Category: Diets Discussed

Discussion of various diets. How do they rank into their respective Grades?

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Laguna Growth Enhancing Goldfish & Koi Floating Food: Grade C

Laguna Growth Enhancing Goldfish & Koi Floating Food

Assessment: WTF? NO aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients, and one split ingredient (wheat into THREE). Feather meal isn’t ideal because of it’s amino acid lopsidedness. No spirulina and no color enhancer. No probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

Averages $9/lb (Ridiculous)

Ingredients

Wheat, Wheat Middlings, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Poultry By-Product Meal, Fish Meal, Hydrolyzed Feather Meal, Wheat Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, Fish Oil, Soy Lecithin, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K Activity), Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Manganese Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Yeast Culture, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C).

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Laguna Color Enhancing Goldfish & Koi: Worse than “Meh”

Laguna Color Enhancing Goldfish & Koi Floating Food, 2.2 lb

Averages $7/lb !! (There are so many foods twice as good for less.)

Assessment:

One aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients, and only one split ingredient (wheat). Feather meal isn’t ideal because of it’s amino acid lopsidedness. Has spirulina and no color enhancer. No probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients:

Wheat, Fish Meal, Wheat Germ Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Blood Meal, Hydrolyzed Feather Meal, Fish Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Spirulina, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione SodiumBisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K Activity), Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate.

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Purina Mills Game Fish Chow

Purina Mills Game Fish Chow

Assessment:

One aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients and FOUR split ingredient (Soy into two, wheat into three, corn into two, ). No spirulina and no color enhancer. No probiotics. It is cooked which isn’t all bad.
This is why you don’t feed farm-fish food to Koi and goldfish.

Dehulled Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Corn, Fish Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Salt, Porcine Meat Meal, Ground Oats, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Wheat, Calcium Carbonate, Ground Soybean, Hulls, Betaine, Cane Molasses, Dried Beef Pulp, Wheat Germ, Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Soybean Oil,L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin A Supplement, Porcine Animal Fat Preserved With BHA, Folic Acid, Choline Chloride, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Riboflavin, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite.

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Yamato Nishiki Koi Food – Grade: A

Yamato Nishiki Koi Food

Averages $9/lb

Assessment: 

Disappointing because an accurate ingredient list is not available. I know for a fact that the above ingredients are in the diet but I have no confidence that the ingredients are present in those implied amounts. (Descending by weight/volume) This is a VERY good food (maybe an industry topper!!!) but I can’t give you any evidence.

Ingredients

Fish Meal, Cuttlefish Meal, Wheat Flour, Corn, Bean Oil Cake, Sodium phosphate, vitamins, minerals, and astaxanthin.

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Kaytee Koi’s Choice Premium Fish Food, 10-lb bag

Kaytee Koi’s Choice Premium Fish Food, 10-lb bag

Assessment:

Kaytee's Koi Choice: Mediocre
Kaytee’s Koi Choice: Mediocre

One aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients and only two split ingredient (Corn, wheat). No spirulina and no color enhancer. No probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients:
Fish Meal, Ground Corn, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Wheat Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Wheat Germ Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Sulfate, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Propionic Acid (a preservative), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Menadion e Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of vitamin K activity), Niacin, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite.

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Sho Koi with Impact

Sho Koi Food was tested by me more than ten years ago and promoted very rapid growth and excellent health. Because the diet performed well in terms of rapid growth and palatability, this diet receives my recommendation.

An accurate ingredient list is not available. I did a LOT of work on this food in 2004-2007 testing it’s abilities to speed healing, fend off disease and the most remarkable thing I found was a NOTABLE,measurable improvement in growth rates in Koi. Compared to another group of Koi fed another diet, (which confounded the study) the Sho Koi groupd grew faster. The study should have tried the food against several / many other foods. the This is a VERY good food but I can’t give you any details, for lack of a nutritional breakout.

Sho Koi contains “Impact / Optimmune” which is Beta-glucan. “Beta-glucan” which stimulates the immune system. Harvard University researchers described the mode of action of beta-glucan as stimulating the immune system through receptors on the surface of certain cells, called ‘macrophages’ that when activated, stimulate a cascade of events turning the body into “an arsenal of defence”.

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Dainichi Koi Foods – Grade: A

Assessment: Two aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients and only one split ingredient (wheat). Spirulina. Probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

Averages $8/lb

White fish meal, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, krill meal, pea protein, brewer’s yeast, powdered milk, montmorillonite clay, spirulina algae, garlic, protease, gum acacia, beta glucan, Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3), DL Alphatocopherol (E), L-ascorbyl-2- polyphosphate (C), B12 Supplement, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Inositol, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (B6), Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (K), Biotin, Cobalt Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide.

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Premium Koi and Goldfish Color Enhancing Fish Food by Blackwater Creek – Grade: A

Premium Koi and Goldfish Color Enhancing Fish Food Medium 5 lb. by Blackwater Creek

Assessment: Two aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients, two split ingredients (wheat and soy), has spirulina and color enhancer. Unable to tell if cooked.

Averages $9/lb

Wheat Middlings, Shrimp Meal (1/6th /15% of diet ), Rice Bran, Fishmeal, Corn Gluten Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Soy Protein Isolate, Spirulina Algae, Propionic Acid (a preservative), Ascorbic Acid, Yeast Culture, Canthaxanthin, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Magnesium Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K activity), Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin.

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Aquascape Diet, Color Enhancing Premium – Grade: A

Aquascape Diet, Color Enhancing Premium

Winner! Three Aquacultural Proteins in the top four ingredients!
Winner! Three Aquacultural Proteins in the top four ingredients!

Assessment: Three aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients and only one split ingredient (wheat). Spirulina and color enhancer. Probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked. This food eclipses their OWN line, and everyone else’s.

Averages $5 per lb in larger/largest bags

Actual Ingredients in order of amount:

Fish meal, shrimp meal, rice bran, krill meal, wheat germ meal, durum wheat, chitosan, fish oil, salt, spirulina, lecithin, astaxanthin, molasses yeast, vitamin E supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (vitamin C), calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, iron proteinate, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus subtilis natto, choline chloride, inositol, manganese proteinate, zinc proteinate, biotin, niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfate (vitamin K), vitamin A acetate, copper proteinate, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), vitamin D3 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), calcium iodate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), sodium selenite.