KOI fish in my Patio

[Arbab]

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[Arbab]

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[Arbab]

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[UMARKHANMARDAN]

Arbab Koi is the perfect fish for the pond culture.

[Arbab]

Ya true. Vry docile fish, tame easily, they eat food frm my hands

[newton]

Yes lovely fish I also have six in my pond here, bear in mind stocking density though as they grow very big very quickly and a too small pond is unhealthy for them. Ive known many people releasing them into the wild or giving them away to friends within a season or two as they have outgrown.

I have some minced prawns with spinach/garlic frozen into cubes that I give them as a twice weekly treat

[ka_khan]

Beautiful Arbab Sb

[Mustansir Billah]

Nice!

[Arbab]

Yes lovely fish I also have six in my pond here, bear in mind stocking density though as they grow very big very quickly and a too small pond is unhealthy for them. Ive known many people releasing them into the wild or giving them away to friends within a season or two as they have outgrown.

I have some minced prawns with spinach/garlic frozen into cubes that I give them as a twice weekly treat

Do your Koi breed? and how do u prepare prawns treat and as a daily routine what do u feed ur fish?
Regards

[newton]

I feed them a commercially prepared dry food mix that is available in pelleted form, as a treat I use the Prawns/beef heart mix from the freezer to occasionally supplement their diet. My beef heart recipe which is made at home is as follows.

Ingredients
1-2 1bs beef heart with some chicken livers.
6-12 prawns or equivalent shrimps of any description best with the shells left on. Alternative is slivers of fresh fish. dried shrimp/fish can also be used.
Potato or yam or oatmeal (these should not exceed 20% proportion of the total mix)
3/6 segments of garlic as a natural antiseptic and blood purifier
Blanched green vegetable. (spinach, cabbage, shelled peas etc). you can also use red/yellow Shimla mirch or dry seaweed (for colour enhancement)
1 tablespoon of children's multivitamins liquid or 1 adults complete multivitamin tablet because fish cant produce their own vitamin c etc
Egg yolks or Gelatin or Agar-agar as a binding agent to minimise the water being clouded by the dissolved food

Preparation.

1.Remove the fat and gristle from the beef-heart and cut the lean meat into strips.
2.Add all the other ingredients. The amount of each one isn't critical and you should use varying formulas until you find the one your fish are happiest with.
3.Place the mix in a food blender and mix it until you have a coarse paste. For feeding smaller fish blend it for longer until its smoother.
4.Roll out the mix into a sheet approx 1/4 of an inch thick and score it into manageable sized pieces.
5.Put the trays or pieces into polythene bags and freeze.
6.Once frozen the food is ready to use, simply break off the desired amount and feed it to the fish.

* Young Koi will thrive on a diet such as this. It really works and generates much better growth/colour results
* Because of all the high protein fresh food in this mix, any which is left uneaten should be removed after a few minutes or the water quality will suffer very quickly.
* Average Koi growth rates are 8"-12" = first year 18" = 2 years 24" = 5 years 36" = 20 years
* Your stocking density should be between 1 and 4 inch of fish per 10 gallon of water depending on your filter and water change regime etc. overstocking leads to stunted growth, as fish naturally grow only to the size of their environment.
* In your pond I can see 12 fish so potentially this time next year you should have 144 inch of fish needing (on average) 1440 gallons or 6500 litres of water.
*Currently I see around twelve 4 inch (approx) fish so to get the best from your hobby ideally you should have 400 gallon (2000 litres) or 65 cubic feet.

however to go back to question you asked, please remember - The following foods must NOT BE USED.

1.Animal fat of any sort as fish cant digested this and it immediately deposits in the liver, causing noticeable problems like weak frayed fins/scales
2.Salt.
3.Spicy food.
4.White bread.
5.Red or white meat including poultry.

I have had ponds in the past where they have bred as well as goldfish too. The current ones I have had around 12 months and they are still juveniles. Koi fish when they breed in the wild they return to their natural brown colouration within a couple of generations because that is the dominant Carp gene. Its only through captive breeding they retain their colour characteristics.

Please forgive me for such a lengthy reply but I have a passion for gardening (actively for 50+ yrs) and hobby fishkeeping (for 25+ years). If I can disseminate my mistakes and practical experience to new interested people then it gives me some satisfaction knowing I have dissuaded them from giving up due to mistakes that can be easily rectified.

Regards
Ifzal