Very BIG fish - very small fish!

[Pondside]

Hi,
I have an established pond with a lot of plant and animal life on the go. Now, this pond has been inhabited by four large koi (or koi derivatives) for some years. In the past I've added new stock (little ghost koi, golden orf, goldfish etc) but these have always become dinner for any passing heron. So for a long while I've resisted the temptation to buy any more meals for these mighty birds.
Anyhow, I now feel I've found a heron deterrant that works, so have introduced 4 small shebunkins. They seem to have settled in well. And after a day or two of trepidation, now swim amongst their monster koi buddies!

Now the problem - whatever food I try, the big fellas get straight to it, and the little guys don't get a look-in. I know the shebinkins will find some 'natural' foods within the pond, but I want to ensure they get good nutrition so they can grow up big and strong!!

Should I place them in a tank for a while to feed 'em up. What do you think.

Regards
Steve

 

[vertigo72]

Maybe you can try mixing floating and sinking food, and big and small pellets?

I do have a bit of the same issue though. I got one very large koi, and its the only one thats fearless of me and my feeding ring, and he eats everything while the rest swim circles around him and take some crumbs my big one misses. For now I;m gonna assume eventually they will get hungry enough to overcome their anxiety. If not, Ill have to think of something else too lol.

 

[stroppy]

yes i would try sinking pellets too and smaller ones for them ...i think taking them in and out of the pond would be a bad idea, would just stress them out

 

[addy1]

So what was your heron deterrent? a lot here fight the same issue. They all would love to hear a success story of anti heron.

Little sinking pellets like the say above is what I would do.

 

[Pondside]

Thanks, I'll try some small sinking food and see how they get on with that.

Well, regarding heron deterrant, I now use a string fence about 24 inches high, around the shallow end (they never attempt to enter via the deep end! The 'fence' is just thin bamboo sticks just pushed into the soil at the pond edge with green string strung in three rows fron stick to stick. At first I tried the fence about 8 inches high but they stepped over it to gain access to the shallows. So far, so good.

However, i do intend to try another idea recommended by the fish dealer who supplied my shebunkins, and that is to string thin fishing line, high level, across the pond. Just random spans, here and there, across all their 'flight paths'. He says as soon as they feel the line brush their body, they're off like a shot. Works every time , he says.

Good luck
Steve

 

[fishin4cars]

I did the same thing that the dealer told you for the Heron, actually a few members her told me. The string above really seems to have helped tremendously but I still keep covers on at night.
As for feeding, something I do that seems to get more food for the little guys that has been working for me very well. I add Honey nut cherrios to my food for the big guys, Not a bunch but maybe 10-12 pieces per handful. I add very small sinking and floating food for the small guys but I don't mix their food, I feed the big guys first in one spot, they start chasing cherrios and I put the small food off to one side for the smaller guys,(about 3-5ft away from where the big guys are feeding) took a few weeks for them to catch on, but after a while they seem to know where to got to get each ones food, Not to say the big guys don't come and clean-up what is left and not that the little ones won't be in the mix with the big guys but it gives them a chance. Oh and BTW, Once big Koi start eating cherrios they really start expecting them, They love them but they aren't a good food for nutrition, they are good for treats and for fish that are in a holding tank as they are low in protien and the fish consume most of it and not poop and waste it out. but you won't get good growth by feeding cherrios, again, like fruits and veggies, these should be treats along with a good balanced Koi or goldfish fish food.

 

[shakaho]

There is nothing you could feed your little goldfish that is healthier than what they find in the pond. If your kids were eating a diet of fresh lean meat and assorted raw veggies would you try to replace that with processed food? Would they get bigger and fatter faster on the processed food? Yes. Would they have better nutrition and be stronger and healthier? No way.

If you want to teach them to take food from your hands, that's fun. But it has nothing to do with health.

 

[j.w]

You could also make a floating ring w/ plastic screen fencing attached all around underneath w/ large enough holes so that when you throw the food into the ring only the goldfish will be able to fit through the holes :fish:

 

[fishin4cars]

There is nothing you could feed your little goldfish that is healthier than what they find in the pond. If your kids were eating a diet of fresh lean meat and assorted raw veggies would you try to replace that with processed food? Would they get bigger and fatter faster on the processed food? Yes. Would they have better nutrition and be stronger and healthier? No way.

If you want to teach them to take food from your hands, that's fun. But it has nothing to do with health.

I have to disagree with this statement, I normally wouldn't post like this but I feel I really should. Can your fish live survive and grow off of what grows in the pond, yes they can. Ethiopian children grow survive and thrive on minimal food too. But does that mean your going to feed your child bread/rice and water only, or McNuggets and Fries only because it's easy and cheap to get too? NO, your going to feed your kids a balanced food that promotes good growth, healthy immunity systems and plenty of needed vitamins and minerals. That is what the fish food is designed to do. Keep in mind that most Garden ponds have liners or concrete side, No ground nutrition that would be found in the wild, limited amounts of insects and food, and if even thinking about Koi, you will need HUGE amounts of plants as in a pond if you try to leave them to feed off of what shows up natural they won't starve, you just won't have any plants left in the pond to enjoy......

 

[j.w]

Hmmmmmmmm? I think that if you have a large pond w/ a small amount of goldfish they would do fine but if small pond w/ lots of goldfish prolly not enough to take care of their needs. For several years I did not feed my goldfish but then there were just a few of them and in a large pond compared to how many of them. They did not multiply much either and so no over population. Now I have a bigger pond and still only maybe 24 plus goldfish and compared to the pond size they would still do just fine but I prefer to feed them just cuz I like them coming to me and would like them to reproduce a bit more and they do get much larger faster w/ feeding :fish:

 

[shakaho]

This person has an established pond. This is nothing like Ethiopia. It's like living on an organic farm. My pond is only a year old and a tiny 100 gallons. It is loaded with nutritious food. My fish can gorge themselves on frog eggs and tadpoles. They nibble all day long on the biofilm on the liner. They are eating fresh live algae, rotifers, worms, insect larvae, and they are eating them the way goldfish are intended to eat -- small amounts all day long. Every time I clean my prefilter, I empty out plenty of unconsumed live food.

I feed my fish, for my entertainment and theirs, but in no way do they require additional food for their health.

 

[fishin4cars]

Again, that's you. and I understand that it can be done. I have no doubts that they can, But then again, you have a whole 1 year of exp. and a whopping 100 gallon pond. Probably best you didn't feed them much at all or you would probably end up with a bunch of dead fish if you had more than two adults in there.

 

[Pondside]

Hi Guys,
thanks for all the advice. Today I've bought some very small sinking pellets. And by distracting the big fellas (as suggested) then dropping a few for the little ones, they are getting at least part of their share!

Here are the fish relaxing in their pond!

Thanks again
Steve

 

[fishin4cars]

Nice looking healthy fish, natural looking pond with crystal clear water. VERY NICE!!!!!

 

[vertigo72]

So jealous of the clarity of your water in a natural looking pond! Got some more pics?

BTW, I noticed today that my big koi is not just eating all the food I put in the ring, is he actually feeding the others by spitting out almost as much as he eats. The other fish then eat what my big one spits out lol.