"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...

"Nathan A. Smith" wrote in message
news snip
I would like the groups thoughts on feeding koi. It seems there are
many ideas about it.

I have read on the "web of misinformation" that people have successfully
kept koi (and goldfish) in outdoor ponds -- and never feed them, leaving
them to mother nature.

I have had salesmen totally freak at the idea of not feeding goldfish --
which most websites say can (and some say should) be done.

I have read that koi need to be feed from multiple times a day to not
at all -- depending on the water tempature.

So what does the group think?
snip

Last year, I bought a box of Koi sticks and tossed some in now and then
when
friends and family wanted to see the fish. Other then that, we never feed
them. This year they got the end of that original box, until the dog got
her
head stuck in it, and decided to eat the rest of it. Anyway, we haven't
fed
them since April'ish and they continue to grow and be healthy.

My 2.

BV.



Likewise. I rarely feed the fish, and then only for my own amusement. A 6"
koi that I put in the pond in January was 14" in June when the water got so
clear it couldn't hide anymore. We did have a constant crop of toad
tadpoles sharing the pea soup, so there was plenty of meat and greens
available.

OTOH, if you have an ultra-clear, ultra-filtered, ultra-sterile pond with no
plants and UV killing the algae, you probably need to feed.