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Thread: Daily koi food.

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Daily koi food.

    Good morning,

    I was wondering what your food of choice is for your fish, i refer to their standard daily feed, the market offers so much choice, our fish will be 8 inch to 14 inch mark so just wondered what size pellet to get that would suit all in that size range and also who are your preferred manufacturers ? like most things in life you probably pay a premium for well known brands even though the cheaper brands contain the same products and % of each ingredient akin to buying dried dog food i guess ? or not ?

    thanks Steve.



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    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Simon Fish's Avatar
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    Pellet size is usually 3 or 6mm. There are other sizes.

    A big fish can swallow a small pellet but it doesn't work the other way round. Eventually the small fish will nibble bits off if its still available.
    The smaller fish still seem drawn to the lure of the big meal even when the smaller option is also present.

    The 8" fish will easily swallow a 6mm pellet.
    Last edited by Simon Fish; 19-05-2019 at 09:12 AM.

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Hi Steve,as you say there are loads of food out there,I use Queni koi own branded food all be it Coppens.
    Great del service from them and a good price,no dust and smells clean and importantly the koi like it.
    6mm would be fine for you Steve,useing the growth 6mm myself at the moment.
    John

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Hi Steve,as you say there are loads of food out there,I use Queni koi own branded food all be it Coppens.
    Great del service from them and a good price,no dust and smells clean and importantly the koi like it.
    6mm would be fine for you Steve,useing the growth 6mm myself at the moment.
    thanks John, appreciated... Steve..

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  9. #5
    At the risk of repeating in a previous post, it’s not about the size of the pellets that koi eat, some try to swallow huge pebbles & get them stuck?
    What the priority is, can the Koi derive goodness from what it eats? Pellets are manufactured & Dried for effective storage, so not to waste/go mouldy etc....But the Koi (whatever it’s size or mouth size) needs to extract the vitamins proteins etc.. so with No stomach a Koi can only transit the food through to it’s vent! Therefore extracting the “Goodness” will rely on damp/moist food?
    So the pellet that can take up water quickest, will give you LESS waste, so a smaller pellet will be the best at taking on moisture?
    My Koi never get any pellets bigger than Medium sizes (5-6mm dia) mostly they have 3-4mm & they are producing less waste & great growth characteristics? Koi are up-to 85cm.
    I hope this helps
    Cheers


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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by silver.wolf.9883 View Post
    At the risk of repeating in a previous post, it’s not about the size of the pellets that koi eat, some try to swallow huge pebbles & get them stuck?
    What the priority is, can the Koi derive goodness from what it eats? Pellets are manufactured & Dried for effective storage, so not to waste/go mouldy etc....But the Koi (whatever it’s size or mouth size) needs to extract the vitamins proteins etc.. so with No stomach a Koi can only transit the food through to it’s vent! Therefore extracting the “Goodness” will rely on damp/moist food?
    So the pellet that can take up water quickest, will give you LESS waste, so a smaller pellet will be the best at taking on moisture?
    My Koi never get any pellets bigger than Medium sizes (5-6mm dia) mostly they have 3-4mm & they are producing less waste & great growth characteristics? Koi are up-to 85cm.
    I hope this helps
    Cheers


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    Hi SW thank you for the information, makes good sense, are you a Queni food fan? cheers Steve.

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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Hi steve i use queni premium growth 3mm pellet size.
    The fish love it. Used it for 2 years now.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    Hi steve i use queni premium growth 3mm pellet size.
    The fish love it. Used it for 2 years now.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
    thanks Freddy, John mentioned Coppens in his email, so do you guys buy from Queni Koi direct or from Coppens on ebay from what I can see? or have I misunderstood thanks Steve..

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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smartin View Post
    thanks Freddy, John mentioned Coppens in his email, so do you guys buy from Queni Koi direct or from Coppens on ebay from what I can see? or have I misunderstood thanks Steve..
    I get it of ebay. But it is always queni that dispatches the food lol

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=freddyboy;295490]I get it of ebay. But it is always queni that dispatches the food lol

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk[/QUOTE

    thanks Freddy is it cheaper that that way then? thanks Steve..

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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=smartin;295492]
    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    I get it of ebay. But it is always queni that dispatches the food lol

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk[/QUOTE

    thanks Freddy is it cheaper that that way then? thanks Steve..
    Could nt tell you to be honest mate.
    I just went there to start with. And have always stuck with them.
    Usually with me in 2 days.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    I have started to get mine direct from Q/k as they give you points to save up and eventually get discount and some things are slightly cheaper,if you order early enough you get it next day.
    John

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  25. #13
    Hi Steve. I have just received an order for 6 kilos of QK jap mix 6mm and 2 kilos of jap mix 3mm (the same as I got last year) I also supplement with vitalis sinking (which the fish love) freshwater shrimp and silkworm pupae, with the odd mussel thrown in. I have used a few different brands in the past and a particular favourite is orchard fisheries food. Really good and the fish love it too, personally I think variety is key to keeping the fish interested hence why I mix it up with a variety of foods. Just my opinion

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by -Craig- View Post
    Hi Steve. I have just received an order for 6 kilos of QK jap mix 6mm and 2 kilos of jap mix 3mm (the same as I got last year) I also supplement with vitalis sinking (which the fish love) freshwater shrimp and silkworm pupae, with the odd mussel thrown in. I have used a few different brands in the past and a particular favourite is orchard fisheries food. Really good and the fish love it too, personally I think variety is key to keeping the fish interested hence why I mix it up with a variety of foods. Just my opinion
    Hi Craig, makes sense mate, we have been watching you tube and browsing the net and have been really surprised what people actually do feed there fish lol, the variety like you provide their fish is amazing and they certainly seem to be happy fish..... no doubt we will spoil ours too lol... ok so it seems quite a few of you use QK foods so I will start off with this and see how it goes amongst other goodies, rapid growth is not important to us, I just want to ensure they are being fed well balanced nutritional food to help there development and well being, in it for the long game hopefully …. cheers Steve.

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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon Fish View Post
    A big fish can swallow a small pellet but it doesn't work the other way round. Eventually the small fish will nibble bits off if its still available.
    The smaller fish still seem drawn to the lure of the big meal even when the smaller option is also present..
    This is so true.

    Was watching mine do it today, 3mm pellets mixed with 6mm pellets.

    The big Koi will eat whatever is there, but the small koi swim past the 3mm pellets and go for the big 6mm pellets.

    The problem is the little ones only get a single pellet for dinner, because by the time they've finished eating it the rest of the food has gone.

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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Last summer I fed NT Labs probiotic growth. Can't honestly say if it worked as I had a nitrite problem all summer which may have restricted growth on some. Others did still grow a bit though.

    I fed my Saki-Hikari Multi-Season through winter, again, a few fish grew throughout winter including one that hadn't grown at all through summer.

    Just started feeding Kusuri Multi-Season, the ingredients look brilliant compared to almost everything else. Too early to say whether it will be any good.

    For the period of summer where temps are over 20C I'm going to feed Saki-Hikari growth.

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion smartin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Last summer I fed NT Labs probiotic growth. Can't honestly say if it worked as I had a nitrite problem all summer which may have restricted growth on some. Others did still grow a bit though.

    I fed my Saki-Hikari Multi-Season through winter, again, a few fish grew throughout winter including one that hadn't grown at all through summer.

    Just started feeding Kusuri Multi-Season, the ingredients look brilliant compared to almost everything else. Too early to say whether it will be any good.

    For the period of summer where temps are over 20C I'm going to feed Saki-Hikari growth.
    Hi RS,. be interesting how your fish and water quality get on during the summer using this product, ref the ingredients is this because there are more ingredients or because the % by ingredient is higher compared to others? all the best Steve

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  35. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by smartin View Post
    Hi SW thank you for the information, makes good sense, are you a Queni food fan? cheers Steve.
    I am not a specific fan of QK, although I do give it to my koi occasionally! Same as with humans a variety of foods is better than a cheese sandwich every meal! Try other foods? I know people say “ my Koi love it “ but how do you know that? If you were only fed a cheese sandwich every meal, or nothing else! You may feel different towards cheese ( I have nothing against cheese, just as an example) work within your budget, & the outcome you want for your Koi.
    Remember we want to thrive, not just survive? Koi & humans.
    The choice is yours.


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    Quote Originally Posted by smartin View Post
    Hi RS,. be interesting how your fish and water quality get on during the summer using this product, ref the ingredients is this because there are more ingredients or because the % by ingredient is higher compared to others? all the best Steve
    The first 3 ingredients on the Kusuri Multi-season packet are fish related, i.e fish meal, krill etc. It is normally standard practice to list ingredients in order of quantity.

    All other foods seem to have fillers as the first or second ingredient, and fish meal is 3rd or 4th.

    I would assume, but am not an expert by any means, that fish meal and krill are the highest quality of ingredients and the ones you want most of.

    So it certainly seems healthier but don't know if these ingredients push growth so will use a proper growth food when temps hit 20C.

    Growth foods are expensive and my understanding from reading up is that feeding growth food below 20C, or certainly 18C is a waste of money and just contributes to excess protein in the water.


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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Just looked up ingredients of the main multi season foods.

    Some will swear that if the food isn't made in Japan it is inferior due to the processes used to make it, but ignoring that and looking at the ingredients as a layman, the Kusuri looks to be healthiest.

    I've only listed the first few ingredients as beyond these the content is so small its probably barely noticeable.


    Kusuri Multi Season:
    Fish meal, Shrimp meal, Antarctic Krill, Wheat, Vital wheat gluten, Wheat grain flour, Kusuri Montmorillonite Klay, Kelp, Propolis, Dried algae Ascophylluum sp/Lami- naria sp, Garlic dried, Vitamins, Dried algae Spirulina, Fish oil

    Saki Hikari Multi Season:
    Fish meal, wheat germ meal, milled rice, rice bran, brewers dried yeast, dried bakery product, soybean meal, roasted barley flour, spirulina, krill meal, fish oil, lecithin, dried seaweed meal, DL-methionine, garlic

    Queni Koi Multi Season:
    Fish meal, wheat, soy (decorticated toasted), Wheat germ, wheat gluten, fish oil, krill meal, yeast, anti-oxidants


    Out of the multi seasons, Kusuri appears on paper to have the best ingredients and in the best order.


    Now comparing to the growth versions:



    Kusuri Growth
    Wheat, Soya (bean) protein concentrate, Soya (bean) meal, Fish meal, Sunflower seed expeller (organically grown), Fish oil, Vitamins, Minerals, Mono ammonium phosphate, Maize Gluten.

    Saki-Hikari Growth

    Fish meal, wheat flour, wheat germ meal, brewers dried yeast, dried bakery product, soybean meal, fish oil, corn gluten meal, krill meal, rice bran, dried seaweed meal, garlic, DL-methionine, probiotics

    Queni Growth
    Fish meal, wheat, soy (decorticated toasted), Wheat germ, wheat gluten, fish oil, krill meal, yeast, anti-oxidants

    NT Labs Growth
    Fish Meal, Wheat, Wheat Gluten, Soya Protein Concentrate, Wheatgerm, Lecithin, Fish Solubles, Condensed, Krill Meal, Spirulina, Monocalcium Phosphate, Yeast Products (Stimmune), Inulin, Algae


    Wheat is obviously a big factor for growth looking at the above, but I think I'd still want a fish derivative as the main ingredient considering that's their natural food which leaves the bottom 3 to choose from, Other than that I wouldn't know which of the above are the best for growth. Probably not a lot in it.

    As a teenager I shot up in growth and did most of my teenage growth in a single summer. I was eating mainly chips (had a chippy next door), bacon sandwiches and cans of fanta. These aren't instantly recognisable as growth foods (well, outwards maybe, but I grew upwards only).
    Last edited by RS2OOO; 21-05-2019 at 05:25 PM.

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