards to very small temperature differentials.

Water temperature makes a difference, but also a pond's water quality has a very big impact on determining the fish's appetite. Clear water don't mean clean, high quality water.

 

[sissy]

no but tests do and I take mine to my local pet store once in awhile and get the better read out and so far my pond has been good .I have the test kit at home also .I stay with the easy safe root .I sometimes don't do anything with my pond for a month or 2 and just feed the fish as i walk by on there scheduled days .

 

[crsublette]

Tests we have access to only tests what is critical for us to know and don't test for everything. If this was all we needed to know, then there would be a better explanation as to why small flow through systems and more efficient filtration system has an impact to the water quality by indications of the fish's increasing appetite and growth.

 

[sissy]

Guess my fish are happy as they were only a couple of inches long 9 years ago and now are over 2 feet long .Been feeding them that way for years .I used to have only one filter and went with 2 after they got so big .Don't want them to big because they are not getting a bigger pond here .

 

[MarcusNZ]

Do these figures also apply to Goldies? I am still feeding flakes to my fish morning and night.

They LOVE them!
:goldfish:

 

[koiguy1969]

pellets / sticks are a better way to go than flakes, they typically more nutrient dense.... but the guidelines are still good... lets say,if your feeding 1/2 cup of food a day, it's better to divie up that 1/2 cup into 3 or 4 servings rather than 1 or 2. ...this helps avoid spikes in the ammonia and nitrites. it is a lesser, more consistant load on the bio filter(s). and our fish dont have stomachs, their digestive tract is a straight shot basically. so they cant realy store the food and take their time digesting it. so the more you feed at a time the more potential nutrition is not absorbed, and utilized. its wasted and just put into the water volume. the lighter feedings allow plants to use up a higher percentage of the available nutrients as well. leaving less for algeas to feed on.

 

[sissy]

see that does not really say that and most will just feed and feed .They should really better explain it .I see people on you tube video's that feed there fish 4 or five times a day or more and say they go through a 3 lb bag of food in a month or 2 and then they show pics of there pond and the water looks bad .I thought it was a little excessive .Funny thing is they think it looks fine .I feed the babies some of the flakes and also crush the sticks .I bought high quality food and they seem to be picky and it floats around uneaten .I got tired of wasting money .Only reason I started them on tetra was because that was the only one i could get here .There was only 2 pet stores here and they did not sell anything for ponds and 3 years ago they opened a petsmart and it has very little for ponds in the store and then a petco after .I had to get my food online and not really knowing much just went with tetra since the name i already knew .

 

[sissy]

I was a pond dummy :razz: 9 years ago and wish i knew more back then and had found this sight a long time ago .

 

[crsublette]

Many of the big time avid koi hobbyiests feed their fish quite often, sometimes more often than 3~4 times a day, once the water temperatures reach 75~78*F and continue to feed a few times each week when the water is 45*F. Often, most of their food will have probiotics to help the fish to digest the food. These folk have quite pristine water and obtain unbelievable growth within just the first 3 years and their fish often end up being quite a piece of art when they reach the 30" inch mark. For them, it is all about having the koi's health to thrive and not allowing anything to hold them back. For them, koi keeping is treated like a science. It is rather quite impressive what they accomplish within a short period of time.

 

[sissy]

I sure don't want mine to get bigger .

 

[crsublette]

Some more good stuffs in regards to feeding koi. Does not get into water temperature impact on food schedule, but does talk about food in regards to the type and proportion and the why.


[video]

[video]

[video]

 

[Dave 54]

We start feeding when the temperature is stable at around 10c-15c and begin with a wheatgerm and garlic mix of food the wheatgerm id a recomended food for early feeding and the garlic helps against parasities .
You feed up towards the summer months swopping slowly over to a summer mix , we then feed Pond Care maxikoi Nutripearl but you can feed whatever summer food your dealer recomends

rgrds

Dave