Saki Hikari waste ?

[PapaBear]

Like Brutuscz said, it does make perfect sense from the standpoint of surface area physics. Lets face it, a Koi's digestive tract has limitations (no real stomach being a biggie), so retention time is minimal.
Their digestive tract works much the same as a trickle tower (which is not a filter, but a bacterial digester) when you think about it. Maximum surface area is what we shoot for to enhance efficiency in the TT so the same truism only makes sense for Koi food.
As far as possible cost differences go, Nancy M's point being well taken, even if there was a cost premium for smaller feed would it really mean the cost was higher? If smaller pellets are 25% more digestible than large ones, you deliver the same nutrition from 25% less feed, which would offset the cost difference and keep your water cleaner at the same time. If the larger Koi have to work a little harder to get full they are getting more exercise and developing their body conformation better at the same time.
Dick's point about the "germ" in Hikari feed is one I've wondered about too. I've never been clear as to what they are talking about. Is it the variety of wheat germ, or is the wheat treated with a degestive enhancing enzyme/bacteria like lactobaccillus?

[MikeM]

My experience is similar to Erwinsan's. I feed a mix of pellets and they are different sizes. The first to be eaten are the larger pellets. I think in part it's simply that the fish can see the larger pellets more readily.

[Beadmaster]

My personal experience (2 years feeding) with the Hikari Saki food is that is does produce less -vissible- waste. Fish growth and health and water conditions were very good. Because Hikari is not availlable in The Netherlands anymore i'm having a hard time finding a good replacement

About the "germs"; Hikari claims they added special bacteria that help the digestion in the fish but also breaks down the wast after it leaves the fish.
Also these bacteria work as a probiotic and enhance the immune system of the fish (= Hikari claims).

About pellet size; I feed only medium (4-6 mm) pellets to my big koi because I like them to work for it (body exercise). I know several Japanese breeders who use only small / medium pellets for the same reason. Also some claim it helps in the digestion. But I wonder about that last point; did we forget that koi have a very nice / effective set of molars in the back of their mouth.......after grinding down, 10 grams of large pellets wil have the same surface eara as 10 grams of medium pellets.....
Oke, some pellets will be swallowed whole, but that will be more likely to happen with small / medium sized pellets...
Grtz, Hans

[Regenmeneer]

I have to agree with Hans.

I have fed Saki for two seasons and I think it is still the best food I ever used (note: I have not used every brand ! So there may be better ) Less waste, better growth and skin. Can't wait for Saki to be available in Europe again.

I heard about the breeders not using large size pellets some years ago, and have adopted this. As Hans, I must admit that I have my doubts that surface area of the pellets while digestion cannot be the sole reason. Maybe it's because the smaller pellets can absorb more water because of the relative larger surface area before being eaten. Also, smaller pellets take longer to be eaten, which also gives more time to absorb water. Maybe more water absorbed by the pellet helps in digestion.

Regenmeneer

[kingkong]

Exactly, that is why I always 'premoisten' koi pellets before feeding. Once moistened, I prefer larger pellets simply for the ease of locating and collection.

[koilvr]

I have fed Saki Hikari Hi-Growth for over a year and very happy with it. Fast growth, less waste. It performs much better than Nozomi Wheat-Germ or Ogata Hi-Silk in terms of fish waste. It costs approx USD 7 per kg here.

My pond is a small (1T) shallow (40cm) pond with, at one time, approx. 10 16cm local bred fishes. I feed saki Hikari Hi-Growth once a day in the morning. After the feeding session, all 10 fishes will have a full rounded belly. Now here's an interesting finding. Some fishes will have their belly back to normal size after two hours, some after 8 hours, some overnight, some only after two days!

With that feeding regime performed every morning (same quantity, without waiting for the fish belly to return back to its normal size), except for the 2 hours belly return to normal fish, the rest of the fishes are developing a permanent pot belly shape after about 6 weeks.

[aquitori]

The give my 2 cents to Dinh's question: You cant really see any difference by feeding just 2 months of the food. Yeah there is less waste, but you have to feed atleast one year to see any difference. So this summer you feed the food you should see the difference once the water cools in the winter.

I too feed small pellets, well medium to be extact. Smaller pellets are easier for my fish to digest, even my 27" platinum eats the smaller size pellets with ease and no problem.

The one thing with any food is too, have the water quality down. The food in itself plays a small part in conditioning your fish, especially if your conditioning for show.

A. Feed the right food at the right temp.
B. Dont expect to see any changes in the fish until fall.
C. Maintain water quality.