of course, I feed my fish Tetra but have experiemented around with other kitchen foods to see what they might like. Mine like cheese but i'm afaid to give them much. Tried lots of stuff and then gave them some leftover green peas. They love them. They go after them like they do worms, it looks like a pirhanna feeding frenzy.
I would love to know what else others give their koi & goldfish that they love.
Your kois' favorite food
I try cheerios and dog food (the small dog variety) I've also given them peas and earthworms, and know they chase and devour the tadpoles (from frogs, not toads , which they won't touch)
:)
I give mine a small slice of watermelon and fish the rind out of the pond when they are finished with it. I keep a small bag of frozen peas defrosted in the frig from which they probably get a 1/4 of a cup a day. I also chop up children's chewable vitamin C and mix it with shrimp pellets. I do that maybe once a week. My vet said the fish will just excrete any vitamin C that their system doesn't need. Another friend gives her's half a grapefruit and she says the they turn the rind inside out. I haven't tried that.
I use Tetra also. It's easy to grab a bag of it at Wal-Mart. It's about $10 a bag at Wally World
I have goldfish. Morning meal is Tetra for Goldfish
They love peas and duckweed. There's a feeding frenzy for bloodworms.
They also like dried shrimp but it's hard for the littler ones to eat. A lot of chewing ensues all around.
They like homemade gell food with zucchini and greenbeans, this also seems to require a bit of chewing.
They'll eat Cheerios but don't seem overjoyed about it.
Hard boiled egg was a bust so was an orange slice, likewise lettuce.
They seemed to like watermelon but couldn't really get a good enough grip on it to tear off edible pieces, they sure made some loud smacks trying though.
My koi & goldfish prefer Friskies cat food. The mosquito fish go after any left over floating pieces as well. Even the water striders, believe it or not, will feast on a soggy piece.
i tried the grapefruit and it was a bust. Where do you get the dried shrimp?
I get my dried shrimp at Walmart. It's with the other fish foods.
The oriental groceries has dried shrimp. the earthworms are big treats for my kois, I go to the bait shop occassionally. They kove frozen peas and stale wheat bread. Happy ponding!!! Bellie
i gotta try those dried shrimp.
I feed mine cooked cauliflower,cooked roast beef, canned corn,green beans,peas,they will eat just about any people food they can get. I feed them tetra sticks, color enhancing ,the regular kind ,and the spring and fall mixture from tetra. They have even been known to nibble on my toes and fingers;)))
Wow, you guys really no how to spoil your fish. Nothing fancy here. I feed Hikari or Dainichi or Sho Koi with koi clay as a supplement. Once in a while they get a dried shrimp treat.
wow, mine are much pickier than that although we did discover that they will eat canned corn.
They did like the dried shrimp.
Mine are like Pavlov's Dogs....if I even walk by the edge, they swarm and start jumping. I think if I threw a handful of pebbles in there, they'd munch them down! Every now and then, I find one poor guy who flew through the air and landed on the decking instead of back in the water.
The Indoor Formula Purina Cat Chow seems to have more of a veggie base, and every now and then I throw them a handful when I feed the kitty. It seems less oily than some of the other "chows" I have offered in the past. Snacks are only now and then, otherwise I use normal Koi Food.
What does the Vitamin C do for the koi? That's interesting, never heard of that.
I just feed mine tetra chips (I saw them new at the pet store the other day) and Laguna koi pellets. I have yet to try all these creative meals though! My dogs love love love frozen peas, so I'll have to throw some in for the fish next time I give the dogs some. Too funny!
Wheat bread
Hmm, we have tried a lot of the above but the peas and corn have been the most sucessful. The reason I have searched for other food is because it seems to me the actual fish or koi foods are not a well-rounded diet alone.
There are so many things the wild koi would eat and I am just trying to give them a more natural diet.
Our koi went crazy for the Pacifica freeze dried krill. It was a bity pricey, but well worth the reaction when we fed them the krill. The feeding frenzy was far more frentic and seemed to last longer than when we fed them other things.
don't have that here, but my fish enjoy the dried shrimp.
And they all come running! Everytime I step on the deck, the charge it like they've never eaten in their lives!
Koi forum http://koiandpond.activeboard.com/ just join and start posting, its free=]
we already have a question that needs an answer =]
I keep trying to,but I can't seem to get it to register me in ☻I'll go try again☺
Just hit join mamber andi think its selfexplainitory =]
I think maybe your problem posy, is that you have to wait for a confirmation email and then click on it. It doesn't immediately let you in.
cheack your spam folder
tried all the above and no deal,never received an email,even though on my third try it said it would send one,it says I'm in the system but wrong password.Checked spam folder. Nope,nothing. I'll go try again.Sorry,I must have scewed up on something☻
ugh! i dont know what could be wrong. i think you just have to enter your info in and i dont know! lol ask a member who has sighned up m=]
I think your in now i just aceped a few people
I've not really tried anything but a salad leaf which the koi seem to just push around the place. I buy good old fashioned koi food but I'm wondering if I can get quantity less expensive then what I pay now. My fish are fed twice a day and they gobble up everything that comes out of the feeder in no time flat. I buy 16.5 lb bags of Tetra Koi Fish Food 40L for $76.95 inclusive of shipping but could use a larger quantity for a better price.
Anybody buy larger bags anywhere?
Fred
Try ebay but be careful with the sizes, it comes small, medium and large. Bellieg
I get mine from Ebay .... a couple of different vendors that I have been happy with. Buy from the ones that list the ingredient and protein lists. Remember, less protien when the water is colder.
Usually food and shipping combined, will end up being 2-3 dollars per pound.
MerryMary,
51lbs 32% FLOATING PELLET FISH FOOD KOI -Free Shipping $78
Pellet size is 1/4". 99.5% of the food will float
Any idea as to what 32% stands for?
Seems like a good deal. Since we are both in FL what say you to these ingredients:
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein.....Min. 32.0%
Crude Fat.........Min. 4.0%
Crude Fiber.......Max. 5.5%
Phosphorus........Min. 0.45%
That's a second statement saying it's 32% protein. Hi ya fredrump! Hope you're having a good winter.
Fred,
Azoo was great last year - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9238&rel=1. We plan on buying the biggest bag in the spring.. My koi just loved it. The food has krill in it which promotes good growth and color - and they just go wild over it. We found the food to be very resonably priced too.
I am sure if you talk with a technician at Dr. Foster & Smith, they will give you a nutritional break down.
Carolyn
Ok Carolyn,
I ordered your food selection. If my koi don't like it, I'll sick on you. :-)
Now to find a source for water softener charcoal that was mentioned.
Fred
Hi snapple,
I've been busy as usual with a variety of things currently engaged in building an potting table with a roof over it. The table is done and I've started to work on some of my orchids which need repotting badly but without a suitable place that was tough to do.
I just took a nice shot of one of them I just photographed. I know they always fade in the end but at least a picture captures the beauty of the moment.
The fish have grown like crazy. The babies which survived are now almost a foot long but I see no new ones coming along which is fine with me as I don't want to overcrowd the pond.
I had a near disaster recently which I might as well share here. My water is nice and clear (well I guess it could always be event better but I'm satisfied) but I was being deluged with string algae about a month ago. All the sides and wherever you looked was full of the stuff. As fast as I would remove it by hand it would just come back almost instantly. So ordered some pro green algaecide remover but it didn't go very far. So I searched for a larger quantity and ordered 50 lbs of the stuff. For some reason this stuff requires special shipment and it took forever to get here. We then went on an RV trip for a week and came back to a pond were the water was hardy flowing and it was green all over. The chemicals had arrived and I went busy cleaning up. The stuff started dying and the filters were clogging up like crazy. One day I was busy cleaning and my builder showed to go over some changes to my architectual plans (we're redoing our house) and I quickly replaced the tops of the filters while forgetting to shut one of the valves. The next monring I came to continue my cleaning effort and there were no fish to be seen and the water was down to about a foot or so in the deep part of the pond. I almost died and all kinds of thoughts raced thru my head. Obviously the fish had been taken by some animals and I saw water pouring into the pond from the auto-refill source. I raced to where the pumps and filters were and saw the water spouting out of the filter. So all night long one of my pumps was flushing water out while new water was coming in from the well but the refill was losing the battle. Now that I knew what had happened I quickly closed the valve and ran back the pond. Now I saw all the fish lying almost sidways and out of the water gasping near where the other waterfall was still running in the shallow end of the pond. I thought they were all goners but when I walked over there they scattered like mad and showed they were alive and not yet willing to die.
So, over the next few days I slowly let more water in from the well. The fish were either in shock from the cold and completely different well water or they were gasping for oxygen but they survived and all is well. I have a tough group here. But I don't wish the feeling I had on anyone. It just shows how quickly a stupid mistake can wipe out a pond. If I hadn't gone to the pond first thing in the morning and did my usual routine, they may not have survived.
Otherwise all is well except that my water lilies are not in too good a shape right now. I need to get in the water and feed them as they haven't had any food in months. I should also vacuum the pond which I've never done. The pump I purchased last year is still in the box it came in. :-(
Fred
Oh......My......Goodness!!! I am so happy that you found it in time to get things turned around. How about a low water alarm? Some koi breeders use them. Stuff happens you know? MicrobeLift has come out with a new algaecide this year that is supposed to take care of string algae. It looks fairly economical to use. There is another product that works too that is all natural but expensive. S.A.B. or String Algae Buster by Aquascape. I've used it for 4 years. It most definitely works and does not cause Ph swings. It is composed of enzymes. I havn't cleaned a shred of string algae since I began using it. And my pond is full sun.
http://www.webbsonline.com/catalog/ecological/index.html?gclid=CKu0sLibupECFQUsPAodNwI2Cg#Algaway
http://www.lochnesswatergardens.com/sab7lbs.htm
This message was edited Feb 10, 2008 1:10 PM
Ahhhh, Fredrump...I can relate! That happened to me too! What a panic! Watch the fish for a week or so. All of mine survived, but a couple of larger ones had some healing that needed to take place where one gill was out of water until I found the drained pond. I added extra salt to give them a good slime coat to cover any slight abrasions from flopping around, and irritated gills. All survived. I hope the same happens for you!
Yeah my boys and girls are happy and hungry all the time. I've never added salt to my pond. The well water has enough sodium i it to take care of that. So far I've never even had a sick fish.
I already have two 50lb buckets of Green Clean Pro which costs me $76 just for shipping. Something about shipping chemicals is expensive. But I will remember your suggestions. I have a feeling all these algae controls contain pretty much the same stuff under different brand names. I mean how many different concoctions can there be?
I just bought some more lilies as I need to redo that whole planting thing with better protection against the marauders.
Fred
Fred,
Glad you caught it in time. That could have been so much worse!
We have used the Green clean in the past with excellent results. We even use it in my little wall fountain to keep that running.
Let us know how you make out. Love to see some pictures of your pond.
From, the frozen tundra!
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn in cold PA,
I haven't taken any pictures of my pond in quite a while. Visitors do and then send me copies. :-)
I did take one of the flowering bush behind my solar feeder a little while go.
Fred
