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Thread: Fussy eaters?

  1. #1

    Fussy eaters?

    Hi all

    Still very new to this and I was wondering, if I continue to feed the same wheatgerm feed for several months, are the fish likely to become fussy and turn their nose up at a change in feed?



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  3. #2
    Sometimes they can but if this happens just dont feed them for a few days / week. They’re then normally ravenous and will eat anything. Having said that winter feeding in cold(er) water is less frequent so this shouldnt really be an issue - more late spring / summer.

    everyone has their own thoughts on feeding / feeding regime. I prefer to stick with the same brand / manufacturer and change type of food for the season - I’ve found that the same type of food by different manufacturers can produce different levels of waste and also (importantly) ammonia which can become a pain if you’re trying to get your biofilters into a settled “steady state” and you dont regularly test your water params - e.g. over the years I found in summer that chopping and changing between different growth foods can lead to short term ammonia and nitrite spikes which can then impact pH and KH this can ultimately undermine your biofilter performance if KH levels go below 3 ( my tap water is 4 KH) and obviously stress your fish.

    its not the end of the world and as long as you’re aware of the “risk” it can be managed by adding bicarb, adjusting feeding amounts etc.

    at the end of the day though if you're new to koi keeping you need to find a food you and your koi like so you’re going to have to test / chop and change food anyway. Once you have found a brand you like try and stick with it or gradually phase it out.

    anyhow my apologies as this is a rather long reply to your simple, short question and others may have different thoughts / ideas.

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    Member Rank = Sansai twokoi's Avatar
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    Some people (myself included) feed wheatgerm or all seasons food never changing to growth foods, colour foods etc. Some years ago my local koi club had Maurice Cox from Koi UK ( since closed) as a guest speaker and a lot of the evening revolved around the temperature and food relationship. The thing that interested me was that koi need about 22 to 24 degrees C to fully absorb the higher protein foods so below this range some protein will be absorbed but some will pass through the fish to be excreted as waste in to the pond. As I live in the North and use my heater (elecro) to just take out fluctuations rather than heat as such, the water temp will not often be above 20 C for most of the summer. Occasional spells of a few days at most have been up to 24C but that is fairly rare. For this reason I just feed wheatgerm as the protein in it is lower and from what was said that night is more easily absorbed by the fish. The fish never seem to lose interest in the food unless there is something else wrong.

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by twokoi View Post
    Some people (myself included) feed wheatgerm or all seasons food never changing to growth foods, colour foods etc. Some years ago my local koi club had Maurice Cox from Koi UK ( since closed) as a guest speaker and a lot of the evening revolved around the temperature and food relationship. The thing that interested me was that koi need about 22 to 24 degrees C to fully absorb the higher protein foods so below this range some protein will be absorbed but some will pass through the fish to be excreted as waste in to the pond. As I live in the North and use my heater (elecro) to just take out fluctuations rather than heat as such, the water temp will not often be above 20 C for most of the summer. Occasional spells of a few days at most have been up to 24C but that is fairly rare. For this reason I just feed wheatgerm as the protein in it is lower and from what was said that night is more easily absorbed by the fish. The fish never seem to lose interest in the food unless there is something else wrong.
    That's interesting indeed... Now I have passed on my common Carp etc (I still have some goldfish I need to move on in my quarantine) I want to stop feeding mine the KK Bombay Mix I have used for the last few years and move to something better and more Koi focused like Medikoi but that seems a very expensive hobby, I guess I have a few months to narrow down the options

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    Member Rank = Sansai twokoi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dbs View Post
    That's interesting indeed... Now I have passed on my common Carp etc (I still have some goldfish I need to move on in my quarantine) I want to stop feeding mine the KK Bombay Mix I have used for the last few years and move to something better and more Koi focused like Medikoi but that seems a very expensive hobby, I guess I have a few months to narrow down the options
    Some foods are quite expensive, but i use my local dealers own brand wheatgerm it even has a probiotic in it and for me is good value and produces little waste. If he has run out of the own brand I then use the Aqua Source wheatgerm, again little waste and good value for me.

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    Mine are pigs and will eat whatever they get really. They don’t get fed up with food. They just get fed up with waiting for their next meal

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grommett View Post
    Hi all

    Still very new to this and I was wondering, if I continue to feed the same wheatgerm feed for several months, are the fish likely to become fussy and turn their nose up at a change in feed?
    They will be fine,in the warmer months feed other treats as well such as mealworms,brown bread,mussels,prawns and loads more.
    If they are Tosai I think they should get some protein for growth etc you could allways mix some into the wheatgerm,this is for the warmer months mind.

    I have fed mine high protein for years but am now feeding a lower one for all year as I dont think they need it as they are quite old now.
    The young tosai are still getting high protein all year as they are heated.

    So in answer to your question Grommett they shouldn't get tired of the wheatgerm but if very young I would mix a little high protein in it or change to it so as to build them up a bit,this is in warmer water mind
    John

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by twokoi View Post
    Some foods are quite expensive, but i use my local dealers own brand wheatgerm it even has a probiotic in it and for me is good value and produces little waste. If he has run out of the own brand I then use the Aqua Source wheatgerm, again little waste and good value for me.
    Thank you I will look at Aqua Source

  14. #9


    This is what I am feeding at the moment. They always seem hungry! Water is at 14c. Any suggestions about what protein I should add?


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    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Wain's Avatar
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    Foods like that tend to cover all the bases for what the fish need

    However I would ask what age are the fish ? as some foods are for growth others may enrich colour etc

    and as mentioned in previous posts in the spring start adding the odd treat

    I use mealworm, bread crumbled, greens, also a lot speak about mussels but I havent tried them myself.

    Are you going to keep at 14C for the winter ?

    or let it drop a little and let them use their reserves to come back fighting in the spring ?
    1000 gal
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    Allpond Spin Filter 8000 11W UV
    Blagdon pond oxy 640 ltr/hr

  16. #11
    Hi Wain

    I was planning to keep at 14c for the whole of the winter.

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    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Wain's Avatar
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    No probs pal

    are the fish all young ish ? if so keeps them growing on not at a great rate at that temp but active

    been looking for post on/ at fish digestive system maybe call for MANKEYSANKE he may of written the piece I saw about how they use the food ie proteins etc

    it may be at that temp that they cant digest the food properly hence we go to wheatgerm for end of year as it can just go thro the system

    I dont think its an issue apart from waste of food / money as not getting benefit, might as well give them food with little cost and no proteins etc

    Hopefully someone with a better understanding can come on and explain to you a bit better than I have
    1000 gal
    2 x Hozelock 6000ltr 9W UV
    Allpond Spin Filter 8000 11W UV
    Blagdon pond oxy 640 ltr/hr

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  20. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Wain's Avatar
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    Winter feeding

    Koi will survive not being fed over the winter but they will emerge in spring in better condition if they are fed very small amounts of wheatgerm based food whenever they are obviously hungry. I agree with the above; anything that isn't immediately eaten should be removed.

    My thoughts on winter feeding are on this link to my website:
    Winter feeding (mankysanke.co.uk)


    Thread: Water Temperature and Feeding in General Koi chat

    Hope that helps pal
    1000 gal
    2 x Hozelock 6000ltr 9W UV
    Allpond Spin Filter 8000 11W UV
    Blagdon pond oxy 640 ltr/hr

 

 

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