wrote in message
...
Cat fish food is for "food" fish, it is for quick growth so they get to
market in
under 2 years. Food fish farmers dont care about the long term
consequences of
feeding cheap foods. But my fish are pets, and I follow the
recommendations of the
people who breed and raise koi for pets.

** I follow whatever works best for my fish and they are thriving on the
catfish food, as are the fish of my friends. Why fix what isn't broken?
My koi and goldfish have been thriving and reproducing just fine. So are
theirs.
I was also told by a dog breeder from a dog newsgroup that my dogs would be
dead in a few years on inexpensive Wal-Mart dog food - SUPRISE ....
they're now, 13, 11 and 10 years old! So far all three are still healthy.
OK, so one is hard of hearing now. :-) They're paying several times the
$$$ for all kinds of Deluxe and Designer brand dog foods.

They are every bit as eager to cut their
costs as the food fish producers, but obviously they are not finding it
cost
effective to feed the cheap food to their koi.

** You're talking about businesses, people in business to make money. You
can be sure they're not paying the $10 to $15+ a lb the dealers are charging
the public for these special-edition koi foods. Most of us with pet koi
are not looking to make money on our pets or raise thousands of fry a year.
All we want is a food that keeps them healthy, in good condition and to
enjoy watching a few baby fish. And catfish food fits the bill.

I prefer to follow the
recommendations of the experts when it comes to feeding my fish.
below is a reprint.

** The "experts" can come and check out my fish any time they want. :-)

Most people are overfeeding their fish which is both costly and
unhealthy for the fish. It isnt necessarily the total amount fed, but too
much fed
at one time. Koi have very short intestines and the food is in and out
quickly
(depending on water temp of course). Their normal feeding pattern is a
little bit
all day long.

** Overfeeding is another issue. I think most people learn fast enough how
much to feed per feeding after seeing slimy, furry food floating on the
surface at the next feeding time.

"Jo Ann and Steve got 77 koi in their big pond. they range from 5-20 lbs
each
Steve gives them 2 pints of food per night (which weighs 16 oz),
combination of Ogata
and Rangen. the RETAIL cost of feeding their monsters is:
6.5 cents per day per koi
45 cents per week per koi
23.63 bucks per year per koi cause they feed 365 days a year down there in
Ala and
they heat their ponds. The koi are monsters and are still growing.

** Jo Ann is in business and gets her feed wholesale, for one thing. Most
of us pet owners out here aren't buying in bulk. I have around 30 koi of
assorted sizes, and around 50 goldfish, some 8 to 10" long. It costs us
about $25.00 to $30.00 a year to feed them all. If I had 70 koi and 100
goldfish it would around $60.00 a year to feed them. Jo Ann is paying
$1,819.51 - big difference. Also,... since our fish never manage to eat the
whole 50 lbs, what's left is not kept over. It gets mixed in the Wal-Mart
food for the dogs. They love it.

Snipped list of figures for brevity.

Since all the ponds in my area are thriving, and all the fish reproducing,
we'll stick to catfish food and let those who feel they need a more
expensive food go for it!
--
Carol.....
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only
takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.
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