Author: DrErikJohnson

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Vitamins in Koi and Pond Fish Foods

Vitamins in Koi and Pond Fish Foods

Vitamin C - ascorbic acid in koi and pond fish food is one of the most important vitamins.
Vitamin C – ascorbic acid in koi and pond fish food is one of the most important vitamins.

Important ones seem to be fat soluble A,D,E and K – and vitamin C.

-Vitamin deficiencies from missing vitamins are comparatively rare in the last two decades. This is because vitamin premixes exist in the processing of fish food that have eliminated most of the mystery and a lot of the onerous expense. Vitamins A,D,E and K when deficient result in lesions of the skin, eyes, and nervous system. Vitamin K contributes to blood clotting. How much this bears on fish is vague at best.

Vitamin C is not so mysterious. Addition of Vitamin C to the diet of Koi and Goldfish is a “Good Thing” for several reasons. First, it’s essential to the fish and contributes majorly to disease resistance. Second, food processing degrades Vitamin C so that enough of this has to be added to the food to where a surplus survives the processing of the food. Inattention on the part of the feed manufacturer to this could result in food too low in Vitamin C. Finally, if available over 180 milligrams per kilogram, some research supports that the immune system is not only supported, but dramatically enhanced.

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How to Store Koi and Pond Fish Foods

Proper Food Storage

Store koi and pond fish food in tupperware and in the refrigerator.
Store koi and pond fish food in tupperware and in the refrigerator.

-Sometimes you luck out and get a deal on bulk foods. Or, a manufacturer offers larger containers than your fish can eat in a season. Too bad. I do NOT recommend that you buy big bags of food unless your fish can eat it all in a season. This is because it’s necessarily difficult to keep 45 pounds of food in the fridge. Of course, if you CAN, do it! Otherwise, the fish food sits in the bag in a “cool dark place” and weevils hatch in it and the food is lost. Or moulds grow in it, on the condensation-side of the bag and it’s lost. Or, the cats tear out the bottom corner of the bag and the food spreads across the floor of the garage like a cancer. Can you tell “I’ve been there, done that”??

Refrigerate foods, DON’T freeze them. Freezing damages (lyophilizes = freezer burns) the fats in the food and so the fat-soluble vitamins are compromised.

Foods which are packed in nitrogen (no oxygen) by the manufacturer are better than food which is in cans with oxygen. If you can find food which has a bag that allows expression of air from the bag and resealing, that is optimal.

Old Food?

If food begins to smell “funny” or develops a fuzz on it, changes color, sticks together or crumbles down, it’s old or “bad” and should be discarded. Feeding “bad” food will land you in a world of hurt with your fish, because much of what grows in fish foods produces what are known as “Aflatoxins” which can cause injury, deficiency, and broken backs, in fish fed these spoiled foods. Truly, fish should go hungry while waiting for you to get fresh food, rather than being fed spoiled food “just for a few days” because it matters.

 

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Ecological Labs Koi Legacy High Growth and Energy Fish Food

Ecological Labs Koi Legacy High Growth and Energy Fish Food

Assessment:

One aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients, but Krill Meal further down, so there’s that. And only one split ingredient (wheat). Spirulina and other color enhancers. Probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked. This diet is pretty close to the formulation of the Staple from Microbe Lift.

I prefer more aquacultural protein and less plant sources but that’s biased. I’d feed this diet if it was at a good price, perhaps in larger than one pound containers.

Ingredients

Fish meal, wheat, dehulled soybean meal, corn gluten meal, distillers grains with solubles, wheat middlings, krill meal, fish oil, red iron oxide, dicalcium phosphate, DL-methioninie, beet powder, salt, brewers yeast, spirulina, betafin S1, ascorbic acid (stay-C), astaxanthin, ethoxyquin, bio plus 2B, calcium carbonate, vitamin E, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, D-calcium panothonate, niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, menadione sodium bisulfate complex, biotin, vitamin D3, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, cobalt carbonate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, ferrous sulfate, sodium selenite, vitamin A, mineral oil, vitamin B12

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Microbe Lift Legacy Koi Food Staple

Microbe Lift Legacy Summer Koi Food Staple

Assessment:  Only one aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients and only one split ingredient (wheat). Spirulina, Betaine, Spinach, Astaxanthin,  as color enhancer. Even has a lot of probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

This is a solid, B-grade food. I would feed this. Price matters, then.

Ingredients: Fish Meal, Whole Wheat, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Middlings, Fish Oil, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dicalcium Phosphate, Spinach, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Spirulina, Betaine Anhydrous, Salt, Choline Chloride, Chromium Oxide, Ethoxyquin (preservative), Astaxanthin (color), Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Ferrous Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) – 36.0%
Crude Fat (min) – 6.0%
Crude Fiber (max) – 5.0%
Moisture (max) – 8.0%
Ash (max) – 9.0%
Phosphorous (min) – 1.3%
Copper (min) – 7 mg/kg

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Hikari Gold Pond Fish Food – Too Expensive for C-Grade Food

Hikari Gold Pond Fish Food

Extremely expensive for what it is. I would note the single aquacultural protein in the top three ingredients means this is a cheaply produced food, but with a $10-11/lb price tag. I wouldn’t feed it only because of the price. Otherwise it’s a C-rated food. This is new for Hikari because they were once my favorite recommendation.

Assessment:

Only one aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients and no split ingredients. Astaxanthin color enhancer, garlic. Has stabilized Vitamin C. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients:

Fish meal, flake corn (processed), wheat flour, gluten meal, soybean meal, enzyme, monosodium glutamate, garlic, astaxanthin, DL-methionine, vitamins and minerals including stabilized Vitamin C.

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What is BETAINE?

What is BETAINE?
“Betaine” is a quarternary ammonium compound that was first discovered in the juice of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris)
Betaine aids digestion and helps protect against fatty infiltration of the liver. The osmoprotective effect of betaine has been found to protect fish from the physiological stress induced by the transfer from fresh water to salt water, which Koi will encounter when ponds and quarantine systems are medicated with salt.

What are Spirulina and Canthaxanthin / Asthaxanthin?
Spirulina, a primordial algae rich in carotenoids has been around more than 3 billion years, and is known as one of the world’s best natural color enhancers.
Astaxanthin is an optimal carotenoid for the proper pigmentation of the red/pink colours in fish.

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Wardley Pond Fish Food Pellets – 3lb

Wardley Pond Fish Food Pellets – 3lb

Averages about $3.50 per pound. The cheapest diet so far. Still, not as bag as Laguna or Crystal Clear.

Assessment:

One aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients, and only one split ingredient (corn). Has Spirulina but no color enhancer. No probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients:

Soybean Meal, Ground Corn, Fish Meal, Wheat Middlings, Corn Gluten Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Salt, Brewers Dried Yeast, Betaine, Dicalcium Phosphate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Spirulina Algae Meal, dl-Methionine, Tagetes Extract, Choline Chloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (source of Vitamin D3), Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, d-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Biotin, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite.

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Blackwater Gold-N 40 lbs Medium Pellet: Grade A-minus

Blackwater Gold-N 40 lbs Medium Pellet

Averages $4.50/lb in the 40lb bag.

Assessment:

Two aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients, and only two split ingredient (wheat, soy). No Spirulina and no specific color enhancer. Shit tons of probiotics. So, on the color enhancers. This diet has Spinach. And there’s some data that supports that sunshine and genetics have more to do with color than canthaxanthin or astaxanthin. Look at the converse: Truth: Color enhancers WILL NOT HELP fish who don’t have the genes and aren’t getting sunlight. Joe Pawlak (and his nutritionists whom he OBVIOUSLY teamed up with) know crap tons more about fish nutrition than I do. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients:

Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Shrimp Meal, Rice Bran, Soy Protein Isolate, Fish Oil, De-hulled Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Wheat, Poultry By-Product Meal, Blood Meal, Spinach, Propionic Acid (a preservative), Yeast Culture, Ascorbic Acid, Beet Powder, Dried Baciilus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Asparagus, Anise, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (source of Vitamin K activity) Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Magnesium Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Sodium Selenite

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Blue Ridge Blend Growth Formula Koi Food

Blue Ridge Blend Growth Formula Koi Food

As affordable diets go, averaging $4/lb –  this one is better. It’s got fish meal in the top three ingredients.

Assessment:

One aquacultural protein in the top four ingredients, but ZERO split ingredient (wheat). No Spirulina and no color enhancer. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients

Dehulled soybean meal, ground corn, Fish meal, wheat middlings, porcine meat meal, animal fat preserved with ethoxyquin, porcine animal fat preserved with BHA, poultry by-product meal, brewer’s dried yeast, brewer’s yeast extract, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, DL-methionine, folic acid, cholecalciferol, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, DL-alpha tocopheryl acetate, biotin, ethoxyquin (a preservative), Vitamin A acetate, nicotinic acid, choline chloride, cyanocobalamin, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, calcium carbonate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite. Ruminant meat and bone meal free.

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CrystalClear Koi Food – Grade D+ (Well, it’s food)

CrystalClear Koi Food

About $8.50/lb

Assessment:

ZERO 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. Spirulina and no color enhancer. No probiotics. Unable to tell if cooked.

Ingredients

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