To Feed or Not to Feed That is the Question

[WaterGardeningDirect]

Ok that’s not quite be how people are wording it, but it is the crux of the comments we are receiving at the moment. With the weather being so changeable at the moment, the fish will be interested in feeding one day but not the next and whilst it is good to get some food down them you need to be wary. It is not only the physical activity of the fish which stops when the temperature drops , it is also their digestive system. As such if you feed them now and the temperature drops to the point where they become inactive again, the food can sit in their gut and begin to decompose, which as I am sure you will understand is not good. And so you need to be confident when feeding them that the temperature will be high enough over the next few days to fully digest the food and if the forecast says the weather is going to change stop feeding. The best food to feed them in the cooler temperature is wheatgerm, which has been specifically designed to meet the fish’s needs at this time of year.

 

[JohnHuff]

Ya, so I ain't feeding them yet.

 

[Sunshine]

Not even close to feeding time here.

 

[Dave 54]

Ok that’s not quite be how people are wording it, but it is the crux of the comments we are receiving at the moment. With the weather being so changeable at the moment, the fish will be interested in feeding one day but not the next and whilst it is good to get some food down them you need to be wary. It is not only the physical activity of the fish which stops when the temperature drops , it is also their digestive system. As such if you feed them now and the temperature drops to the point where they become inactive again, the food can sit in their gut and begin to decompose, which as I am sure you will understand is not good. And so you need to be confident when feeding them that the temperature will be high enough over the next few days to fully digest the food and if the forecast says the weather is going to change stop feeding. The best food to feed them in the cooler temperature is wheatgerm, which has been specifically designed to meet the fish’s needs at this time of year.

We dont start feeding untilthe temperature in our pond has been above 11c for a number of weeks then feed at first a small handful then a slightly larger and so on until we reach late spring early summer when the normal rate of feeding comes into place along with normal summer foods mixed with wheatgerm.
However I take it your in the trade yes ???
If so I have a bone to pick ...... why is it that most feed companies insist that the food they are producing is safe down to a level of 5c... weve been keeping 27 years now and this has beome the norm with food comppanies which in my view serves to comfuse people especially those new to the hobby .
!0c is a safe cut off point for feeding during the winter , just as 11c is a safe starting point or upwards 5c isnt that far to the temperature at which koi go torpid which I believe is 2c any lower and we are near freezing .
You know and I know that this can happen over night surely then these poor koi would be left with food in the gut which may then rot and end up with the dealth of a fish .
So who are we to believe" conventional wisdom ", which teaches us to stop feeding at 10c or the food companies , the outlet where I get the bulk of our koi food quite happily pointed out to me that you can feed down to 5c or the food companies who need to turn a profit ?
I look forwards to an in trade explenation of this as it should be very imformative and may shape the way people feed their koi ?.

Dave

 

[Lisak1]

We'll save on fish food this year - at this pace it will be Memorial Day before it's warm enough! SNOW AGAIN TODAY!

Just wanted to throw this out there - the temperature you should be concerned about is the temperature of the water. You might be nice and warm standing pond side in the sunshine on that first lovely spring day, but it can take a few of those warm sunny days for the water to warm up to above 50 degrees. Remember you live in one world - they live in another!

 

[Lisak1]

I also wanted to add that many pond owners seem to think their fish are "starving" after a long winter without food. Fish are not people - their bodies are designed to go long periods without food when the conditions are not right for feeding. I've had a chance to eyeball most of my fish this year, and believe me... they aren't starving. In fact, they've all grown larger over the long winter. So waiting a few days - or even weeks - isn't neglectful or abusive. They'll be just fine snacking on algae until the time is right.

 

[Lisak1]

Dave - can you explain how you feed garlic to your fish? I've seen everything from crush it raw and throw it in the pond to cook it with rice to soak your pellets in it. What type of garlic and what method do you use?

 

[Dave 54]

This is why we have an infra red thermometer and a floating thermometer with a radio controlled readout indoors it's only when these tally exactly with each other that we start to feed always above 11c .
Our Policarbonate roofing covers are very good at keeping the warmth of the water above that of the outdoor temperature which a remote controled weather station reports to us in real time, this in turn is backed up with a good old fashioned barometer .
Taking temperature readings is second nature to me and is a throwback form my Naval days there can be as much of a difference between the two water and air temperatures of at night 8cin winter even lower air wise whilst the pon is constant at 7.5c sometimes higher up to 9c, so it pays to pay attention to them all the time.

Dave

 

[Dave 54]

Dave - can you explain how you feed garlic to your fish? I've seen everything from crush it raw and throw it in the pond to cook it with rice to soak your pellets in it. What type of garlic and what method do you use?

Quite simple Liska I buy my pellets that way.
Nowadays many companies who make koi food have come to realise the importance of adding Garlic to their Wheat germ ,
I use Pond Care Nutri Pearl Wheatgerm and Garlic but there are many other feeds with it in you can buy :-

http://www.hobbyfish.net/index.php?prodID=3370730940943

http://www.ntlabs.co.uk/products/Medikoi-Wheatgerm-with-Garlic.html

even for goldfish:-

http://www.tropical.com.pl/koigoldfishwheatgermgarlicsticks,d159,0,en.html

So all you have to do is shop around a little and you'll find it , hope this helps

Check out the other foods they do health, Beauty and many more some add propolis others clay there is a whole crazy mix of things out there if you look

Dave

 

[WaterGardeningDirect]

Hi Dave,
You are quite right I am in the trade, but at a retail level not manufacturing, and we talk to all sorts of customer with varied levels of experience in fish keeping. What we find with those new to fish keeping ( I did post in the Newbie section) is that they are overly keen to feed fish not just in the cool temperatures but all year round. The number of times we hear of people leaving food floating around for 30 minutes or so is incredible. To much food can lead to a variety of different problems at different times of the year and we try to educate customers to avoid these problems. You are quite right when you say that stopping and starting feeding around 10c is a good bench mark, but it is also correct that the fish will carry on feeding until 5c. The problem is that regardless of what the packaging says, people new to fish keeping see them eating and they will carry on feeding until the fish stop and that is the danger, because that is when the fish and gut shut down and the food will rot inside the fish. The aim of my post was to try to get people to feed AND watch the weather forecast so they stop if the weather is going to cool down.

 

[Lisak1]

Quite simple Liska I buy my pellets that way.
Nowadays many companies who make koi food have come to realise the importance of adding Garlic to their Wheat germ ,
I use Pond Care Nutri Pearl Wheatgerm and Garlic but there are many other feeds with it in you can buy :-

http://www.hobbyfish.net/index.php?prodID=3370730940943

http://www.ntlabs.co.uk/products/Medikoi-Wheatgerm-with-Garlic.html

even for goldfish:-

http://www.tropical.com.pl/koigoldfishwheatgermgarlicsticks,d159,0,en.html

So all you have to do is shop around a little and you'll find it , hope this helps

Check out the other foods they do health, Beauty and many more some add propolis others clay there is a whole crazy mix of things out there if you look

Dave

Thanks! I'll look for that!

 

[Dave 54]

Hi Dave,
You are quite right I am in the trade, but at a retail level not manufacturing, and we talk to all sorts of customer with varied levels of experience in fish keeping. What we find with those new to fish keeping ( I did post in the Newbie section) is that they are overly keen to feed fish not just in the cool temperatures but all year round. The number of times we hear of people leaving food floating around for 30 minutes or so is incredible. To much food can lead to a variety of different problems at different times of the year and we try to educate customers to avoid these problems. You are quite right when you say that stopping and starting feeding around 10c is a good bench mark, but it is also correct that the fish will carry on feeding until 5c. The problem is that regardless of what the packaging says, people new to fish keeping see them eating and they will carry on feeding until the fish stop and that is the danger, because that is when the fish and gut shut down and the food will rot inside the fish. The aim of my post was to try to get people to feed AND watch the weather forecast so they stop if the weather is going to cool down.

I fully agree with you on that perhaps it is time the industry was asked to remove the 5c and replace it with 10c , another question for you and I see this all the time.... why is it the retailer isnt by law required to sell books on the basics of keeping fish ?,
It is simply soul destroying when we get a knok on the door or phone call could we come out and help them with a sick koi "often I may add far too late to turn things around" .
Val and I hav a vast reference library of Koi, Koi Health, Fish health, Fish behavour and Fish Disease and Fish Pathology books built up over 27 years that we can turn to if neccessary, sadly for these koi its the total ignorance of the subject that kills many each year
Apart from site like this people like ourselves what can be done in future to arrest this death rate.?
The amount of koi and goldfish exported from Japan each year is staggering and thats just japan there are many other breeders around the world the figure is in the millions , so what black hole do these numbers disapear down "the answer is more than probably DEATH" which is so sad.
Here in the UK we have under the New Animal Rights Bill a duty of care to our pets , if we were to let a koi suffer and not treat it then the RSPCA would become involved and we would end up in court for cruelty but fish are dying everyday and nobody seems to care

Dave

 

[Sunshine]

I feed Hikari Wheat-Germ. It has garlic. Than in the summer I feed Drs. Super Koi food. It has garlic also. I wait til the water temp stays above 50* before I start feeding. And with this weather, it will be awhile before that happens. They have plenty of algae and plant roots to nibble on.