Best growth food, hi silk or Saki Hikari?

[carolyn swanson]

for the past year or so. I am not pleased about the quality of the white in some of my fish. I switched to the worm food about a month ago and have seen some improvement in a short period of time. I really should measure the fish to monitor their growth rate, but I can't catch them. I have however, started to mix in about 20% hi silk sweet potato--the fish love it--to bring down the average percentage of protein for the winter. If things continue as they have been, I will stick with the worm food.

[Nancy M.]

We have been feeding Saki since day one of its arrival to the USA. Our fish love it, there colors all look great, no problems at all with the whites, we feed the growth in the summer and also feed Ogata silk power 70/30, winter we are only feeding saki multiseason and Hikari wheatgerm mixed, 70/30. We also feed Izeki paste food, once or twice a week. Our fish have never looked better.

[Auntiesue]

I've resisted the urge to try Saki, although tempted. Currently I'm feeding Hi Silk with sweet potato, Hakari wheatgerm and Manda Fu. I am very curious about the EA One that was mentioned earlier. Might give that a try.

A local pond keeper, that knows very little about keeping koi, took a few of my "re-homed" koi this past August. He's been feeding Blackwater growth from DrsFoster/Smith. I went to visit him and my babies a week ago. I WAS TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY AT THE GROWTH AND GIRTH he was able to get in only a few months. While the colors were down, the growth was simply jawdropping amazing. Can I say I'm tempted to add this to my blend? You bet!!!

[JosephandGabby]

I used Hi Silk last year for a while and, honestly, didn't notice much difference in growth compared to the cheap stuff...

[koiczar]

I think the discussion needs a platform base to quantify the results various folks have gotten with different food brands.

How often do you feed?

How much do you feed per feeding?

What are your water temps during the growing season - say, June thru September/October

How big is your pond?

What is your fish load?

What general ages are your fish?

Mike

How often do you perform filter maintenance?

[Dan Blatt]

Fed Hakari Sakai for the first time this year and have to say the least amount of waste I've ever seen. Growth was as good if not better than other foods. Whites seemed off slightly though, but not that much.
Best whites I ever had was with Kani Ichiban containing crab shell. Just can't find it anymore....

[dick benbow]

I was not happy when that name brand food went away as well. I do think there was something about the marine influence that made the difference and I think that is available now with EA One. Besides the marine worms it has seaweed as well. I still have 3 weeks or so to feed but I'm honestly impressed. I got mine from Bill at Mystic Koi.

[jbolding]

For those that mentioned the whites being off when using sakai growth would you say that you primary goal in feeding the growth was growth or whites?

I feed sakai for growth and conformation while keeping the waste down to a minimum. I would agree that other food might make the whites pop better. For instance I believe most HI silk feeds are touted for supporting liver function as well as growth so I can understand why they might make the whites pop a little more.

I think there is a time and a place for every type of quality feed. You just need to asses your goals and feed toward them just like any other husbandry item. You shouldn't just fed XYZ food because the other keepers you know do it.

[carolyn swanson]

I used both all-season and color-enhancing. I always ascribed the punky whites to the color-enhancing. The whites are off on a few fish, not on all. As we all know, there may be other things at work besides food and I blame myself for all of them.

[MikeM]

Over the past few years I have become more attentive to effect of various foods on water quality, which to a degree relates to waste production. Given the sums expended on all other aspects of water quality maintenance, I do not think the cost of even the more expensive foods is material in the total cost equation. I am not so sure the better quality feeds vary much in nutrient delivery. They do seem to vary in the impact on the water, and the effect seems to vary with water temperatures. I am not sufficiently comfortable with my observations to make recommendations, etc. I do think it is something to observe.