High Protein Food

[Mike T]

Would it be detrimental to a koi's natural development if a 43% protein pellet food, of White Fish Meal, Ground Wheat, and Soybean, were fed daily in our year round growing season???

Would this be considered a "Forced" growing routine

Thanks in advance for your response (s)

Aloha! Mike T

[Steve W]

Hi MikeSorry love to E-MAIL you about the pond depth
but my e-mail is not working.


Steve W

[luke frisbee]

43% is at the high end but usually force feeding involve more than just the protein content. It involves total calories especially those coming from fat...
I feed a 40% pellet along with shrimp...and when the garden has more bounty than we can eat the koi get mangoes and oranges.
Another aspect to consider is how much you feed them...if you give 2% of their body weight and make them scrap algae to fill their guts then you'd be giving them a fairly normal amount of protein

[Ryan S.]

Is that zeigler, protein and ingredients match there koi grower forumlation is why I'm asking. I have a couple comments if it is.

[dick benbow]

Your fish are all young and i think this kind of feed will help them achieve size. As they get older you might want to go the wheat germ route and give them 3-4 months off the "heavy" stuff. Especially for your females who'll at 4 start packing all protein into eggs which can cause some problems if not spawned.

[Mike T]

Luke and Dick:

Thanks for the input, have placed in my Koi Stuff File for reference on diets and any future law suits I may want to file Nahhhhhh! really appreciate your information...

Ryan S.

Not Ziegler, but Yokozuna by Japan Pet Drug Co...

Hey Koi, Bonsai and Hashi Units, no info? Your silence is deafening...

Aloha! Mike

[bekko]

Hi Mike,

As long as the fat is not above 7 or 8% you're probably OK. Some of the industrial feeds may have fat levels as high as 15% and protein 45-50%. Fish normally store fat in the muscle, but when the fat level in the feed gets above about 10% they start accumulating fat in the body cavity around the organs. This makes for pot-belly fish, fatty liver disease, heart disease and other problems. This spring I was having trouble with juvenile koi and goldfish dying when about one-inch long and finally traced the problem to the high-fat salmon fry feed they were being given. After the fat content of the feed was lowered, the fat deposits in the gut cavity disappeared and the mortalities stopped.

-steve

[Mike T]

Steve:

Thanks for the input... How's the house project going... Hopefully the two storms will turn and they won't test your building skills, or in my case, our back up system...

BTW, I see, by your avitar, that you're getting ready for Halloween or our 41st wedding anniversary... I like the pig costume better...

Aloha! Mike

[aquitori]

I think in my opinion, force feeding is cool as long as you balance out the diet. At Momotaro they mix fresh vegetables to the feeding regiment. They feed koi food in excess of 43% protein year round with no adverse effect...

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike T Would it be detrimental to a koi's natural development if a 43% protein pellet food, of White Fish Meal, Ground Wheat, and Soybean, were fed daily in our year round growing season??? Would this be considered a "Forced" growing routine Thanks in advance for your response (s) Aloha! Mike T

[ChrisC]

I thought it was recommended that you drop the protein content in favor of more easily digested food (wheat germ based) during the cooler period.

If the pond temp gets set to high fifties, low sixties for the "cool rest" period in the winter, are you all still feeding 40% protein?