[JanT]

Quote: Originally Posted by JasPR Ok, let's entitle this post of mine- when you KNOW you are getting too close to your koi! Koi are not people. Koi are not ‘hungry’ in winter Koi DO have a feeding impulse as they are scavengers and highly conditioned creatures to stimuli--- like people and light from above. Koi do not know how long they have not been fed or when they will eat again, but their bodies know what time of year it is. Just like birds know when to fly south and also when to fly back home. When you can and can not damage a koi with food------- As I said, koi do not know when to eat and when nature is setting them up for culling! Here are the facts and you can take it from there- Koi CAN digest down to 45 F. Koi are about 2 degrees ‘warmer’, metabolically speaking , than their surrounding water. So in theory, you can feed a koi down to 43 F and not kill it immediately/directly. Old school suggested 50 F because once you drop below that level, the temperature tends to become progressively more unpredictable into winter. That is the simplest rule of thumb. Koi become ‘infected’ by being stressed and by being subjected to opportunist pathogens. One very common route of entry is through the gut and so with fermenting / slow moving food, ythis is one common dynamic of winter dropsy. So it is best to leave a koi’s gut empty or with only easily digested and easily assimilated food during winter. A koi is not a dog, a kid or a cat. It is a cold blooded animal and it absolutely, positively can not operate certain systems below ideal or optimal temperatures. And a koi’s entire winter survival strategy is to SHIFT metabolism to ‘ necessary functions ONLY’ so that they can remain in stasis and draw on stored reserves. Ironically, pumping them with food in the ‘limbo temperatures’ will slow growth the following spring. The food moves much slower through the gut as the temperature drops until finally it remains idol or until sun or thaw allows for defecation. And studies have shown that the amount of energy it takes to capture, ingest, digest and assimilate protein in sub-par temperature ranges is actually MORE energy spent then energy derived from the meal! The truth is- koi are seasonal animals with energy diverted each pre-season for needs of the season ahead. Right now, your koi have stored energy in their liver, kidney, brain and muscle mass. The amount is based on what you fed them in August, September and October. You have also set their gonad systems up for eggs already for this coming spring. And soon energy ingested will be used to further develop the eggs and sperm. For now however, your koi are in and out of stasis due to the ‘limbo temperatures’. If you think about this for a minute, you can’t really do much FOR a koi in the limbo range right now- except make yourself feel good. The body dynamic is set and on auto pilot. And you can ‘potentially’ do harm- long term or short term depending on pond design and future winter action. So there is a ton of literature out there regarding winter dropsy, fatty liver disease, choman ( ovarian cancer) and the ruining of koi figures. Against this you will have your own human side. Scientist and psychologists call this a desire to Anthropomorphize. Meaning we have a desire to transfer human qualities to animals and plant life. The idea that koi are ‘hunger’ is a human interpretation. Koi become far more conditioned to feeding than have a need to avoid starvation. It is true that a koi can starve just like any other animal but in ALL my years in this hobby and having visited and treated ponds all over the world, I have NEVER seen a koi that has starved to death. I have seen MANY koi that have been over fed, inappropriately fed and have died or become disease from being ‘over loved’. Kinda like that 38 pound cat that the little old lady feeds so it won’t starve to death- as if!!! Feed you koi well in the two most important seasons. Lay off the mega urge in the other two seasons. If you MUST feed - feed the fat cat and then give your koi very small amounts of wheatgerm pre-soaked pellets or very fresh animal protein- maybe every other day in order to cooperate with the sporadic movement through the long koi gut. So please allow me to leave my own anthropomorphic image! Remember the Tin Man in the Wizard of OZ? "Oil me, Oil me" slipping out of this frozen lips? THAT is the koi gut in winter. JR

I love your 'way with words', JR. Needed to be expressed on this thread.
You are the Simon Cowell of Koi, and I mean that in a very good way.