Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi. Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them. (I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?

Thanks, Gary

"Cleo" wrote in message
...
Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi. Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them.

$$ There is no need to buy the overpriced feeds they try to push on us. I
feed my koi and goldfish catfish food and trout chow. These foods run about
$10 to $12 per 50 lb bag. I mix in a little puppy and kitten chow for
variety. My fish are thriving and reproducing like made. See my website,
URL below. I saw no difference in how often I had to flush the filters when
I switched feeds. You don't have to feed MORE either. That is a fallacy.

(I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

$$ They don't eat "gunk" and algae is not enough.

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?
Thanks, Gary

$$ Catfish chow, trout chow, some puppy and kitten food (any brand small
enough for them to eat.)
--

Carol McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

One more vote for catfish food. We have used it for years. Koi are now 24"
and thriving.

Jim
"Cleo" wrote in message
...
Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi. Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them. (I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?

Thanks, Gary

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote in message
...
One more vote for catfish food. We have used it for years. Koi are now
24"
and thriving.
======================
The young koi are also thriving on, mixed as for the adults but soaked to
soften before feeding. I crumble it to the size they can eat and they love
it. I also add some Ichiban which a local store sells. It's expensive so
only the little guys get it as a "treat."

I recently learned that that love canned dog food. :-)
--
Carol McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Just out of curiosity, how much is it costing you to feed them?

I figure my feed bill for the season was $68, old dog cost 2-3 times that.
Maybe wife could go without something? Lattes, hair cuts, manicure or
whatever might apply. ;o) ~ jan

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 18:59:31 -0400, "Cleo" wrote:

Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi. Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them. (I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?

Thanks, Gary

Cleo wrote:

Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi. Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them. (I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?

Thanks, Gary

You ain't gonna believe this, but after a terrible
chicken tragedy (it's a long story) left me with
almost 50 pounds of laying crumbles, I've been
feeding it to my goldfish.

When I was a kid, we used to feed our future
fishbait goldfish the cheapest dry dog food we
could find.

Somebody posted on here a few days ago about
buying dried nori seaweed from the oriental food
store as a treat for his goldfish.

DT
http://www.thehungersite.com/

11 koi of that size probably dont need more than 1/4 cup of good food per day. cheap
food is mostly undigestible grains that are in and out of the koi and then foul the
water. Ingrid

"Cleo" wrote:

Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi. Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them. (I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?

Thanks, Gary




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/web/wa.cgi?REPORT&z=3
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

Ingrid,

Which sorts of food do you mean? Cheap goldfish? Catfish? Other?

Jim
wrote in message
...
11 koi of that size probably dont need more than 1/4 cup of good food per
day. cheap
food is mostly undigestible grains that are in and out of the koi and then
foul the
water. Ingrid

"Cleo" wrote:

Hello, all. For various reasons I haven't posted here in well over a
year.
My pond and stream are doing very well as are my koi. I have 11 koi.
Eight
of them are now 12" or longer and it's getting really expensive to feed
them. (I'd like to stop feeding altogether and let them make-do with the
algae & gunk in the pond but my wife insists on feeding them daily).

Can anyone suggest something really inexpensive to feed them?

Thanks, Gary




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/web/wa.cgi?REPORT&z=3
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote in message
.. .
Ingrid,

Which sorts of food do you mean? Cheap goldfish? Catfish? Other?
=====================
She's talking about what some people feel are highly over priced feeds made
especially for koi and goldfish. Some people swear by them and other's know
they're a waste of money. The catfish and trout chows work wonderfully. I
even add some kitten and puppy chow to the mix. See my fish at the website
below. Why some people insist you need to feed much larger quantities of
the cheaper feeds is beyond me. You don't, and they don't cause more feces
than the expensive feeds in my experience. If they do the difference is so
minute I can't see it.
--

Reel McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Some people swear by them and other's know they're a waste of money.

Interesting sentence that. The Others? Would that be the bad people from
Lost? Don't think they keep koi. But then, Solo & I are idiots and OUR
experience would never be as sage as yours.

User of Sho Koi, Manda Fu, & Hy Fang (spell may not be correct).
$68/year total, feeding 7 large adults and over a dozen fast growing
youngun's. Experience, seen fatty tumors (internal & external) on koi &
goldfish fed cat/troutfish food, and other pet foods. ~ jan

See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Defrosted~
Tri-Cities, WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

"~ jan jjspond" wrote in message
...
Some people swear by them and other's know they're a waste of money.

Interesting sentence that. The Others? Would that be the bad people from
Lost?

** Do they keep koi? Most of the people I know don't feed the high priced
fish food. I learned about the cheaper food from another successful ponder
some time ago.

Don't think they keep koi. But then, Solo & I are idiots and OUR
experience would never be as sage as yours.

** No one said you were idiots. Those successfully keeping and raising fish
on the cheaper foods aren't idiots either.

User of Sho Koi, Manda Fu, & Hy Fang (spell may not be correct).
$68/year total, feeding 7 large adults and over a dozen fast growing
youngun's.

** You don't have many fish. I have over 20 adult koi, some yearlings and
several hundred fry. I also have about a dozen adult goldfish and about 75
GF fry. Since they do as well as those fed the high priced foods - why buy
the high priced products? We're talking a huge difference in price, not a
few dollars. I picked up a bag of Ichiban as a treat for the small koi.
The price was $15.99 for a mere 3 lbs. How long would 3 lbs last with all
the fish I have? Not long even fed sparingly. Even if I had less fish I
wouldn't spend this on a main diet since they do so well on the other chows
at 50 lbs per $12.00 to $14.00.

Experience, seen fatty tumors (internal & external) on koi &
goldfish fed cat/troutfish food, and other pet foods. ~ jan

** Until I see those things in my fish and/or the fish of the people I
know, I have no compelling reason to switch. They've been on this diet now
for several years and there have been no problems. Perhaps the fish with
fatty livers were overfed! Could that be? *Overfat* fish and other
critters can develop the problem on almost any diet. None of these fish are
obese.

Reel McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

alll foods that start the ingredients list with some kind of grain.... in first or
second spot. some starch is needed to bond the stuff together to make a pellet, but
first two ingredients should be fish or krill/shrimp of some kind.
Ingrid

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote:
Which sorts of food do you mean? Cheap goldfish? Catfish? Other?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/web/wa.cgi?REPORT&z=3
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

cheap feed is just like buying and trying to use single ply cheap
toilet paper......just not worth it.


On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 14:11:36 GMT, wrote:

===alll foods that start the ingredients list with some kind of grain.... in first or
===second spot. some starch is needed to bond the stuff together to make a pellet, but
===first two ingredients should be fish or krill/shrimp of some kind.
===Ingrid
===
==="Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote:
===Which sorts of food do you mean? Cheap goldfish? Catfish? Other?
===
===
===~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
===List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
===http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
===sign up: http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/web/wa.cgi?REPORT&z=3
===www.drsolo.com
===Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
===~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
===I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
===compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
===any of the recommendations I make.
===AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

that should read "all foods that DONT start the ingredients list with some kind of
grain...."

wrote:

alll foods that start the ingredients list with some kind of grain.... in first or
second spot. some starch is needed to bond the stuff together to make a pellet, but
first two ingredients should be fish or krill/shrimp of some kind.
Ingrid

"Phyllis and Jim Hurley" wrote:
Which sorts of food do you mean? Cheap goldfish? Catfish? Other?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/web/wa.cgi?REPORT&z=3
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

Some people swear by them and other's know they're a waste of money.
** No one said you were idiots. Those successfully keeping and raising fish
on the cheaper foods aren't idiots either.

When one says a group of people KNOW something is a rip off, and YOU know
other people in this group swear by these "supposed" rip offs, you are
calling someone stupid somewhere.

IMO, unless one can show some research/articles proclaiming that non-koi
food is better, I'd stop with using "others" as your back up. It's akin to
the 13 yo telling mom, "But everyone is doing it."

Now, if we're talking better for your pocket book. All depends on how much
your fish are worth to you over the long run. IMO

Ichiban price was $15.99 for a mere 3 lbs. How long would 3 lbs last with all
the fish I have?

I have no problem with what you feed your fish, nor you telling people your
experience, though I think it is misleading, since 10 years doesn't equal
the experience of those in the business of raising healthy koi doing the
research. IMO.

** Until I see those things in my fish and/or the fish of the people I
know, I have no compelling reason to switch.

I sure don't expect you to believe anything I have to say. Perhaps you need
to read more, post less perhaps? ~ jan