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 ‘lackluster 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 profile, meaning the fish need the 10 essential amino acids in differing proportions. Just as important, the ratio 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 down 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 excess 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 water quality. 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 amino acid requirements - 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 IOOgm 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 essential needs. Also realize that most 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.
 
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