Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Home Made Fish Food

The 4% fiber listed on the label is all passed.

The digestive process is not different for any carnivore no matter where they come from or what they eat.

Some things to think about.

Why do the ornamental cichlid farmers in Florida mix their own mash to feed their fish?

Why do members here worry about sinking food not getting eaten and going to waste? Bluegill have no issue digging a tasty piece of food from the muck on the bottom of the pond. Even if they didn't some other animal in the food chain would eat it so it wouldn't go to waste. I think you guys like floating food because you enjoy watching your fish eat and I don't blame you.

I have done a lots of taste testing on different ingredients. Aquarium hobbyists are strange creatures. If their fish don't immediately go nuts for a food the are not likely to continue feeding it. I have done taste testing on two brands of whole menhaden fish meal, whole herring fish meal, salmon parts meal, tuna parts meal and "fish meal" which I suspect is either catfish or tilapia parts meal or a combination of both. The winner hands down was the whole menhaden meal made by Omega Protein. The freshest and best shrimp meal that I have found I buy from Blum and Bergeron Inc.. I made a test food I named Shrimp Po Boy that was shrimp meal bound with egg whites. It sent the fish into a feeding frenzy. They frantically swam around looking for more for at least 15 minutes after the food was gone. No this is not in any way normal! Cost from my local co-op for a 50 lb bag of whole menhaden meal including tax is $1.42 per lb. 500 lbs of shrimp meal shipped from Louisiana to Alabama via freight cost .86 cents per lb.

I hope some of you find this at least somewhat interesting.

I think it's quite interesting. The reason I prefer floating feed over sinking feed has nothing to do with enjoying the spectacle of my fish eating, rather it allows me to gauge their response....feeding heavily, or lightly? This permits me to adjust my feed rates accordingly. In an aquarium, the water clarity allows you to see the fish feeding off the bottom, so you are able to get a feel for how much to feed. Not that way in a pond, where you are left wondering if a bluegill came back and dug that pellet out of the muck.

Ditto on what sprkplug said. I'm interested as well.

Price also might come into play. I know some members here that feed a LOT per month, IIRC some are over 100 pounds per month.

I noticed in my pond, when I fed the RBT all winter long, and the feed rate was around 1 3/4 pounds per day (for 50 pounds of RBT) that I had filamentous algae growing all winter long in the area around the feeder. I kept the ice open with my winter aerator in front of the feeder. More food = more FA. Last year I didn't feed, and I didn't have the FA problem.

Most aquarium hobbyists are guilty of over feeding. If I have one fish in a tank I feed the amount of food as big as the fishes eye twice a day.

Keep in mind fish eat until the food is gone. They are hard wired to do this as a survival mechanism.

In a complete ecosystem something in the food chain eats that pellet. I highly doubt that it goes to waste unless you are grossly over feeding. This is unlikely because feed is expensive.

I try to learn something new every day. I am glad to see others have the same attitude.

The algae is more than likely caused by excessive nitrates or phosphates. Were the fish eating all of the food?

There was some food floating around the edge of the ice. I used an automatic feeder and it was set to the lowest setting available that it would reliably feed at. (one second, one feeding per day. Feeding every other day isn't an option on the timer.)

Esshup brings up a good point. Many here use an automatic feeder on their ponds, or are absentee owners. Unless time is regularly spent observing the fish while feeding, it might be fairly easy to over feed this way, unintentionally of course.

Another difference between hand feeding in an aquarium, vs. larger scale in a pond or lake.

Also, some here feed to satiation, or very nearly so, in the quest for trophy fish. The goal is to grow larger fish, not just sustain that fish.

I would simply not feed in the winter as it appears it is doing the algae more good than the fish. The statement I made earlier about fish feeding until the food is gone does not apply to cold water. The most humane way to kill a fish is to put it in water and put it in the freezer. Its metabolism slows down gradually until it stops.

Many aquarium hobbyists use automatic feeders.

Most if not all aquarium hobbyists goal is for their fish to thrive not simply survive.

I think that what we are finding out that the only difference is the scale. A LMB today is the same as it was almost 6k years ago.

With testing in my pond last year I found that the RBT had the same amount of growth if I didn't feed from ice-on to ice-off.

I don't know if only one winter of testing is enough. I might try it again this year.

RBT at one pound weight at stocking in October grew to between 2# and 3# by late June. That was feeding 50#/month, every month.

I saw approximately the same amount of growth last year when not feeding ice-on to ice-off, same size and amount of trout stocked as the previous year.

When I put trout in the pond at 2# each, and fed 50#/month, they grew to roughly 7# each by the end of June. Half the number of fish stocked, but the same total weight at stocking.

What about water clarity in an aquarium vs. a pond, and its role in determining consumption of feed, or amount of feed not utilized by the target species? (waste)

I don't think that it really matters as the fish in the pond are used to stained or muddy water.

But how do YOU know how much of the sinking feed is being consumed by the target species in stained pond, vs. clear aquarium water?

Its impossible to know for certain.

I agree. And that's one big reason that floating feed is preferred over sinking feed in some pond applications. I'll be the first to admit that I get a big charge over watching my fish eat....but I'm not there strictly to enjoy myself, I'm there to try and get a handle on my fish, in regards to how much I should feed. They don't eat the same every day, and by watching their reaction to the feed I get a feel for how much to give them.

Revised Gamefish Grow


Shrimp Meal 8.1 oz. 46.2%
Soybean Meal 7.9 oz. 45.1%
Crude Menhaden Fish Oil 1.5 oz. 8.5%
Water 17 oz.

Mix ingredients and feed.

47.7% protein, 12.7% fat, 20.2% starch, 3.7% fiber, 15.7% ash

Ingredient cost for a lb 80 cents.

http://www.floridaexoticfishsales.com/about_us/abt_us.pdf

Page 12 talks about developing the mash that they use. I met Rick through a mutual friend at the ACA convention back in 2008. He has some interesting stories to tell.

Fish have significantly more time to forage on a floating pellet - in my pond over an hour sometimes depending on wind speed and direction, and only a matter of seconds on sinking feed. I do feed my caged fish sinking feed or hydrated pellets occasionally, when I can monitor their activity through high clarity or via aquavu camera. Using cameras to document sinking feed heading to the bottom and have in fact seen a few YP graze it, however I've never witnessed another fish species interested in pellets on the bottom of the pond. As we all know. uneaten food becomes excessive nutrients which speeds up the eutrophication process. Since pond owners nationwide spend millions annually to slow that very process through various products and services, wasted food is a natural enemy for us. I would not employ sinking feed for several reasons mentioned by others, but primarily because of it's short time frame in the target zone for my fish.

I can certainly understand not wanting to have food rotting on the bottom of the pond. I am currently helping some friends battle weeds fueled by years of leaf litter collecting on the bottom of the pond. So yeah I get what you are saying.

Once you get BG trained to feed on pellets aren't you also ringing the dinner bell for the LMB?

TJ, in my pond I've noticed RES picking pellets off of the bottom after they've sunk. They haven't been there for long, I think the motion of them slowly sinking thru the water column attracted the RES, and they picked it up off the bottom not too long after it hit.

Yes, feeding the BG in turn feeds the LMB, either by the LMB learning to eat pellets (or being feed trained to start) or by them eating the fish that are eating the pellets.

I think I know how you came up with these percentages and I believe your figures are incorrect. If your using conventional "meal" that would be a dry measure, so 8.1 oz. is how much it weighs. Fish oil is liquid measure. Liquid and dry measure are different units of meanurement. All units must be the same to calculate percentages, this is often done on a dry matter basis. The water has to figure in to your calculations also.

Loretta! You've must have been busy, I haven't seen you on here much lately. I'll bet the colors there are starting to get good.

Yes very busy! The colors are good and leaves are starting to fall. I've been making something for the pond and when it's done and tested I may need you to help me post some pictures.

Fish food, that's a lot of ash too! As you know, ash is not a good thing. I understand you wanting to feed a more natural diet, I'm all for that, natural is always better, processed food is just convenient. Farmed fish are lower in Omega 3's than wild fish because of artificial feed and are not as beneficial for people to eat. Don't get me started on ethoxyquin (a preservtive) commonly found in fish feed. Purina also likes to use artificial vitamin K( menadione sodium bisulfate complex) in their foods, another controversial ingredient.

A long time ago I asked what everyone did with the fish that were culled from their ponds. I thought it would be great to grind them up and feed it back to the other fish. I'm not at the point where I need to cull fish but when I do I will certainly try to do something like this.

I don't want to speak for Bruce Condello, but besides his massive "Condello Strain Bluegills" he has also been growing some monstrous largemouth bass. His LMB are way above what should be possible to be grow in his northern latitude. I will just say that it is based on his culled bluegill.

Bruce gave us all a hint of what he is doing in a short presentation at the last Pond Boss conference.

As for me, I "can" my culled bluegill. I scale them, gut them, and cut their heads off. Overnight, I brine them in about about a gallon of water, with a cup of pickling salt. I rinse them and tightly pack them in pint jars with a slice of onion and a clove of garlic. I put the jars in a pressure cooker for about 30 minutes. They make great substitutes for canned salmon or tuna. We also use these canned culls to make great faux Maryland-style "crab cakes."

To me, that is real home made fish food.

Regards,
Crazy Ken