your fish food is it good or bad

[Dave 54]

If and when I feed the fish, it's the same stuff I feed my dog....dog food. I love my dog, he gets good food.
Before I get banned from the site, let me explain.
I was feeding the fish dog food everyday last season and at the first "plop" sound, they'd come running...swimming.... as fast as they could to be first in line. It got to the point where if they saw me they'd come to the surface and wait. This caused two problems; The first being any image moving around the perimeter of the pond would draw them up. Even a heron. I don't want to feed the heron too. The second problem became their no-shame attitude of entitlement. Here I am taking the best care of them I know how, and they expect to be hand-fed too. Fortunately winter happened and they were left to their own devices for 4 1/2 months and it was get back to reality or starve. Out of approximately 70 fish I lost one, and that wasn't starvation it was stupidity. So I decided this spring, no more Mr Niceguy. They can get used to their natural cuisine or leave. So far nobody has left, starved, or even lost any weight, so I'm cutting way back on the welfare. They're doing fine eating the stuff carp eat. Call it "Tough Love".

I do treat them occasionally with some dog food though.

I think your not alone in doing this Tim @callingcolleen1 also feeds her koi nothing but dog food what makes you think we'd ban you

Dave

 

[sissy]

It is terrible that you have to read the ingredients on all kinds of pet food .I know it took me awhile to find decent food for my dogs .They eat table food and since i don't use much processed or premade food it is healthy for them .They have grown up on fresh veggies .Now they are on this gmo stuff .

 

[Timothy]

I think your not alone in doing this Tim @callingcolleen1 also feeds her koi nothing but dog food what makes you think we'd ban you

Dave

Hi Dave, In another place and time, I mentioned feeding dog food to my fish to some folks, and I thought they were going to send the fish police for me.
My post above was just a tongue-in-cheek description on how my gold fish responded to me feeding them. (The serious part of that post was the fish responding to any movement around the perimeter including heron. I didn't lose any, but the potential was certainly there.)This season they're more on their own and not so "needy", although they do still like the dog food. I think a carp (no matter how they're dressed,) is hard wired to scavenging, and in the end they help keep the pond clean, and the algae under control. We are establishing an artificial environment for these creatures for our pleasure, and my goal is to help mine feel as "at home" as possible.

 

[Dave 54]

Hi Dave, In another place and time, I mentioned feeding dog food to my fish to some folks, and I thought they were going to send the fish police for me.
My post above was just a tongue-in-cheek description on how my gold fish responded to me feeding them. (The serious part of that post was the fish responding to any movement around the perimeter including heron. I didn't lose any, but the potential was certainly there.)This season they're more on their own and not so "needy", although they do still like the dog food. I think a carp (no matter how they're dressed,) is hard wired to scavenging, and in the end they help keep the pond clean, and the algae under control. We are establishing an artificial environment for these creatures for our pleasure, and my goal is to help mine feel as "at home" as possible.

Tim I weould be the very first to agree that the koi is a bottom feeding scavenger , I wont go so far as to feed dog food to our koi but we did go one further and really looked into the issue of feeding koi an alternate and healthy alternative food .
It took us over two years total but it was worth it in the end and we cae up with this :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/alternate-foods-for-koi.4/

I think you'll find weve covered every aspect of fpood and what it might mean to our koi i;e taste clour feel smell etc , however there is a thing your going to need tpo watch in our view and thats vitamins and or lack of them and their effects on our koi , so a diet of dog meat though nurishing in reality should be bolstered with propper pelleted food and alternate foods :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/lack-of-vitamins-and-their-effects-on-koi.1/

I hop you find the two articles interesting Tim and helps you find that middle way of feeding your koi

Dave

 

[Timothy]

Tim I weould be the very first to agree that the koi is a bottom feeding scavenger , I wont go so far as to feed dog food to our koi but we did go one further and really looked into the issue of feeding koi an alternate and healthy alternative food .
It took us over two years total but it was worth it in the end and we cae up with this :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/alternate-foods-for-koi.4/

I think you'll find weve covered every aspect of fpood and what it might mean to our koi i;e taste clour feel smell etc , however there is a thing your going to need tpo watch in our view and thats vitamins and or lack of them and their effects on our koi , so a diet of dog meat though nurishing in reality should be bolstered with propper pelleted food and alternate foods :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/lack-of-vitamins-and-their-effects-on-koi.1/

I hop you find the two articles interesting Tim and helps you find that middle way of feeding your koi

Dave

Sissy, I'm sorry about the near-hijack here.

Dave, thank you for the links! They are very informative, and I can appreciate the enormous amount of research it took to glean all of the information provided. I understand your position and agree that the fish in our ponds are not just throw away commodities.
I only have goldfish in my water feature that I caught in a local natural pond. Goldfish are not indigenous to our area, (how they got there is another story,) but they and their ancestors have survived heron, turtles, cormorants, freezes, and temperature extremes for thirty plus years. I started my "livestock program" with 17 fish from this pond, and they have done well. Several of the adults have been in my care for four years and have been outside year round. The hardiness has not been bred out of them, and although they are far from any prize winning fish, they do add color and interest to my small attempt at a peaceful environment. I'm just an amateur at this hobby, nature is doing the job and providing what is essential to their well-being, I'm just trying to provide the space for it to happen. (With an occasional treat of dog food on the side.)
Tim

 

[Dave 54]

HI Tim many thanx for your kind compliments , I met an American Man online many Moons ago called Spike cover he was head of the AKCA Health forum and we have been omline friends for many years now talking about Fish Disease Books Koi Books Fish Phtsiology Fish Pathology etc.
In fact as my interest in all things koi and Fish health Grew I found I was also putting together a 100 book and counting reference library dedicated to fish and their health.
Those Goldfish must be some sort of super Fish, to have basically been dropped into an alien enviroment with lots of things that have you firmly on their menu's , then on top of that big freezes and survive that is astounding to say the very least .
As to a small attempt at a peaceful area we live in the UK in split flats with a split garden, we are hopefully this year going to finish the cosmetic side of our pond.
Then the real work can begin in turning it into our little haven of peace in a mad bad world [mind in saying that its been like that for 5 years now but just not finished .
Could you please catch one of these golfish and take a photo I'd like to see if they differ in any form to their softer cousins

Dave

 

[Timothy]

HI Tim many thanx for your kind compliments......
Those Goldfish must be some sort of super Fish, to have basically been dropped into an alien enviroment with lots of things that have you firmly on their menu's , then on top of that big freezes and survive that is astounding to say the very least ...............

Could you please catch one of these golfish and take a photo I'd like to see if they differ in any form to their softer cousins

Dave

You're welcome and deserved.
I have a friend down the lane that has the pond I mentioned. 30 some years ago when the last of his brood left home to make his mark on the world, John told him to give away the goldfish because they (the parents) weren't going to deal with them. A couple of days later the fish bowl showed up empty, washed, and dry. As John told me the story, nobody thought any more about it for quite a while. One day John noticed a heron standing on the bank of the pond studying something in the water. He watched and pretty soon the heron had a good sized goldfish in his beak.
Fast forward to eight years ago when I got my current dog, we started taking our walks down the lane and I'd throw a stick or something for Buddy and he'd bring it back. One time I threw a tennis ball and it took a weird bounce landing in the pond. I tried to coerce Bud into going after it, but he'd have none of that. (He knew there more at the house).
At any rate, that's when I saw a couple fish lounging close to the surface. From that time on I'd check each time we walked down that way to see if I could spot them again. They were very timid, and spooked easily, but I'd catch glimpses now and again.
Fast forward once again to four years ago when I converted my swimming pool to a pond. I bought a cast net and "stocked" my pond with fish I caught at John's.
I'd be happy to get a couple of photo's. Give me a day or two and I'll start a new thread in "General Chat" so I don't use up anymore of Sissy's thread.
Tim

 

[C-Note]

So... back to fish food (although I did get all caught up in the goldfish part, too!). I had been feeding Hikari Gold, and Hikari Wheat Germ (fall/Spring). I'm actually now switching to the Blue Ridge Platinum Pro because, while it does have some "filler" ingredients, it is chock full of good stuff like vitamins and a probiotic immune supplement.

I seriously wish I could get my fish to enjoy some fruits and greens!!! They do love shrimp, and I LOVE feeding those to them as a treat. But any fruit I've tried, they just ignore.
Is there a trick to getting them to like it?

I've never given them dog food, but they might love it considering my spoiled Frenchies eat a grain-free venison and sweet potato food. LOL

 

[Tula]

I'm curious if there is any advantage to not feeding a high protein food during the summer, but rather keeping koi/ fish, on a lighter wheat germ diet. Protein in food, is the biggest contributor to ammonia ...I'm just curious.

 

[C-Note]

I think, @Tula , and this is just me thinking--not an expert--that the protein is mainly for growth. So I believe it's 100% fine to not feed protein, and they would just grow more slowly. In many ways, I think that's a super idea, because then I wouldn't max out my pond capacity so quickly!!

With them being "opportunistic feeders" by nature, and general scavengers, I'm pretty sure they don't truly need all that protein. But again--I'm no expert! And they sure do love all that shrimp and krill.

 

[Tula]

I think, @Tula , and this is just me thinking--not an expert--that the protein is mainly for growth. So I believe it's 100% fine to not feed protein, and they would just grow more slowly. In many ways, I think that's a super idea, because then I wouldn't max out my pond capacity so quickly!!

With them being "opportunistic feeders" by nature, and general scavengers, I'm pretty sure they don't truly need all that protein. But again--I'm no expert! And they sure do love all that shrimp and krill.

I've always switched to a higher protein food in the summer, but am truly curious. I just want what's best for them I'm going to try the ring of watermelon to see if they enjoy it!

 

[waynefrcan]

With all the junk in it I make sure not to water the veg garden or fruit trees with pond water. Some fish meds and food ingredients are on the cancer list for humans.