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AIMS
A - Organized by people with the interest of raising and improving the quality of Nishiki Koi, and its culture
B - through Nishiki Koi, promote better international and community relations and for public welfare and the better understanding of brotherhood among members through a common interest.
C - To improve the technology of raising and keeping koi
D - To promote Nishiki Koi
BUSINESS
A - To encourage the raising and better development of koi through public and private exhibition
B - We will have a monthly study discussion and make field trips to various member's ponds
C - To carry our necessary business functions of the Club
MEMBERSHIP
A - a qualified member must be interested in pond culture
B - Persons wishing to become a member must be first introduced by another member in good standing and have approval of the Officers - Dues are payable immediately
C - Membership will be terminated by the Officers if a member is found guilty of negligence of his duty, is against the purposes of the southern Arizona Koi Association, and/or who disgraces or insults the Club
Page 3 President Corner
page 3 Surface area needed for a biological filter for a koi pond
page 4 Be Prepared
page 5 10% Discount
page 5 should your koi be eating this food? Or Food for thought!
page 6 Food Glorious Food
page 9 Fish of the Month
page 9 Kawarigoi Kornor
Page 9 Potluck
page 10 Web sites & E-mail Address
Page 10 AKCA Pond Tour
Those welcomed monsoons are upon us. Be sure your fish do not end up on dry land. As the rains come the levels of air ponds increase. Our Koi and other aquatic life can become the victims of pond overflow and end up on dry land. Please keep your eyes alert to this and avoid the loss of aquatic life.
There is a new club in town. The Tucson Watergardeners. They have monthly meetings held at the Tucson Botanical Garden, fee of one dollar to cover rent of meeting room. Doug Wahl and myself attended their June meeting. We presented the club with a Koi windsock to welcome them to the ever-growing community of pond owners. Their chairperson, Gail Barnhill and other club members welcomed us. We would like to thank them for their hospitality.
A big Thanks is in order for Kurt & Lisa Ogden for there continued support of our club and the hosting of our annual Pot Luck for our members "THANKS MUCH"
The Associated Koi Clubs of America (AKCA) Seminar held in Costa Mesa, CA was full of information from conferences and vendors. Knowledge abounds for the taking. Our club was there, so come to the July meeting and find out about what you missed.
See you there.
Bob Panter, President SAKA
PS Next month a visit from Arizona Game & Fish.
The following article is an email exchange between Jack McNeary and a respondent on an Internet bulletin board. Portions of the exchange that were unrelated to the biological filter topic were omitted.
I am a little confused!!!! Some of the older books talk about the bio-filter being half the surface area of the pond I assume that was to have vegetative matter use the nitrates created Also 02 only goes so deep with out separate air stones or equivalent. Is that why the depth does not matter much? If the above is true than the surface area of the filter with bio-balls, beads, filter mat, plastic forks, brushes, Spring-Flow, etc. is not important as long as aerobic respiration is going on. If I am on the right track than how much surface area of the media (beads, brushes etc.) does one need to provide for a pond per 1000 gallons. I guess I am a little skeptical about the advertisement that says "this is good for up to 5000 gallons and only measures about 2 ft x 2 ft Any comments that will enlighten me I will appreciate. - Jack McNeary
The issues Jack raised relative to the sizing of a filter refer to biological filtration. The relationships he described were true up through the late 1970's when all blo-filters were gravel beds. There are at least two reasons the relationships Jack describe are two-dimensional (square feet of filter needed per square feet of pond). Jack hit on one of them; if a gravel bed biofilter is too deep, the available oxygen is used before water reaches the lower portion of the bed and nitrification can not occur, As a simplification, you can think of nitrification as an oxidation process where bacteria attach oxygen to the nitrogen in ammonia (NH3) to make nitrite (N02) and finally nitrate (N03). If there is no oxygen available, the process cannot occur.
Response
First, there are several types of filtration, the most common in Koi keeping being biological filtration and solids filtration. Biological filtration refers to nitrification processes whereby dissolved ammonia is converted to nitrite and nitrite is converted to less toxic nitrate. Solids filtration is the physical removal of particulate matter, usually through gravitational sedimentation and/or mechanical screening. There are interactions between nitrification and solids removal as much of the solids are organic matter in the process of decaying or mineralizing into inorganic material such as ammonia. If you remove the organic solids, you lessen the amount of nitrification, which is needed to convert ammonia.
The issues Jack raised relative to the sizing of a filter refer to biological filtration. The relationships he described were true up through the late 1970's when all bio-filters were gravel beds. There are at least two reasons the relationships Jack describe are two-dimensional (square feet of filter needed per square feet of pond). Jack hit on one of them; if a gravel bed biofilter is too deep, the available oxygen is used before water reaches the lower portion of the bed and nitrification can not occur, As a simplification, you can think of nitrification as an oxidation process where bacteria attach oxygen to the nitrogen in ammonia (NH3) to make nitrite (N02) and finally nitrate (N03). If there is no oxygen available, the process cannot occur.
The other reason the old relationships are two dimensional is that gravel biofilter beds channelize. As solids and bacteria biomass builds up in the gravel bed, the interstitial pores between gravel particles begin to fill up, clog and hinder water movement around the rocks. To accommodate the same flow, the water velocity must then increase in the passageways, which are still open. This process continues until there are very few passageways open and these passageways are kept open by the very high water velocity moving through them. The process is usually called channelization. In the old days. We would try to decrease channelization and
the footprint of a gravel biofilter (square feet of filter per unit volume of system) by making a tall filter housing with several layers o f gravel separated by a retaining plates and open space. Some individuals like Bill learned to break up channelization in gravel filters without digging the buoyant media fluidized beds, etc. Not only do these new biofilter technologies make media easy to clean, they make it easy to break up channelization. for the most part, the situation changed with the advent of
The proper way to size a biofilter is to use a given amount of media surface area (the combined area of the surface of each media particle) for each unit measure of ammonia being added to (or produced in) the system. There are known relationships between the amount of nitrifying bacteria (as expressed by the amount of suitable surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow on) and the nitrogen oxidation rate at a given temperature. The filter media (be it rocks or beads or sand or whatever) is simply a surface for nitrifying bacteria to grow on. If oxygenated water is kept flowing evenly past all the exposed surfaces, and the temperature and other environmental parameters are adequate for nitrification. then you should be able to calculate how much surface is needed for your ammonia load. It is actually a little more involved than this because the ammonia concentration influences the ammonia conversion rate of bacteria, but all this comes out in the wash under steady state conditions.
You can determine how much surface area is available for growth of nitrifying bacteria by determining the surface area of an individual media particle (bead, rock, whatever) and determining the number of particles per unit volume of packed media material. For polyethylene beads, this is 400 square feet of surface area per cubic foot of packed media. For half-inch river gravel, is something like 150 square feet of surface area per cubic foot of packed media. [NOTE: We are talking about the combined surface areas of each media particle, not the footprint of square-foot area of the filter bed discussed by Jack in the original post.
You can determine the amount of ammonia you must convert if you are feeding the pond at a relatively constant rate. You can calculate the amount of ammonia which will be released (produced) under steady state conditions by knowing the rate at which feed is added, the protein content (almost all the nitrogen is contained in the protein) and the molecular weight of ammonia (remember NH3). There are a few other sources of nitrogen like the ammonia dissolved in rain water, and a few other nitrogen losses like ammonia volatilization to the atmosphere, but these can be ignored in this application.
Under ideal conditions and feeding typical Koi food at a constant feeding rate of one pound per day, you will need at least 450 square feet of available surface for nitrifying bacteria to convert ammonia as fast as it is produced. Do not use these figures as a rule-of-thumb. Conditions are never ideal for long and with this combination of feeding rate and surface area there will be enough back ground ammonia to maintain a pretty heavy phytoplankton population (green water).
If you want a rule-of-thumb, have at least 1000 square feet of surface area for nitrifying bacteria for each pound of feed being added daily. Thus, a bead filter (with 400 square feet per cubic foot) would need about 2.5 cubic feet of bead media per pound of feed added per day while a gravel filter (with 150 square feet per cubic foot) would need about 6.7 cubic feet of media. However, there are other surfaces available for colonization of nitrifying bacteria besides the media in the biofilter. These include part of all of the pond walls and bottom, plants, containers. even some suspended solids particles. Thus, a pond 26 ft x 26 ft x 3 ft deep should have enough exposed surfaces for nitrifying bacteria to assimilate one pound of feed per day without a biological filter.
The sizing specifications which say a filter is good for a pond of a particular volume can work only when talking in generalities based on some typical fish density and feeding rate. Likewise, saying a filter is good for a certain feeding rate would have to assume the pond bottom and walls do not contribute to nitrification surface area. Given these complications, we are not likely to see the "standard" change any time soon. Most people do not know how much feed they will/do apply now, much less how much they could be feeding in a couple of years when the pond and fish are mature. You guys are right, when a biofilter manufacturer says their unit is good for a pond of a certain volume, it is bunk. Now you know why.
The last few months have been harrowing for some of our members. One of the stimulating aspects of our hobby is the changing requirements of our ponds and fish. Fortunately, Martha & I have had a fairly relaxing and satisfying winter so far, pond wise. However, as I think back over the past several years, there have been challenges for us and our fish! Now is the time to get prepared for possible problems. Some of the things you might want to think about and be prepared for are as follows:
1. What if your only air pump stops working Depending on several factors such as fish density, you could begin losing fish in only a matter of hours. It is expensive to have spares for everything but an extra air pump is relatively cheap and really a necessity. If you are already using two pumps for your pond then you would still have a back up when one stops working.
2. What if you had to do a major water change: Do you keep enough dechlorinator on hand to change your entire pond's water if needed? Or, what if you forgot and left the water running during a regular water change and over-filled your pond with regular chlorinated tap water? Yes, it is a very good idea to use a water timer, etc. But, sooner or later you will lose track of time or forget and leave the house with the water running, or fall asleep. Believe me, I know. So always be prepared to make a major water change and have spare dechlorinator on hand.
3. What will you do when a fish gets sick: Do you keep a hospital tank ready to go so you can treat most problems successfully? You can buy a 150 gal. Rubbermaid tub, a small pump, filter, and heater for under $200. This is reallycheap insurance and can save you it's initial cost many times over.
4. Do you have written specific directions for anyone taking care of your pond while away from home: For example could they reset a tripped breaker for your ponds air or water pumps? Would they know what to do if a major problem occurred? Ask someone who knows your pond to act as a backup for your house sitter. Be sure they know how to clean your leaf traps, etc. Also, never ever make any significant changes to your pond just prior to leaving town.
5. Read and learn about diseases before they happen to your Fish. Attend the lectures. The new club library is also a great way to start. There are several excellent books and the fish disease video by Dr. Hansen is fantastic.
6. Do not hesitate to call someone: A primary objective of our club is to assist each other. Call someone and ask for help or advice.
I saw a gentleman throwing stones into a pond. When I questioned his actions, he said he was feeding his fish. He was serious. He was feeding pebble hard pellets to Koi and assumed that because it was sold as premium food he was doing the right thing. WRONG!
Let's start by asking ourselves where Koi in nature (since the only means of digestion is an intestinal tract and they do not have stomachs) consume this substance? I can't think of any. Can you? Where in nature would a Koi swallow a gritty rough, extremely dry substance to sustain life? Just imagine what damage is taking place on both ends of this equation, not withstanding scarring the intestinal walls. All food should be moistened before feeding if they are hard and dehydrated. Improper digestion of foods can lead to disastrous results.
Let's now ask ourselves exactly what foes into these foods. How are they manufactured? What are the ingredients? Does the label give a realistic picture of contents? Can I feel good about my Koi's diet?
Manufactures
Ingredients are either heated, irradiated, cooked homogenized, hydrogenated, sterilized mummified, fortified, with color enhancers and preservatives added and then packaged. Many manufactures use several of the above processes along with the flattening or rounding or extruding of the ingredients to obtain a uniform shape. All of the above steps destroy most nutrients and add unwanted saturated fats or dangerous carcinogens. The hydrogenation process and preservatives alone bring many negative side effects. When you add vitamin destruction, there really isn't much left. Tossing all of this into a clear container adds insult to injury since light destroys water soluble vitamins. Look to see how many manufacturers package their foods incorrectly.
Ingredients
First consideration should be whether or not ingredients are pharmaceutical grade or animal grade. The former must pass standards for human consumption. The later has standards less strict and imposing. The former takes into consideration purity and negative substances. The later passes on many negative compounds. The manufacturer decides which road to take. Proper protein (with all amino acids, which are their building blocks), proper lipids (which are fats that must be unsaturated), proper carbohydrates (derived from plant material) and proper fiber (which should be water soluble) must be fundamentally correct if any Koi are to exist or flourish.
A) Protein from insects, earthworms larvae, etc. is desire for Koi. Our fish do not consume crab by-products or meat by-products laced with preservatives in their natural habitat We are dealing with a fish, without a stomach. From the beginning to the end, digestion of food is quick and should be easily absorbed and manufactured into new cells. If the feces sinks proper absorption is not occurring. If hydrogen is added to protein, a saturated negative altered by-product, which prevents cells from absorbing nutrients, occurs. PLEASE READ THE LABEL CAREFULLY
BEFORE FEEDING.
B) Lipids, fats that are unsaturated are the only fats Koi should obtain. Fats not only supply needed energy, but are
the catalyst by which all nutrients are distributed to cells. Hydrogenated fat becomes super saturated, causing cell damage, mutation and total blockage of nutrients. The only reason to add hydrogen to a fat is to extend shelf life. It does not benefit the Koi's life in any way,. Fats from animal sources are harmful, unless they are omega 3 essential fatty acids. None of the labels, to my knowledge mention omega 3. Fat, from plant material, as long as they are not saturated due to processing are fine. AGAIN, PLEASE READ THE LABEL.
C) Carbohydrates all convert into sugar. This is how all animals, including fish, derive their major source of energy for movement and mental functions. Excessive carbohydrates or improper carbohydrates become fat. Excessive fat, however, When going into a dormant winter cycle many be helpful. During an active cycle, excessive carbohydrates
leading to excessive fat are not warranted. Carbohydrates derived from basic plant forms are preferred. They break down quickly, aiding digestion and place less demand on the liver. Grain carbohydrates break down slower, have a tendency to convert to unnecessary fat, and place an unwanted load on the liver. Feeding Koi cereals was never a good idea. In a natural environment a Koi would eat plant material e.g. algae, pond grass. etc. There is not much grain here.
Most, if not all, carbohydrates in manufactured foods are derived solely from wheat, which is inexpensive and readily available. Grain must be balanced with green vegetation to be acceptable. Does any food manufacturer balance its carbohydrate mix? PLEASE READ LABEL CAREFULLY.
D) Fiber should only be derived from undigested plant material occurring naturally in the digestive tract and never
intentionally added to increase fiber content. Plant material contains a water soluble fiber and is the only type acceptable for Koi. Gritty, fibrous materials are dangerous and not warranted. PLEASE READ LABEL.
An aspect that has not been mentioned is electoylytes. Electrolytes are simply minerals. Minerals are essential for all
electrical nerve functions, formation of skeletal material and maintenance of a proper immune system. An imbalance of any mineral leads to negative results. Simply adding minerals to food is not enough. If one mineral is not balanced properly with all the others, a lack of absorption of one or several can occur, and this leads to poor health; even death.
Minerals are as essential to life as water. Without food many creatures can exist, but dwindle away over a long period of time. Without water death is guaranteed and without minerals death is also guaranteed.
Finally the Label
Unfortunately, the label and complete packaging of the manufactured product receives most of the manufacturer's budget. Yes, the outside costs more that the inside! More time is focused on the look, appeal and image than anything else. One manufacturer can come out with many different labels boosting different results but the contents are basically the same.
They will add selling point remarks on the label such as: fortified with stabilized vitamin C (even though stabilized vitamin C is not absorbed by fish); contains synthetic vitamin E, (except only 20%, if that much, of the synthetic vitamin C is utilized); contains color enhancers, which is fine as long as your fish have red or orange, if they contain any white pigmentation this becomes muted gray and less intense. PLEASE READ LABEL CAREFULLY.
What then would be the best approach when purchasing food for Koi. Mix and match. Do not become locked into one company, one food, or one set of ingredients. This assures, no matter what, a balance can be obtained. But, never, never, obtain a food that contains negative substances, e.g. hydrogenated ingredients saturated fats, synthetic substances, high fiber content, unnecessary coloring and preservatives. Remember to moisten foods that are hard and dehydrated. Preventing a problem is easier than fixing one.
If proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and fiber are all correct, then adding vitamins and minerals at our won discretion at the time of feeding assures proper nutritional balance, We spend more time with the technological end of Koi keeping, such as complicated filters, vortexes, oxygenators and bottom drains, then we do with the most important aspect - feeding. Many of us pick up a bowl of Koi food, empty it into a pond on our way to work and never consider what the ramifications are to this simple task. Not only should we maintain the best diet, but we should also watch while they are feeding to inspect closely for unnatural habits. You know your fish. Remember they do communicate! You simply have to know how to "read" them.
Well, that's how the song goes, but is it all so glorious? Strange as it may seem, the reasons why Koi Keepers feed their fish in the first place varies greatly; what the fish might need or want usually being pretty low on the list of priorities. Much more likely, will a particular brand or ingredient make those 'lack luster reds' deep and shine like a newly painted pillar box; or will those 'sure fire' minuscule Tategoi become champion biggies in just a few short months? So why do we choose one particular brand over another? Believe it or not, advertising influences all of us. As such, advertising generally falls into two clear divisions - the informative and the persuasive. Fish food producers, particularly on the ornamental side, spend a great deal of money on fancy packaging and persuasive advertising. Highly paid copywriters are employed to dream up alluring blurb such as 'protein rich', 'highly nutritious', or 'easily digestible' and, in some cases, this may be so. However, first and foremost it is about enticing us to part with our money by telling us all the things we want to hear. Sadly, useful information is often lacking on the pretext that the buying public would not understand it even if given. My inclination is to interpret this as, were we more learned or given comprehensive information, we might not be enticed into buying something just for the picture on the packet! Just how useful, therefore, is the information given on a packet of fish food? Perhaps before we can attempt to answer that we also need to address the understanding issue. Leaving aside the often effusive content of the marketing ploy, what is on the packet is usually the best we can expect to see. Many have a closed formula, thus are very minimal in what they tell us. Others, perhaps in the hope that we will think more is better, claim the inclusion of almost every ingredient known in their food. Some will simply give percentages of all, or just a few, of the major nutrients and that is all we have to go on.
Price, not surprisingly, is the other major factor in the equation. Market research, itself very costly, largely determines the 'sell price' - this is the point just below which there might be product resistance. Conversely, make a food too cheap and everyone thinks it cannot be any good and, therefore, will resist buying it for that reason! For sure, no manufacturer is going to put in a more expensive ingredient than he has to, even though this is highly unlikely to take the price beyond the expected profit level. Of one thing we can be reasonably certain, the product price has little to do with ingredient price. Of course, some will argue that, quite rightly, Koi Keepers expect attractive packaging. Then there is production, handling and transport cost, particularly with goods of foreign origin. There is also an unknown, to us, number of middle merchants before the product finally ends up with a very substantial mark-up in the retail outlet. In spite of all this, every year sees new contenders rushing to enter what, to most of us, already appears to be an over crowded market - each making new claims that their food alone contains the magic ingredients and additives that make it superior to all else, yet offering no independent proof of this whatsoever.
Thus returning to our labeling: as already stated, this is often limited to percentage of protein, oil, fiber, moisture and ash. There may also be some vitamin advice stated in weight or international units. The other major nutrient is carbohydrate. Since this is often the largest component in the formulation, I find its omission suspect. However, providing one is aware it will be present, we can usually deduce the percentage by subtraction. Although it is beyond the scope of this article to detail the biochemical make up of the numerous ingredients most likely used in fish feeds, perhaps a precis combined with defining the percentages will suffice. Those specified by the manufacturer will vary from brand to brand as will the number of individual percentages given, some being confined to just protein and oil. Since these all seem to be infinitely variable between brands, and often within the same brand, we already have a contradiction which begs the question which one is best?
Protein
A major player and vitally important to the well being and growth of all living organisms. However, protein is just a collective word to describe the sum of its structural components, which are the amino acids. There are 10 essential amino acids needed and the same number that, when necessary, the fish can manufacture, and are thus termed nonessential. Of great importance is the amino acid ,I)profile, meaning the fish need the 10 essential amino acids in differing proportions. Just as important, the ratjo required vary to a greater or lesser extent from fish to fish, or indeed from animal to animal. Thus the required amino acid profile of an outright fish eater such as pike would be quite different from a herbivorous fish such as roach. Carp are classed as ,,omnivorous, suggesting they eat a wide range of food stuffs to include some of vegetable and some of animal origins.
After digestion by the fish, consumed protein is reduced once again to amino acids that can either be used to build muscle or, wastefully, further broken Own for energy. It is only when the balance of amino acids in the diet is optimal that there is the necessary anabolism to produce efficient protein synthesis and, therefore, growth; yet even then there still 7- 10% indigestible protein. Fortunately, the amino acid requirement for carp is reasonably well defined, and has little tolerance outside that definition. In other words, if any one of the essential-amino acids is only available at under the proportional requirement to its neighbors, then use-f the others will be to that first limiting amino acid ,and the excessive discharged to waste. This unnecessary breakdown produces catabolism and -possible fat deposition. Most of all it produces a high " ammonia load and is, inevitably, bad for waterquality. It will also compromise growth-rate and, if continued long enough, could have a detrimental effect on health status. Methionine is usually the first limiting amino acid in many natural proteins and this plus cystine, which can reduce the methionine demand is often supplemented to a quality food. If the packet would generally boldly state this. We can now already see that a protein declaration is not telling us the entire story, and certainly gives no indication whatsoever of its suitability for our fish; neither is the protein percentage figure itself much help.. The classification of proteins is largely of animal or vegetable origins. The amino acids contained in many fish meal proteins match well to the profile requirement of carp. As such their inclusion is generally a prerequisite to formulating a nutritious diet. The problem to the manufacturer is that they are expensive, particularly the very high quality white A meals derived from Alaskan Pollack or similar fish often used in Koi foods. The use of the much valued oily herring meal tends to be more in diets for Peruvian anchovy, is regarded as second best but a proportion can be included without too many problems. In the early days of fish farming it was common for the inclusion of bovine proteins in feeds. This practice reduced over the years and since the advent of B.S.E. is now very much frowned upon when included in rations for fish destined for human consumption!
Vegetable proteins are mostly poorly digested and many have a miss-match to am no ac requ rements - a low chemical score when measured against the ideal. However, some do have an excellent biological value in their own right and mixing with fish meal proteins brings down the cost of the total protein expenditure. Soya bean is probably the most widely used for dilution but is lacking in several essential amino acids, thus its inclusion above a certain level, although attractive commercially, is undesirable. It also contains natural feeding deterrents. Heating largely overcomes this problem with the addition of chemo-palatants, thereby persuading the fish to eat what its instincts would, almost certainly, make it refuse. The addition of attractors to stimulate a fish's appetite is nothing new. Izzack Walton added honey to his baits to catch carp three hundred years ago. Carp have very well developed gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell) senses. Present day carp anglers have a seemingly unlimited array of flavors, extracts and oils from which to choose. Many claim even the amino acids themselves to be attractors. Betaine HC1 is probably the most used stimulator in baits and commercial feeds. However, should they do so, it is highly unlikely that many ornamental fish food producers would admit to using chemical palatability enhancers to make their product more acceptable.
With the ever shrinking bounty from the seas, seeking alternatives to fish proteins is essential, of that there is little doubt. The inclusion of dairy shows much promise. Perhaps the genus Scenedesmus, having a crude protein value of 55%, more than most and SpIrulinae could have considerably more value as a protein source than its over-hyped powers of color improvement. However, trials tend to confirm a reduction in growth as the percentages of these alternatives increase with a corresponding decrease in the fishmeal. Increasing the percentages further leads to heavy losses. A notable exception, however, is krill, (Euphausia superba); these tiny shrimp like creatures abound in massive quantities in the Antarctic and are expected to make a considerable contribution to future livestock feed-stuffs. They have long been readily available to the aquarist. Coincidentally, of course, the much heralded inclusion of chitin in some Japanese Koi foods sits nicely with the Japanese peoples fondness for consuming enormous quantities of crustaceans and shell fish!
Wheat germ meal is another protein source well exploited by the ornamental fish food industry. Whether it is even remotely possible to justify all the hype, is impossible to say. Never have I seen independent, or otherwise, trial results published appertaining to growth, health or anything else. For years Koi scribes have played safe and just repeated everybody else - and eventually themselves -over and over again. throughout the summer and winter. Personally, if Koi cannot property utilize food due to temperatures being too low I can see little point in feeding them at all. On the other hand, if you are going to feed, it makes much more sense to use a good quality high protein food all year round, but especially in the traditional slowing down and warming up period. At these lower temperatures Koi are going to eat greatly reduced quantities anyway. Therefore, even with a high percentage protein feed, their actual intake of protein is very modest.
One only has to examine briefly the sequential events in a natural body of water to realize the validity of this. In high summer there is a profusion of plant growth as well as a multitude of insects and organisms that we can loosely term animal. Nature thus satisfies herbivores, omnivores and even carnivores. Carp undoubtedly consume large quantities of easily available plant life at summer temperatures. Duck weed is a particular favorite and Koi will make short work of any efforts to try to establish water lilies etc, in an existing pond. Contrast this with the depths of winter when virtually all of the higher forms of animal life, so relished by carp in summer, are still available to them in winter should they wish to feed; yet all of the plant life has completely died away - hasn't it?
Koi literature is constantly stating the value of wheat germ revolves around being easily digestible and is, therefore, the ideal low temperature food. Even assuming that is true, the actual percentage of wheat germ in the food is very small indeed. Thus begs the question, how digestible is the rest of the food? Not very much is the easy answer, and probably a good job too since the major proportion will be carbohydrates. The universal use of carbohydrate is as a binder, to bulk out a feed, and as a cheap energy source. As carp's energy requirements in cold water are very minimal, if these feeds really were highly digestible, much of it would be retained as saturated (solid) fats within the body cavities and internal organs of the fish. In practice most of it simply passes through with little absorption into the blood stream. It probably does no more harm than it does any good! What it does do is to keep the cash registers ringing and the hobbyist content in the belief that they are providing quality food.
Quality and Quantity
Thus returning to the protein in dry diets, it becomes clear that separating quantity and quality is not so easy. A particular pellet having a high claimed protein percentage may well have a large amount of plant proteins in its inclusion. We have no control over this and little hope of identifying the good from the not so good, even when given a long list of ingredients. However, quantity is something tangible and it is very noticeable within the same brand that the higher the protein percentage the higher the cost. So is it okay, or more economical, to feed the cheaper lower protein food? Think of it like this: Kol have a daily quantity protein requirement governed largely by temperature and their size. Should that requirement not be met they certainly will not grow and could have trouble repairing damaged tissue, laying down eggs, etc. In fact most of the functions needed to maintain a fish in good health. Now to keep the maths simple, supposing two Koi Keepers were to each feed I OOgm of pellets a day, but M10% protein and the other very with a 30% protein. We can see instantly that the former gives as a daily protein intake of 40gm and the latter only 30gm of the same. Also, supposing the 40gm was the correct daily intake, then in order for the lower protein pellets to meet that requirement, the actual quantity of pellets would have to increase from 100gm to nearly 135gm Although this is probably better than not meeting the 40gm protein requirement, it could well make the cost of feeding a cheaper food more expensive. Also satiation may be exceeded long before consumption of the required protein quantity. In addition there is the possibility that the resulting excess of other nutrients could have a detrimental effect on the health of the fish. For certain it will have a detrimental effect on water quality, particularly with increased suspended solids. Unfortunately, many Koi Keepers feed a quantity of food totally unrelated to protein content! This is exacerbated by feeding Koi with bread, barley, corn, etc., in the belief, quite reasonably, that the fish enjoy a change. Such foods, although well accepted, are very low in proteins and being of vegetable origin have a poor biological value. Therefore, it is only if t Hess supplements are used as well as a high quality protein pellet food, is there a wide enough margin to compensate and maintain adequate daily protein levels. Although the overall cost of a high percentage protein food Will increase, it should not do so proportionally as the percentage of other ingredients, obviously, would have reduced. However, it is certainly gratifying to me after campaigning for so long that Koi foods are generally too low in protein, that many producers now offer a range of foods with increased protein content - usually described as high growth food.
Growth
I suspect that the long held view that carp do not need high protein arose from carp farming traditionally being extensive - the fish getting most their nutrition from natural food in the pond. Daphnia (water fleas) have a protein content of between 48% to 50%, Gammarus (shrimp) 45% to 52% and Chinronomidae (bloodworms) as high as 55%. Thus it was perfectly reasonable to supplement with bulky low cost food-stuffs, causing only modest dilution of the readily available protein rich feeding. A bio-filtered Koi pond has very little in common with these conditions and is indeed, in every sense, very intensive. Consequently, with natural feeding being virtually non-existent Koi, ideally, need foods of an exceptionally high biological value.
Additionally, I am afraid we cannot separate growth from temperature. As my own trials have shown (NI Winter 96/97), it is possible to achieve phenomenal growth using very high protein foods combined with consistently high water temperatures. Unheated Koi ponds are very different. Unless the water is sufficiently warm the fish simply cannot consume enough food to grow at their full potential. All the more reason to feed to a maximum during the normal growing season providing, of course, the filter is able to cope with this, and to feed what makes them grow protein. There have been many studies to find optimum nutrient levels, but with most arrived at by considering the economics, If an additional 5% protein costs, say, 10% more for only a 2% increase in growth-rate, some might not consider that economical. Koi Keepers rarely worry about such restraints and most will happily pay more for only a modest return. However, many authorities seem to concur with around 38% protein as a minimum. I would add, especially if also regularly giving any legume or pulse feeds, 40% plus would be even better and just hope you have bought good quality protein in your chosen brand of food. Certainly if growing on small fish separately, then nearer to 50% protein would show a marked benefit in size and shape of the fish. Last but by no means least, it is quite feasible to reduce the feeding quantity by giving a high protein diet. The benefits, are soon obvious. It encourages fish to clear-up everything on offer but f , u still meeting their recalculating systems are far better able to cope with increasing ammonia loads than they are of solids, which tend to inhibit nitrification. Thus by simply upping protein levels makes for a cleaner pond and healthier fish.
Please read labels carefully. Your Koi's future is in your hands. You are what you eat. It's that simple.
FACT: Whether human, bird, dog or fish, the more a food is touched by man, processed by man, and handled by man, the more dangerous, negative and non beneficial it becomes.
FACT: The lower we all eat of the food chain, the healthier we all become.
The literal meaning of Koromo is "clothed" or "robed". Koromo were developed by interbreeding of Kohaku and Asagi. The difference between the Goshiki and the Koromo is that the Koromo has a pure white base with the Asagi-like scale reticulation showing only in the red patterned areas. Aigoromo refers to Koromo with a blue reticulation within the red scales. Purplish colored Koromo are referred to as Budogoromo.
Our next club meeting will be potluck. It will be held @ Mountain View Koi in Hereford, Arizona. The divisions of items to bring are as follows:
The Club will provide the Sodas and Lisa & Kurt will provide BBQ Chicken, Hamburger & Hot Dogs. Could you please give Lisa or Kurt a call @ (520) 378-3710 by July 20, to tell them that you are coming, so they know how much food to order.
Do you have an e-mail address? Do you have a web site on koi? Please e-mail me the information at tomayers@uswest.net your web site and e-mail address's and I will publish it in the next newsletter so we will be able to keep in touch with each other between our busy schedules. We have some great site.
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