keep hearing about these grow-out contest...

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by moikoi i asume the fish would be fed many times per day

I have never met a Koi that I had to force to eat.LOL

[Regenmeneer]

MoiKoi

when watertemperatures are high, carp will be eating throughout the day. Koi are no different, so we supply food in a natural way, ie, throughout the day.

I reacted to "force feeding", because imho, thats what they do to goose to induce unnatural liver growth.

Besides that, when feeding Koi to much, conformation will go down the drain, and health issues will arise. Besides that, growing the largest koi is not what a grow-out contest is all about. It's about which Koi from the contest develops best. So it's conformation, growth and skin quality. When grown to fast, conformation can become less, skin can be grown to fast, to the point where quality becomes less, etc. The grow-out contest is about good husbandry, finding the balance between all factors to make the Koi the best it can be.

[dinh]

Very well said... This is the post of the day;-))

Grow-out contest without quality is meanless to me.

--Dinh

Quote: Originally Posted by Regenmeneer MoiKoi when watertemperatures are high, carp will be eating throughout the day. Koi are no different, so we supply food in a natural way, ie, throughout the day. I reacted to "force feeding", because imho, thats what they do to goose to induce unnatural liver growth. Besides that, when feeding Koi to much, conformation will go down the drain, and health issues will arise. Besides that, growing the largest koi is not what a grow-out contest is all about. It's about which Koi from the contest develops best. So it's conformation, growth and skin quality. When grown to fast, conformation can become less, skin can be grown to fast, to the point where quality becomes less, etc. The grow-out contest is about good husbandry, finding the balance between all factors to make the Koi the best it can be.

[Ryan S.]

I don't think many "force feed" the fish in grow out contests. Tosai to nisai you usually get really fast growth, beni is hard to keep up, but really shouldn't be finished at this stage anyways.

[MJShaffer]

I'm involved in a growout contest right now where we have three awards, one for most growth (length), one for best on the day of the show (like a regular show, so would probably reward early fisnishing fish) and tategoi, for the koi with the most potential for the future. Hopefully this will reward both husbandry and ability to pick a candidate from a group of similar young koi.

[MikeM]

I enjoy raising up a tosai, so the basis for "winning" is not very relevant to me. It is very informative to see how others turn out. It would be best if folks involved kept records of feeding practices, water parameters, etc. There are often the best of intentions at the beginning, but few keep records along the way. And, it would more informative if the project lasted 4 or more years. But, after a year a lot of the fish are moved on...one way or another.

[MJShaffer]

The folks getting this growout contest together had the idea to make it a 3 year contest, but they came up with that idea after koi had already been purchased. We thought it would be in bad form to change the rules halfway through, but the hope is next year to start a 3 year long contest. How it will work out practically is something else entirely. Three years is a long time to hold on to a koi just for a contest if it isn't turning out as hoped...

[tatshme]

the best way to make your koi grow...is feed them alot right before 12 pm...once every day.

[koikiller]

^hey thats exactly what my dad does. but he has a automatic feeder.

[Steve Nguyen]

me too. I enjoy watching my tosai grow as well. I am planning to keep my current tosai gang for as long as I can keep them alive and learn along the way. so far, I keep the record of foods (brand names) and periodic pictures, plus measurements. I make notes of changes as the fish grows. I don't keep track of the water parameters because it seems to be consistent every time I tested it. Is it important to keep track of the water parameters? suggestions?

Steve

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM I enjoy raising up a tosai, so the basis for "winning" is not very relevant to me. It is very informative to see how others turn out. It would be best if folks involved kept records of feeding practices, water parameters, etc. There are often the best of intentions at the beginning, but few keep records along the way. And, it would more informative if the project lasted 4 or more years. But, after a year a lot of the fish are moved on...one way or another.