Koi-Food

[B.Scott]

You are quite new to the hobby D-Q7 so you will find it to be a very steep learning curve at this point I'm afraid. Let me comment on some of your information...

Quote: my pond is 1.5x1.5 meters with depth about 40 cm

That would make your pond less than 1000 liters at the maximum. You will find the fish are going to outgrow this in very short order (6 months to a year). As a result you will find that nitrites will start to appear and even ammonia can become a problem.

Quote: so far e water is perfectly clean n free from algae. it just the mud which i think resulted from e fishes's faeces.

Water quality isn't related to how clear the water is. Your water can be very clear and still have many problems. The only way to know for sure is to buy some test kits and check for ammonia, nitrites, KH and pH. In system as small as yours I would recommend frquent water changes as well (3X 20% a week). Watch out if you have chlorine or chloramines in the water. Do you have a bottom drain? If not you should consider one when it comes time to rebuild the pond. Any "mud" on the bottom should be avoided.

Quote: i asked the dealer...they said...don't force them withg those high end food which contained many growth enhancer...because...he said...one guy bought young koi from him...few months later...e guy came back...and the koi grow much faster than the koi which are still on e farm...4-6 cm longer...and e guy feed it with silkworm...and e koi's colour is screwed up...

You should feed your fish with the best feed you can get your hands on. With tosai look for a high protein content and NO protein of fat from mammals, just fish, mollusk, insect, crustacean and plant protein. I would avoid silkworm at this stage as well as feed with color enhancers. Growth enhancers? What does he mean by that?.
Just use a good quality small pellet. I can't recommend a brand as I have no idea what is available in your area. Perhaps Kiki might know?
B.Scott

[dim_queen7]

thanks !

yes...my friend warned me that it will be overcrowded...i am preparing my old mud pool koi in another city...so i will bring some of them there...is it true mud pool better then pond ?

i just read that on some sites...but...before i bring these koi...i put few lousy koi as tester...and it is almost a year....suring this time...they did not show any sign of stress and sickness...and the mud is inside the filter...i get rid of it by using pump...and yes im using a bottom drain...i made in such away that...the water circulation is someting like slow vortex...the hole is in the middle..and it'd working really well..all the dirts sucked up to the filter...my pond is built above the filter...so to suck out the dirts im suing gravity rule...im changing the water once in to days...but not 30 % just the same amount of the water that i pumped out ( from the filter to get rid of the mud)...and i yes..the water is chlorine free...my dad using some filter which is equivalent to make e tap water potable...

i have no idea wat e guy think about growth enhancer...but he just told me...it is better to let the koi grow naturally without forving them those food...i cant get any of imported brands now because im still trying to find the main dealer coz...once its sold by e normal vendors...they r really made the price super high...ripp off...so now...im going to use locals brand first...hanura food...can get e information on www.hanura.com ...i what are criteria for good proccesed koi food ? and does shrimp and other vegetable and fruit help koi interm of their growth and colour ?

Thankx rreally alot !!!

[B.Scott]

D-Q7,

I had a look at the list of food http://www.hanura.com/food.html but the site doesn't contain much info as to content of the feed. In general you want a good amount of fish protein (37%-45%), no animal protein and I prefer it without color enhancers like spirullia. Color enhansers can cause your fish to go all orangie and affect their color development later but that choice is up to you.

Mud ponds (more like lakes) are indeed very good for the growth of koi when done as the Japanese do. Tell us about the what you are refering to? What is it like?
B.Scott

Nice cockatoo BTW!

[dim_queen7]

hey...

yeah...ok then...have you ever heard or see blitar's koi ? blitar is koi producing city in indonesia, something like niigata. i've seen some of them...i think they r quite good...but sorry...we are lack of locals websites on net...so its hard to get more information on it...they are using japanese parents but breed locally...the only site i can find is... http://www.koiblitar.com ..i just bought my baby koi from them...i like one of their aka bekko...buit i dont think they show it there...

the mud pond...not as big as lake...i think the length is gonna be 20 x 4 metres...and the depth i can vary it...maybe i will make it around 60 cm...the water source comes from a spring...aso i guess...there is no need to worry about water quality coz...the spring's water is potable...and yeah....on e ground is mud...and sides gonna be a concrete...the problems is now to get rid of all koi predators like owl, snakes even something like racoon...

however, the water stream is not so strong...as in like the water spring is only one and it wont provide equal water stream thruout the pond...does water stream in mud pond affects the quality of koi ?

do you know any natural food which are good for koi ? and how fast can koi grow ? let say from 15 cm to get to abt 30 cm ?

yup...thanx...i got a pair...one of them is endangered...but i got e license already...

merry xmaz !!!!!!

[estanque_koi]

Quote: Originally Posted by bil ... To get the GC look, they need bulking up with fast carbs (High GI food), but the trade off there is that the plump good looks will risk problems similar to late onset diabetes, ending in organ failure. If you don't believe me, look at the usual age a GC dies at. JR reckons that few if any get past 10 or 12 years. For a fish capable of living to a minimum of 50 years, that is a scandal.

Bil, I have just read this interesting post.
Could you tell me what is GI (high GI food)?

What you said about the usual age limit for GC is quite striking.
You cite JR. I assume there is not any sort of statistics in this respect, but your statement isn't based on just a few cases, is it?
cheers!

[B.Scott]

While we wait for Bil I might jump in for a second... GI or Glycemic Index in a measurement of how fast the (human) body converts carbohydrates into glucose. The higer the index number the faster the convertion. Things like wheat flour have a much higher number and convert more quickly than more intricate (longer) carbohydrate chains which release glucose at a slower rate.
B.Scott

[bil]

Hi amigo. Scott has it bang to rights. High Gi foods aka fast carbs are those that boost blood sugar the fastest.

JR was quite emphatic. My understanding was that he meant that almost no GC will get past 12, if they reach 10.

IMO a terrible indictment.

[bekko]

Thanks for that. I have heard bil talk about upper GI foods several times and always thought 'GI' stood for 'gastro-intestinal'. Despite my goof, his context make the end result clear.steve

[bil]

When you think about it, they are all the foods that we should avoid. Sugar, bread, breakfast cereal etc.


IMO, breakfast cereal with sugar is the work of the Devil.

Evil I say, evil!

[dick benbow]

wow, Bil partticipated in our humble discussion! But then it was about food!

Over the years I've never seen anyone more passionate about food ( for koi)

than Bil!

As a follow up Bil, what's the shelf life on this reciepe?