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Thread: Not taking food since pond move
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22-06-2019, 09:24 AM #1
Not taking food since pond move
I moved x3 10 year old Koi along with a Sturgeon and added 6 yearlings to a new pond about a month ago. Since then they are all VERY reluctant to take their usual floating food, I'm always removing most of it after a couple hours. They wont take treats either.
However when I put in the sinking Sturgeon pellets they are gobbled up within an hour.
I'm worried that the Sturgeon isn't getting enough.
All water checks are fine.
There pics of the old and new pond on my introduction thread if it helps.
Any ideas how I can wean the Koi back onto their own food or is it as simple as buying sinking Koi food?
Thanks, Lindsay.
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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22-06-2019, 04:31 PM #2
I have got a couple of air stones in my pond and when they get turned off the fish go straight to the bottom of the pond but are back up again once the air stones are running again which I put down to them being more visible so it could be they are more visible in your new pond and are taking longer to get used to it or something along those lines? As you say they are eating but not from the surface and your water parameters are all good.
Just a thought but is it's kind of like safety in numbers and if the sturgeon are staying on the bottom most of the time the rest of the fish could be following their example until they get used to their new surroundings?
When I get near my pond my fish think they are going to get fed so are up at the surface ASAP and it always seems to be the same 2 or 3 fish up first one of which is almost half way out of the water trying to get the food before I get right up to the side of the pond.
Sometimes it is a real feeding frenzy and others times it can be fairly calm but it seems to be weather and daylight level dependant as they seem to like dawn and dusk feeds the best, one of my cat likes to walk round the edge of the pond to watch and sometimes gets soaked. The cat used to scare them off but they seem to be less worried about the cat now.
Basically if they are hungry they will eat from the surface as I have 4 Tench which are well known for staying on the bottom but they all come up with the Koi to feed and even steal the food from right in front of the Koi as they are far more nimble. It makes me laugh when I see 2 reasonable sized Koi fighting over some floating pellets then a small Tench pops up and nicks a pellet or 2
It took a while for the Tench to start coming up like they do now so hopefully that's the same issue you are having at the moment?
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22-06-2019, 05:02 PM #3
Thanks for the reply, I think you're right about them settling and getting used to being out in the open, they came from a wildlife pond with masses of water lilies and iris to hide amongst (although the weens are only a year and came straight from the shop.) I made a couple of hides for them and they use them like garages periodically.
I'm more worried about the Sturgeon not getting enough food as he's daft as a brush and about as aggressive as a feather duster. I was thinking of NOT putting any Sturgeon food in until the Koi are hungry enough to come up to feed but I don't know how long one Sturgeon can go without food.
Maybe the Koi just know better grub when they taste it
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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22-06-2019, 05:21 PM #4
If you can't separate them at feeding time and the Koi aren't coming up to the surface to feed enough right now it is a bit of a tricky one as the more food you put in for the sturgeon the more the Koi will eat it won't they? Not sure if it will work but if it is just a being visible thing at the moment what about putting in some floating food as it gets dark and see if once you walk away from the pond the Koi come to the surface and eat it? OK so it's not getting dark at the moment until gone 9 pm but it is worth a try maybe? Another option is maybe put in a few floating plants for cover and see if that helps? I have a net over my pond and I am sure that's why they aren't too bothered about the cat now?
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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22-06-2019, 06:18 PM #5
I've put food in at dusk and got up next morning and it's still there. At various times the weens go over and sniff about it when it's caught amongst the heron cage stuff on the perimeter of the pond which gives them some cover but I don't want to leave it in there for any length of time. I've also crushed up silkworm larvae and bird feed dried worms to make them sink, I think their eating them but definitely not at the time of depositing.
Does anybody put live maggots in from the bait shop or is that bad?
I think I'll get some sinking Koi food and see what happens.
I might have a look for some plastic floating plants and try that.
I've 2 air stones going as well and I haven't noticed any huge change in their behaviour on or off. As long as everybody's eating I'll have to persevere.
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freddyboy, Frimley Koi keeper Thanked / Liked this Post
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22-06-2019, 09:18 PM #6
Try a bit of brown bread, with a bit of honey on it for the koi, then get a long plastic pipe and drop the
sturgeon pellets down in front of it, while the koi are hopefully feeding on top, sturgeons having a nosh up down
below . Don't think maggots would be a good idea but who knows.
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23-06-2019, 01:25 PM #7
Thanks, I'll try the honey bread, sounds delicious, might try it myself
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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23-06-2019, 01:46 PM #8
Well it was just a thought but at least you can start to rule things out that you think currently don't work.
Anything sweet or strong flavoured was always good for catching carp on like tutti fruity, molasses, strawberries, blackberries garlic etc. Also fake sweet corn and other brightly coloured baits worked well so if you can get a combination of colour and sweetness you should be onto a winner hopefully.
Maggots are not a specific bait for carp so would be advisable to stay away from them plus they sink so kind of defeats the object if you are trying to get your Koi up to the surface to feed maybe? Also with maggots some are coloured and are possibly fed on things you may not want in your pond?
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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24-06-2019, 08:45 AM #9
the reason the koi eat the sturgeon food is because its really high protein,i used to have 3 big lumps and the koi always went for the sturgeon food before theirs, i got some higher protein koi food from orchard fisheries https://www.orchardfisheries.co.uk/k...ood-pellet-mix also as it has smaller pellets the smaller fish may prefer them,you could also get some sinking koi food and mix with the sturgeon food,the koi may then get used to the taste,andi
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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25-06-2019, 03:32 PM #10
Not taking food since pond move
Not long ago I moved 101 young koi from a grow tank to my in ground pond. I didn’t see a single fish for 4 weeks, then I got an occasional glimpse, then more came up and now they are on top all the time.
I think mine were just in shock, and nervous about the new environment.
Mine probably had plenty off fat on them to not worry about feeding, yours could be the same.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Frimley Koi keeper, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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25-06-2019, 03:41 PM #11
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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27-06-2019, 08:05 PM #12
Sorry for delay, thunder storm took out my router and had to wait for new one. I starved them all for 2 days and last night at dusk put in about 2 dozen pellets and some of them came up and took them. I waited about 5 mins then put in some sturgeon food. Checked the skimmer today and only a few got removed. They'll get some more tonight and see what happens.
Thanks for suggestions so far, it's all good learning for me.
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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28-06-2019, 08:22 AM #13
Try putting in small amounts but not too often and they will start to come up for it I would think as they get used to the floating food. Just remember that the more you put in that doesn't get eaten the more water parameter issues you could get. I would think smaller feeds will make them compete for the food more and bring them up to the surface and then you can start to slowly up the amount you feed? What I used to do when my fish were in the previous pond and were much smaller was feed the Koi with floating food and that would bring them up and while they were busy with that put some sinking pellets in for the Tench. The stuff I was feeding was Sterlet pellets but as it was high protein food would only put in a very small amount. Used to work quite well as the Tench were very reluctant to take food from anywhere other than the bottom of the pond at the time. They were reluctant to surface when they were in the current pond but now are up with the rest of the Koi fighting for the food
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freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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02-07-2019, 08:21 PM #14
They are starting to take food at the surface, small amounts spaced out seemed to do the trick. Thanks everyone for advice, I'm now off to the filtration forum to post my next question
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Frimley Koi keeper, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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02-07-2019, 09:35 PM #15
The Daily pond temp thread
Pond still covered, currently 11.6C Been really mild this year as far as pond temps go. ...