"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
Everything for ponds and pond fish is horribly overpriced. That's why
I buy
catfish food for my koi and large goldfish. It runs around $10 for a
50 lb
bag. Today I bought a large fish net I now need because of the size of
some
of my koi. It was $20 in the fishing dept. of an Outdoors/Sporting
goods
type of store - over $30 at a pet shop in Nashville.
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...

Marine aquarium dealers are even worse than that. I really think that
the FTC
should investigate these people because I think that they gouge the
consumer.

There have been many write ups on koi food (Koi USA) and why it should be
used over cheaper farm-fish stuff, not only better for the koi, but better
for one's filter and water quality. Koi don't process the same foods in
the
same way as catfish, their inner anatomy is different.

## I've been reading that here for years. However my koi and goldfish are
thriving on a diet of about 80% catfish food and 20% kitten and puppy chow.
There is no logical reason the people making pond fish foods should be
charging $5 a lb and up other than greed.

Nets from a fish store are designed to catch fish that are going to be
eaten. Good quality koi nets are for guiding fish into a container, where
a
koi sock net is than used to pick up the koi,
if it can't be bagged
straight from the container.
You don't want to be gill netting your pets or
taking off scales. ~ jan

## If you have show koi where even the loss of one scale can be a disaster,
this would definitely apply (socknets and containers). But even the most
expensive net and careful handling can split a fin or loosen a scale of the
fish really fights. Have you looked at them in the sporting section? They
have the *same exact mesh* as the overpriced koi nets in the pond and fish
stores!!!! They're probably made by the same people. The mesh is too fine
to gillnet fish. It's soft and barely 1/4" mesh. You may be thinking of
those harsh crab-nets with 1" mesh.
I have never taken scales off a fish using these nets. They knock more
scales off themselves and do more damage when spawning. :-(

Remember that mini water Lilly I mentioned for $4.88 from Wally-World last
year? The one that came with 2 fertilizer tabs, some rocks and a mesh pot?
It already has 4 blooms and more buds coming up. An acquaintance paid $35
plus S&H for hers...... the same plant!

--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o