Food for koi

[keokoi]

Quote: Originally Posted by lildude I use watermelon, Mangoe, and Whole Wheat Bread in the summer time, My koi love it.

Why Whole Wheat Bread? And what brand/Company of Whole wheat do you use

Joe

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by keokoi Why Whole Wheat Bread? And what brand/Company of Whole wheat do you use Joe

. . . waiting for response . . .

[lildude]

Quote: Originally Posted by keokoi Why Whole Wheat Bread? And what brand/Company of Whole wheat do you use Joe

The finest brands from the rich pastures of england nutrified by the finest cattle on the best diets.



Haha, I dont know. That's all we buy.

Anyone else have anything that they use aswell?

[Gail]

Quote: Originally Posted by KoiCop . . . waiting for response . . .

I remember a fellow who used to post.Devilsquest, from England.and he would hand feed his koi marmite sandwiches.......lol...gross for me, but they seemed to munch it right up!

[MikeM]

Bread of any sort is not a good food for koi. As an occasional treat, it will do no harm; but it is not broadening the diet to capture nutrients not in standard pellets. Fresh vegetable and fruit supplements have that potential, as do such superior foods as earthworms, prawns and other living foods of the type that carp would find in nature. If you think there is a need for wheat to be added to the diet, go for a wheatgerm pellet. ...my 2 cents.

[MATTHEW]

Hey Dick,

I'll start another thread with some pictures...I put my new asagi in there just for you.......(2yr Ogata 18" female).......

[MATTHEW]

Anyone else have some interesting food items that they feed their koi??? Does anyone feed their koi bananas? I had someone tell me they did and I hadn't heard of that before, however the fish was pretty impressive.....

[keokoi]

While at Momotaro this October I had seen a lot of tofu in the water. I also have fed tofu to my koi. No cooking and seems easy to digest for them.. High in Protein..

Joe

[Eugeneg]

Quote: Originally Posted by MATTHEW Looking around the grocery store today for new natural koi food ideas, and was wondering about adding bananas to my growing list which includes; nappa cabbage, cooked shrimp, oranges, watermelon, green peas, and earth worms??

FEEDING MY FISH
[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_mazuri1.jpg[/IMG]MAZURI wheat germ pellets is my main diet. Due to the short summer season in Canada it is an ideal food for me. The crude protein of 31% is ideal for most of the year. During the winter months in my heated pond I try and keep the temperature at 68 F. In the spring and fall I dare not feed a higher protein than wheat nuggets. It is a year round food as it is easily digestible. During the peak of summer the temperature can easily climb quite high where I have to cut back on feeding so there is only a very short space of time to feed a higher growth food. Besides that these higher growth foods have little to do with growth it is more the genes of fish the stocking rate as well as water condition in my opinion. I am a believer that food has a shelf life similar to human food so once opened deteriorates at the same rate once opened . I am very sceptical about a long shelf life on unopened food. If there is an air leak in the bag during shipping and handling from overseas the shelf life is greatly reduced as is poor storage. So a 2 year shelf life as claimed on some foods is really pushing it. My last shipment of Mazuri was 3 weeks old from manufacture date. Then comes the cost factor all this shipping of food costs money so you have to pay at least double or triple as the retailer adds on a percentage based on his cost .

ADDITIVES TO PELLETS

[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_ojuice_V.jpg[/IMG]ORANGE JUICE
I do not like to feed completely dry pellets and one of my favorite additives is frozen concentrated orange juice. So a little hot water and concentrated orange juice is a great way of adding vitamin C.

[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_honeyV.jpg[/IMG]HONEY
Stirred in with a little hot water is another good additive if fed occasionally as it has high sugar content.



[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_codoil.jpg[/IMG]COD-LIVER OIL
Is a great source of vitamin D especially in the shorter winter days with less sun light? I mix this in with the pellets. It will leave a little stain on the water but the benefits far outweigh the stain.



[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_clay.jpg[/IMG]CLAY
Although my well water has a lot of fine dissolved clay I still add some to the pellets as I have observed koi actually making holes in the wall of my mud pond.





OTHER FOODS

[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_brnbread.jpg[/IMG]WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
I usually buy day old and crumble up a couple of slices and throw in.




[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_tofu.jpg[/IMG]TO FU
Is an excellent food but I feed sparingly until temperature reaches 70f. It is crumbled up and sometimes mixed with whole wheat bread.


[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_barley.jpg[/IMG]BARLEY
I boil until quite soft on the wood stove in the greenhouse and always through in a little in the unheated pond where the temperature is 45f. Barley contains just 10%protein .If you feed during such cold temperatures do so only if you can flush bottom drain. I am doing a 30%waterchange a week throughout the winter.


[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_rice.jpg[/IMG]RICE
Another good food for change usually leftovers from dinners or just do a little extra for fish.



[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_cheerios.jpg[/IMG]CHEERIOS
I usually soak in some orange juice and use in the spring as a low temperature starter food or last food in the fall. It has little nutritious value but is definitely fresher and lower cost than puffed up with air pellets.




[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_peas.jpg[/IMG]PEAS
Great during the winter. I buy the frozen packages and feed the fish a little every couple of days.


[IMG]file:///C:/WEB%20SITE%20BACKUP/aquatics/articles/thm_shrimps.jpg[/IMG]SHRIMP
I keep my eyes open for the small salad shrimps and generally get them at half price if they show a little freezer burn.




Although Mazuri platinum wheat nuggets are a complete koi food and show the complete list of ingredients I still think that my additives help in the health of my fish.
Koi will spit out food if they have not had it before, especially pellets. So mix the new food with old for a serving or two to get them used to it.

Eugene Gmitrowicz

[MATTHEW]

I will have to try some oj..........