Forums36
Topics41,056
Posts558,968
Members18,562
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
9 members (SCFarms, FishinRod, James Herndon, Shorthose, ewest, Bigtrh24, jnshel, esshup, nehunter),
867
guests, and
392
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,657 Likes: 879
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,657 Likes: 879 |
Or maybe my supplier prefers Aquamax but is settling on the skretting product because he cannot get what he prefers? I know they sell other types of fish including HBG and I would think they would want the best they could get. On the other hand, maybe they were shooting for the middle and trying to find the one pellet that could service all their fish to keep the ordering simple. If your supplier is in Gobles, Mi. they have fed Skretting for a long time.....
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
|
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
Just paid a visit to my supplier in Batesville I ordered 3 bags of AM 600 over 3 weeks ago and he still does not have it.... Ughh I got lucky and got 1 bag here in Little Rock at a store. I am gonna call them today and see if they have any more! I will be going over to get them today if they have any more that's for sure!! RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,167 Likes: 496
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,167 Likes: 496 |
My Supplier in NW Ohio said he just received a shipment of Aquamax but can't get Purina Game Fish Chow.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
|
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
Well I called my LR supplier and he said they are out at every store they have!
RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,907 Likes: 148
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,907 Likes: 148 |
Did someone check if the menhaden supply is getting low? You would think outside of a production facility failure that the popularity of pond management would keep the demand high.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 6,080 Likes: 1
|
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 6,080 Likes: 1 |
I think menhaden fish meal is used in some dog and catfood as well
Last edited by Bill D.; 04/13/15 11:48 AM.
Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,800 Likes: 69
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
|
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,800 Likes: 69 |
If LOL isn't listening to Lusk, their premier spokesperson, I find little reason to hope for near term solutions. The market sure seems ripe for a competitor who can provide quality feed and make it their primary focus - not an inconsequential afterthought. Feed revenue probably equates to less than .00001% for Cargill and Purina. Who can blame them for what we justifiably perceive as lack of customer care? I get it, from both perspectives.
Problem for the smaller competitors is distribution costs. If some pond owners find sourcing AM and Cargill difficult, imagine the challenge that would represent for a smaller player with no existing distribution network? It would likely price the product out of the ballpark.
I know someone working closely with scientists on a new pellet product, and they are sending me test data from a few hatcheries using it. What I've seen is improved palatability, improved growth rates, and necropsy results suggest longer life spans - all of which are huge. I'm far from a feed expert, but from my consumer standpoint, these are all primary concerns of mine growing my fish.
Distribution issue still looms large, however. If pellets had a longer shelf life, it sure would help simplify the equation. I want to be optimistic, but I'm fairly certain they'll never become a player unless they crack this nut - and I don't see how they ever can using traditional methods.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
|
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
My Supplier in NW Ohio said he just received a shipment of Aquamax but can't get Purina Game Fish Chow. Game Fish Chow hey Bill or anyone else if I have been feeding AM 600 to my fish and I switch up to GFC will my fish be ok with it?? Or will they turn the other way? Seems I can get some GFC and before I bought it was just wondering how well it works?? Is it about the same size as AM600? thx, RC
Last edited by RC51; 04/13/15 11:50 AM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,167 Likes: 496
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,167 Likes: 496 |
Game Fish Chow 32% is the same size pellet as AM600 41%. My fish YP don't like GFC. ewest feeds GFC and AM together. Once you fish are accustomed to eating AM, I think they hesitate lowering their palate to GFC.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,533 Likes: 277
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,533 Likes: 277 |
GFC has various size pellets to cover the spectrum - but no big pellets.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
|
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
Thanks just not sure if I want to spend the money on GFC if they are not going to eat it at this point! Ughh what to do!!
RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,867 Likes: 301
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,867 Likes: 301 |
If LOL isn't listening to Lusk, their premier spokesperson, I find little reason to hope for near term solutions. The market sure seems ripe for a competitor who can provide quality feed and make it their primary focus - not an inconsequential afterthought. Feed revenue probably equates to less than .00001% for Cargill and Purina. Who can blame them for what we justifiably perceive as lack of customer care? I get it, from both perspectives.
Problem for the smaller competitors is distribution costs. If some pond owners find sourcing AM and Cargill difficult, imagine the challenge that would represent for a smaller player with no existing distribution network? It would likely price the product out of the ballpark.
I know someone working closely with scientists on a new pellet product, and they are sending me test data from a few hatcheries using it. What I've seen is improved palatability, improved growth rates, and necropsy results suggest longer life spans - all of which are huge. I'm far from a feed expert, but from my consumer standpoint, these are all primary concerns of mine growing my fish.
Distribution issue still looms large, however. If pellets had a longer shelf life, it sure would help simplify the equation. I want to be optimistic, but I'm fairly certain they'll never become a player unless they crack this nut - and I don't see how they ever can using traditional methods. Assuming the Aquamax follies don't get resolved any time soon, perhaps PB members could band together with other groups, like Private Waters, and see if we could make an agreement with the SP (Supersecret Pellets)folks. If necessary, interested pondowners could put up the money to have a specified amount of SP trucked to a central place, then pick it up ourselves. East Texas would be an obvious place to start, since feeding in private ponds is huge there. More expensive and more of a bother, sure. But if SP pans out with greater palatability, increased growth, and longer life, I suspect many would find it worth the investment. As time goes on and SP popularity spreads, the distribution network could grow. Just a thought.
Last edited by anthropic; 04/13/15 01:44 PM.
7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15
Ambassador Lunker
|
OP
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15 |
Bit the bullet....Skretting feed is on the way. Have to admit though, part of my decision to order it was based on sheer curiosity, rather than need. I think I got a sample of this stuff from esshup a few years ago, maybe when it was still Silver Cup? As I recall my fish loved it.
Anxious to experiment.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 96
|
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 96 |
I got some Purina GFC at Tractor Supply once and it was 32% like you say. I went back another time and picked up some bags of GFC thinking it funny that the bag looked different. But this GFC was Cargill and was 36% protein. Same store. Don't know if Tractor Supply was in the midst of changing suppliers or what. I go back this spring and no fish food at all (yet) but nearly all the other horse, dog, chicken, etc feed is Purina. So not sure what I will eventually find in this store.
Still have not got my AM500 I ordered over a month ago now.
Edit for correction: The 36% protein stuff was not GFC, but in fact is called Sportsman Choice Trophy Fish and is marketed as a mufti-species fish food in the same category as the Purina GFC. It is produced by Cargill.
Last edited by snrub; 04/15/15 11:13 PM.
John
I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,800 Likes: 69
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
|
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,800 Likes: 69 |
Silver cup has a great reputation, let us know your impressions. I'm expecting your own palatability test results...I'm ok if you blend it into a shake or malt or something, but a true man would hammer a dry fistfull straight from the bag. Up to you ultimately...not like your pond cred is on the line or anything.
Or is it?
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,907 Likes: 148
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,907 Likes: 148 |
I know my wife was not so happy when all the kids came in with their hands REEEKKKIINNGGGGG (with her voice going higher and higher towards the end of the word) like fish food. We had to scrub and scrub to get the smell off before going to church. I'm not going to supply disposable gloves for all the kids so I think I'm going to invent a large 'salt shaker' I was thinking a small plastic peanut butter jar with the red lid on is about the right amount of fish food for now. I'll drill some 8-10mm holes for my 3.5mm sized food and the kids can take turns vigorously shaking it into the water. Other ideas outside of a powered feeder for hand tossing the pellets without touching the feed? My boy saw my hand cranked broadcast grass seeder and he thinks that would work just fine
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15
Ambassador Lunker
|
OP
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15 |
Now you've went and done it. Calling my status into question. Dissin' on me right here, in public, in front of everyone.
I'll give you results...I'll pour milk on the stuff and eat it like breakfast cereal. I'll have Skretting/menhaden protein smoothies. I'll dump it in the tub and use it like bath salts. Heck, I'll even grind it to a powder and do a few lines right here on the counter, all in the name of science.
Never let it be said that Livingston wouldn't take a hit for the good of the forum.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511
|
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511 |
Other ideas outside of a powered feeder for hand tossing the pellets without touching the feed? I use the small size plastic Folgers coffee cans to toss out the feed. My "feed bucket" that I take to the pond includes 2 small coffee cans and one large coffee can filled with AM 600, 2 small ones filled with AM LMB and one empty one for tossing the feed. Never touches my hands and I can toss out only has much as I want.
Keith - Still Lovin Livin https://youtu.be/o-R41Rfx0k0(a short video tribute to the PB members we met on our 5 week fishing adventure) Formerly: 2ac LMB,HSB,BG,HBG,RES
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
|
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
Now you've went and done it. Calling my status into question. Dissin' on me right here, in public, in front of everyone.
I'll give you results...I'll pour milk on the stuff and eat it like breakfast cereal. I'll have Skretting/menhaden protein smoothies. I'll dump it in the tub and use it like bath salts. Heck, I'll even grind it to a powder and do a few lines right here on the counter, all in the name of science.
Never let it be said that Livingston wouldn't take a hit for the good of the forum.
Now that's good stuff right there spark!! A few lines! LOL that's funny!! RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15
Ambassador Lunker
|
OP
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15 |
Little fish food smell never hurt anyone....certainly not in church. After all, Christ was reputed to have enlisted fishermen as disciples.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 96
|
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 96 |
Now you've went and done it. Calling my status into question. Dissin' on me right here, in public, in front of everyone.
I'll give you results...I'll pour milk on the stuff and eat it like breakfast cereal. I'll have Skretting/menhaden protein smoothies. I'll dump it in the tub and use it like bath salts. Heck, I'll even grind it to a powder and do a few lines right here on the counter, all in the name of science.
Never let it be said that Livingston wouldn't take a hit for the good of the forum.
Now THAT's dedication. It ought to be good sprinkled on ice cream and as granola with yogurt also. I hope you ordered two bags so some will be left for the fish.
Last edited by snrub; 04/13/15 09:46 PM.
John
I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,907 Likes: 148
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,907 Likes: 148 |
I also found out that the kids decided to feed a bit to the dog. He LOVED IT. Was going nuts trying to get more. Is it the grain or the fish taste in there? Maybe it is a bit salty? sprkplug, you can let us know if it is a certain hint of anchovy on the back of the palate?
Any concern with the dog sampling it? I think the cost of this bag of fish food and the higher protein he gets from it is probably better than the equivalent weight/serving of dog food that we give him and cost per bag is probably about the same!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 96
|
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 96 |
Back in the day when we raised hogs, dogs loved the pelleted hog food, especially the higher protein starter feed pellets for the weaning size pigs. My brother had a Brittany that would turn up its nose to dog food in favor of pig starter feed. Would be right in there with the small pigs at the pig feeder.
Last edited by snrub; 04/13/15 09:53 PM.
John
I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15
Ambassador Lunker
|
OP
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15 |
I think durn near everything likes the taste of AQ, including dogs. I don't give them very much, but usually offer a palm-full at feeding time if they happen to be around. And they usually are.
Makes a passable substitute for salad croutons also.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15
Ambassador Lunker
|
OP
Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15 |
On the more helpful side of things, prices on the Skretting website reflect a minimum order....The 40% protein fish meal based feed is around $37 per 40 lb bag.
Now for the interesting part. If you will spring for a pallet, which is 20 bags, they will knock off a substantial amount per bag....a considerable savings.
Shipping is the stumbling block, however it now appears that this may not be set in stone either. I should know more tomorrow, but my impressions thus far is that they are willing to make an effort, which I find encouraging and refreshing.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|