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Thread: Active fish

  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Active fish

    Not sure if there is an easy answer but I have tried everything I can to try and get fish active like so many ponds I see online are. I have worked on the water quality by adding a drum, adding 75 litres of micro K1 in a moving bed whilst keeping my 75 litres in the bead filter. Added a shower with 45 litres of ceramic media, changed from a UV to an amalgam and added a permanent trickle in out of 15% weekly. I have a constant flow of air in the pond also.

    Water checks are always pretty much spot on and I am not heated but today got to 20 degrees.

    Not over stocked and hand feed JPD food after removing the auto feeder. I only feed small amounts two/three times a day

    What am I missing or do I just have a lazy bunch???? Often the fish will be down the bottom moving about slowly and never buzzing around the surface as I see in so many videos online. They do come up to feed but never seem to be searching as you would expect


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    Senior Member Rank = Gosai KevT's Avatar
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    Hi

    It can take ages to get the fish to associate you with food, I started by standing back when feeding and gently tapped the side of the pond near the feeding ring, the smart ones soon realized a tap on the pond wall meant possible food, I stood there for 10 or 15 minutes at a time with a small amount of food - not enough for them all to get a pellet each, then as they got competitive they loose the fear of you standing over the pond. They now feed from my hand and if you go near the pond they are up on the top looking for food. As I say it takes time and a lot of patience, thing is they even came up in the middle of winter when I lifted the covers which gives you a good chance to check them for any issues, They seem active if the sun was on the covered pond and fed nearly all winter.

    Good luck

    KevT
    Last edited by KevT; 15-06-2020 at 09:32 PM.

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  4. #3
    Do you have a chag or a karashigoi?

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    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Yes have a big chag and a couple of tosai ones also.

    I think it is more general energy if the fish but maybe I see that in videos and in koi shops because as you say they are trained to the movement


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  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    Yes have a big chag and a couple of tosai ones also.

    I think it is more general energy if the fish but maybe I see that in videos and in koi shops because as you say they are trained to the movement


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    When you say water checks are pretty much spot on, are they sometimes not spot on and if so what isn't right?


    I'm not knocking JPD food at all as I had no issue with it, but it isn't made in Japan like they claim, or at least it wasn't last time I purchased it. So I really didn't think it deserved the premium price tag that it had when it was made by Coppens who most likely provide the same food at a much cheaper price because it isn't in a shiny packet.

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    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Nitrates were always an issue but seem to have got on top of that now. Had slight readings on ammonia and nitrite but again a day or two of not feeding and upping the trickle in fixed that.

    I am a novice so don’t know all the in’s and outs of it all. JPD seems well regarded and hope that even though it isn’t made in Japan you are getting somthing for the money but how would you know!


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  9. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    Nitrates were always an issue but seem to have got on top of that now. Had slight readings on ammonia and nitrite but again a day or two of not feeding and upping the trickle in fixed that.

    I am a novice so don’t know all the in’s and outs of it all. JPD seems well regarded and hope that even though it isn’t made in Japan you are getting somthing for the money but how would you know!


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    How old is the pond? K1 Media takes a long time to mature, it took 2 years before mine was able to handle a substantial amount of food.

    What is the PH and the KH? Ph swings could be affecting the fish, having a low KH can easily cause PH fluctuations, possibly even a PH crash and it can also effect the ability for the bio to function properly.


    I used JPD food last year and had no issues, but when i found out it wasn't what it was supposed to be i changed food as i felt ripped off.

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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Any chance you can post a video at feeding time to give us an idea of how they are?

    In my pond if at least 2 Koi don't come completely out the water at feeding time I'd be wondering what's wrong! Sometimes I've literally got my hands over the edge of the pond in case they fall out!

    But different ponds also have different dynamics. With young Tosai in my vat they wouldn't eat when I was there, but the second my back was turned they were up snatching food and darting back to the bottom. Do yours do this or do they simply not come up at all?

    If you drop mussels into the water do they fight for them as they sink?

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    Quote Originally Posted by kikokuryu John View Post
    How old is the pond? K1 Media takes a long time to mature, it took 2 years before mine was able to handle a substantial amount of food.

    What is the PH and the KH? Ph swings could be affecting the fish, having a low KH can easily cause PH fluctuations, possibly even a PH crash and it can also effect the ability for the bio to function properly.


    I used JPD food last year and had no issues, but when i found out it wasn't what it was supposed to be i changed food as i felt ripped off.
    KH - 12
    Gh - 17
    Ph - 8.5

    Yes moving bed is only 2 months old but pond is 2 years old so should be a good amount of bio going through the new moving bed. Agree it will take time to handle more


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    Quote Originally Posted by RS2OOO View Post
    Any chance you can post a video at feeding time to give us an idea of how they are?

    In my pond if at least 2 Koi don't come completely out the water at feeding time I'd be wondering what's wrong! Sometimes I've literally got my hands over the edge of the pond in case they fall out!

    But different ponds also have different dynamics. With young Tosai in my vat they wouldn't eat when I was there, but the second my back was turned they were up snatching food and darting back to the bottom. Do yours do this or do they simply not come up at all?

    If you drop mussels into the water do they fight for them as they sink?
    They do feed as can watch from a distance.

    It is more so general behaviour as some unattended ponds the fish seem in the upper levels of the pond cruising around and mine seem to prefer lower. It might just be depth, amount of sunlight, temp, etc


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    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai RipleyRich's Avatar
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    Flow and turbulence can affect them.

    Both too much AND too little

    Mine hate too much air going into the pond and the turbulence it causes.

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Do you have air going in your pond?

    If so try turning it off for a while and experiment for a bit.

    Is a cat or something frightening them,some times it just takes a while for them to get used to you and as said associate you with food.

    Try more treats,mealworms mussels brown bread etc.
    John

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    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    How big is the pond and how many fish do you have in it?

    Bit of a long shot, but if you're understocked the fish might not be as frantic if there is not much competition for food. So they're happy to cruise about and take their turn feeding, rather than crawling over each to get a pellet.

    Putting a few more in to increase competition might help?

    Also do you feed sinking pellets as well as floating? If so, it could be that the fish feel more confident feeding off the bottom so don't come rushing up when you chuck the floating stuff in.

    Other than that, maybe you just have a lazy bunch?

    Bit of a weird one.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RipleyRich View Post
    Flow and turbulence can affect them.

    Both too much AND too little

    Mine hate too much air going into the pond and the turbulence it causes.
    Been playing around with flow from returns and air. Thought that more air can only be a good thing with the higher temps and moving the water about


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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Do you have air going in your pond?

    If so try turning it off for a while and experiment for a bit.

    Is a cat or something frightening them,some times it just takes a while for them to get used to you and as said associate you with food.

    Try more treats,mealworms mussels brown bread etc.
    Been feeding a few silkworm which they like....bloody floating poo though!


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    Quote Originally Posted by Twhitenosugar View Post
    How big is the pond and how many fish do you have in it?

    Bit of a long shot, but if you're understocked the fish might not be as frantic if there is not much competition for food. So they're happy to cruise about and take their turn feeding, rather than crawling over each to get a pellet.

    Putting a few more in to increase competition might help?

    Also do you feed sinking pellets as well as floating? If so, it could be that the fish feel more confident feeding off the bottom so don't come rushing up when you chuck the floating stuff in.

    Other than that, maybe you just have a lazy bunch?

    Bit of a weird one.

    Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
    Going to look at some big hi utsuri today so that might help!!! I did move a few larger fish on and delve with smaller one so maybe that’s it.


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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion RS2OOO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Do you have air going in your pond?

    If so try turning it off for a while and experiment for a bit.

    Is a cat or something frightening them,some times it just takes a while for them to get used to you and as said associate you with food.

    Try more treats,mealworms mussels brown bread etc.
    Good points John.
    If they have tasted mussels before then they should fly over to them when you drop them in, with lots of head butting going on.
    Same with Mealworms, they are irresistible and the Koi should come to the surface for them, but you might want to stand back in the shadows at first, then as they become addicted gradually go closer to the pond each time.

    The cat part is funny - When my cat sits on the pond they all come up for food. Have seen the Cat and Koi "sniffing" each other a few times.

    Not so good when other cats turn up looking for a meal though.

 

 

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