Koi Forum - Koi-Bito Magazine - View Single Post

gregbickal · 06-20-2007

Lets talk about food for these baby koi...

Who, what, when, how much....

This year my spawns were about a week apart, which let me rotate my food. I have about 5 different batches of fry going all about a week apart. I feed twice a day. The youngest (1-2 weeks old) 3 tablespoons of Brine shrimp and the smallest Water Daphnia (sorted using a small mesh net seive about 1 tablespoon), the 3-4 week old fry I feed the medium sized water daphnia (about 2 tablespoons), the 5-6 week old fry I feed powdered pellets, larger water daphnia, mosquito larva, and whatever other larve I can find. I am always running out of food, so staggering spawns really seems to be a good strategy.

Brine Shrimp: I use the GSL Brine shrimp. I hatch 3 tablespoons of cysts in 7 quarts of water and weigh my salt (175 grams I think). I have a light and a bubbler going for each tank. I am currently using 2 tanks, one for night one for morning, but I am going to switch to 3, so I can let the shrimp go 36 hours before feeding them to the fry. I let the fry settle to the bottom of the tank (attracted by the light), then drain them out. I give the highest consintration of shrimp to the smallest fry, then the rest to the ones that are a few weeks older. I do not separate the shrimp from the salt water. My fry are in 3,000 gallon ponds, so the salt should not pose a problem, or does it ? Opinions?

Water Daphnia: I have 3 tanks about 500 gallons, in-ground, with water hyacinths. I use a small Brine Shrimp net to scrape the sides for Daphnia. I also lift out each water hyacinth and as the water rushes away from the roots, I net up the Daphnia. I then use 2 differnt size aqaurium nets, to sort the Daphnia into sizes for feeding to the different size fish. The tanks need to stay cool, so the in-ground works best. I keep green water in the tank, as the tank starts to clear, I do a water change (pumping the water to the fry), and add more green water. Not too big of a water change or ive lost my culture that way.

Mosquito Larve: I leave about 5 cement mixing tubs out in the yard in the shade. I put cruddy water in them and wait until I see larva. Dump the contents of the tub through a net to seive out the larva saving the water. Feed to fry in the 1-2" size. I really get an inconsistant amount of Mosquito Larve, so this is more of a treat than a staple. I try to add them when I am feeding ground pellets to stimulate the feeding frenzy.

Pellets: I currently use a coffee grinder to get the pellet food powdered, but getting the right size for the fry is always time consuming. Too small and power just polutes the water and is wasted. I would like to buy just a nice bag of crumbles. Recommendations? Size, Brand which is good for koi?

06-20-2007	#1 (permalink)
gregbickal Jumbo Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Toddville Iowa Posts: 539	Food For Fry Lets talk about food for these baby koi... Who, what, when, how much.... This year my spawns were about a week apart, which let me rotate my food. I have about 5 different batches of fry going all about a week apart. I feed twice a day. The youngest (1-2 weeks old) 3 tablespoons of Brine shrimp and the smallest Water Daphnia (sorted using a small mesh net seive about 1 tablespoon), the 3-4 week old fry I feed the medium sized water daphnia (about 2 tablespoons), the 5-6 week old fry I feed powdered pellets, larger water daphnia, mosquito larva, and whatever other larve I can find. I am always running out of food, so staggering spawns really seems to be a good strategy. Brine Shrimp: I use the GSL Brine shrimp. I hatch 3 tablespoons of cysts in 7 quarts of water and weigh my salt (175 grams I think). I have a light and a bubbler going for each tank. I am currently using 2 tanks, one for night one for morning, but I am going to switch to 3, so I can let the shrimp go 36 hours before feeding them to the fry. I let the fry settle to the bottom of the tank (attracted by the light), then drain them out. I give the highest consintration of shrimp to the smallest fry, then the rest to the ones that are a few weeks older. I do not separate the shrimp from the salt water. My fry are in 3,000 gallon ponds, so the salt should not pose a problem, or does it ? Opinions? Water Daphnia: I have 3 tanks about 500 gallons, in-ground, with water hyacinths. I use a small Brine Shrimp net to scrape the sides for Daphnia. I also lift out each water hyacinth and as the water rushes away from the roots, I net up the Daphnia. I then use 2 differnt size aqaurium nets, to sort the Daphnia into sizes for feeding to the different size fish. The tanks need to stay cool, so the in-ground works best. I keep green water in the tank, as the tank starts to clear, I do a water change (pumping the water to the fry), and add more green water. Not too big of a water change or ive lost my culture that way. Mosquito Larve: I leave about 5 cement mixing tubs out in the yard in the shade. I put cruddy water in them and wait until I see larva. Dump the contents of the tub through a net to seive out the larva saving the water. Feed to fry in the 1-2" size. I really get an inconsistant amount of Mosquito Larve, so this is more of a treat than a staple. I try to add them when I am feeding ground pellets to stimulate the feeding frenzy. Pellets: I currently use a coffee grinder to get the pellet food powdered, but getting the right size for the fry is always time consuming. Too small and power just polutes the water and is wasted. I would like to buy just a nice bag of crumbles. Recommendations? Size, Brand which is good for koi?