Over Feeding ?

[HEADACHE6]

What Harm , If Any Can "Over Feeding" Do To Young Koi (Tosai , Nissai) ? Can/Could It change Future Body Confirmation , Growth or make the Koi Finish before reaching Full Size ?

Over The Winter I have 5-8 Small Tosai I Have In A 8 Ft. Show Tank (Well Filtered With Plenty Of Water Changes) , So Water Quality Would Not Be An Issue . Working From My Home , Feeding Them 5-6 Times A Day Wouldn't Be A Problem .

Unless It's A (Future) Problem ?

[dinh]

Is that in door show tank (pond) ?
What is the average pond temp. during the winter?

[HEADACHE6]

The One Thing I Forgot !

The Tank Is In My Basement & Is Heated . Avg. Temp. would be 70 Deg. .

[RookieKoiGuy]

You can feed year around at that temp...5-8in
I wouldn't feed more than a few pellets each koi...
Each feeding if your feeding 5-6 times a day

RookieKoiGuy Grow out Form

[koibooi]

I did not know that one could overfeed a koi. Surely they only eat as much as they want. Have you ever seen a fat koi? What happens in the wild when there is an abunance of food? They eat until they had enough and then they have a c.... and eat again.

All the warnings on the food containers about the number of feeds per day only relate to the filtration as far as I am concerned. If your filters can handle the waste and any uneaten food then there is no limit to the amount that you can feed.

In my ponds my wife, son and the gardener has instructions that if they walk past the pond and there is no food floating around, then they must feed. I have grown a couple of koi over the 80cm already and I dedicate it to my HUGE filtration plant and constant feeding. One thing I must say is that my water temperature has never been below 17C.

[koiczar]

koibooi

Where in the world are you located - sounds like tropical climate. Things are quite a bit different in the U S mainland. We can't feed like that here as water temps and filter activity is quite different to yours. Therefore, koi can be overfed!

Mike

[MikeM]

Troy: For tosai and nisai in 70F and above water temperatures, I do not believe you can overfeed the fish... as long as filter & water changes are sufficient to deal with it. For older fish, you'll get the debate about goals, shortening life span, etc. However, if the red pigment is weak/thin, the rapid growth will show all problems quickly. Slower growth is said to be better for such koi. ...Personally, I'm not so sure. In the long run I think those fish have their problems any way, so I'd just as soon know sooner than later. But, I defer to all with experience successfully growing weak Hi koi through slow-growth techniques. (Can't grow koi slowly in my climate without starving them. So, not something I'll try.)

[MCA]

Traditional water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ORP) is only a partial view of the liquid environment of our koi. Other factors are current, and room (vertical and horizontal) needed to develop muscles and bone structure. Most show tanks are like a water gardens in that there is little to no current and little room (vertical or horizontal). So as soon as QT was over, I move the tosai into the pond where they have room to grow and experience all 4 seasons.

[kingkong]

Quote: Originally Posted by koibooi I did not know that one could overfeed a koi. Surely they only eat as much as they want. Have you ever seen a fat koi? What happens in the wild when there is an abunance of food? They eat until they had enough and then they have a c.... and eat again. All the warnings on the food containers about the number of feeds per day only relate to the filtration as far as I am concerned. If your filters can handle the waste and any uneaten food then there is no limit to the amount that you can feed. In my ponds my wife, son and the gardener has instructions that if they walk past the pond and there is no food floating around, then they must feed. I have grown a couple of koi over the 80cm already and I dedicate it to my HUGE filtration plant and constant feeding. One thing I must say is that my water temperature has never been below 17C.

I can not help but to agree with this esp if the food you are using is not the greatest source of protein. If you got the filter and the water temp...pile it on. Interesting.

[HEADACHE6]

Thank's for all the Post so far .

As far as current in the QT (Show Tank) . Mine has this . I have the water return from the filter to the tank at a angle that cause's almost a vortex which inturn helps push solids to the center of the tank where the piping for the filter sits . I can & do change the angle from time to time so they don't become salmon .

Just like a child will go through a "Fat Stage" and then come out of it , I'm hoping this is all that could happen . Or am I changing the Koi's future (Body , Finishing Rate , Etc.) by almost force feeding .