Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Decided to try feeding

Looked every where locally trying to find any of the Purina fish foods but was not able to. The only thing I found was Farm Pond Diet by Nutri Source. It's got 36% protein and 5% fat. So I am giving it a try. I went out the last two evenings and it seems like FHM are going crazy over it. My pond isn't clear enough yet to see just what is going on. Throw some pellets in and you start getting all these little ripples around them and they bob up and down. Took some of the pellets and crushed them a little with rolling pin and boy, you could see lots of ripples when I threw that in. Every so often there is bigger swirls. What looked like a HBG broke the surface where one of these swirls was.

Tom go to this link and put in your zip and it will give you the dealers w/in 25 miles.

http://www.fishchow.com/aqua/index_aqua.html

Been to that website of the three listed two don't carry it and the other is out of business.

Tom email them and ask. You might get a free bag of food out of it.

Tom: I think your local place is Ag 1 Coop. There are a few thousand Purina dealers and most will not carry the high-end fish diets unless they already have a customer using it (fish hatchery, Pond Boss member, fish farm etc.). What you have to do is call or take in the name and product number and ask them to special order it. If you become a steady customer, most dealers are willing to keep some in for you. They are all independent businesses, so there is no standard method, but most are happy for your business. Mark

Mark, welcome to the PB forum.
Enjoyed meeting and visiting with you at the PB conference.
We are looking foreward to your highly qualified contributions, not only for your fish nutrition knowledge, but for all the other good stuff you know...

Griffin, had already contacted AG 1. They don't handle Purina. They said they could get and brand of fish food but it was basically dog food. Don't think I want to deal with them.

That is unfortunate indeed, I am going to look into it. It is a wonderful morning in MO the dogwoods are blooming, so good day to catch some crappie.

Mark, enjoyed meeting you at the conference. Thanx for the food.

What's wrong with the fish food you are using? Thirty-six percent is good. Purina feed is expensive so I feed Tractor Supply food to my catfish and only feed Aquamax to my pets (feed trained largemouth).

Griffin,
Hi neighbor - you don't happen to work at the local Purina Farms do you?
I got a two acre lake just south of Pacific and this warm weather has really got the fish active. I am greeted by a dozen 18" feed trained bass, begging for food everytime I walk to my dock.

Mark,

I enjoyed your presentation and the short one-on-one visit we had at the PB conference.
I look foward to your feed and nutrition expertise. Welcome aboard.
Ed

Jeff, I don't think I'm talking out of school when I tell you that Griffin not only works for the "Purina store", he is Dr. Mark Griffin who formulates the Purina fish food products, and is a heck of a nice guy to boot...

Many of us at the PB conference were fortunate to meet and become aquantences with Dr. Mark...

Thanks for the insight George. Its nice to have another expert on Pondboss.
I think most Pondbosses want big fish, so we all want to know what food/ nutrition works best.
Growing a record size Largemouth could net someone a fortune. Although we do not need any steriods in our food chain, has anyone ever tried this trick or other supplements to grow monster fish? I do not recall if this topic was ever discussed? Maybe its just plain wrong, but I have heard that cattle get growth hormones, so possibly people are experimenting with fish also?
Any comments?

Hi again Mark,
I am very glad to see you contributing to the PB forum. At the PB conference I received one of the discount coupons for Aquamax and I have a question about it. The coupon has listed in big letters $2 OFF however in the CONSUMER: fine print on the right side it says "Purchase one 50 lb. bag of Aqua Max products and receive $3 off the purchase price." Which amount is my dealer going to use? Thank you for checking on this.

Speaking personally, I'm gonna read the small print to my Purina dealer!

Man I did not see those coupons . I just ordered some AM. I knew I should have gotten out of the Moderators' booth and seen more of the other booths.

Jeff: I too live south of Pacific, but after 8 years and three children, we are moving to a bigger house in Wildwood. I think I will be able to put in a pond, but it will be a year or so. You should have some BIG bass by this fall, assuming this coldsnap breaks. I have many good friends at Gray Summit (the farm), but I office at 141 and 40.
George and Bill: Thank you for the hospitality and kind words. Mark

Mark meet you briefly. I hope to do some business in the near future with closet dealer. I have used a competior brand for years but look forward to possible swithc since it seems Purina is trying the hardest at producing a good product for out little pond market. thanks

I purchase fish food from both my local Tractor Supply store (TSC) and my local Southern States store. Both are 32% protein which is sufficient for your warm water fish. Both cost less than Purina/Aqua Max and my fish eat it with similar vigor.

Just depends on what warm water fish you are feeding and what results you desire. For instance, when grown at 80 F, fingerling Hybrid Striped Bass growth varied significantly, depending on both type and content of dietary protein and content of fat. Catfish formulations are plant based, while good trout/salmon formulations are animal based (preferably fish based). Strictly carnivorous fish do not do as well on plant-protein based diets. Below, diets are described in terms of Protein/fat, so a 40/10 is 40% protein and 10% fat (the OLD reliable trout diet).

36/8 (plant based)... 280% Weight Gain X
42/4 (plant based)....347% " 1.24X
35/10 (fish based)....432% " 1.54X
44/8 (fish based)....487% " 1.74X
55/15 (fish based)....650% " 2.32X**

It is important to note that all of these diets were high quality, they were just designed for different purposes and vary greatly in cost. For instance the 36/8 is designed for channel catfish fingerlings and the 55/15 is designed for Atlantic Salmon fingerlings. The 55/15 may cost 4 times as much as the plant based 36, so the economics are certainly arguable... just depends.

**Additionally, the ultra high growth on the 55/15 should be taken with a grain of salt as it resulted in obese fish (HSB very efficiently lay down dietary fat in their abdominal cavity), indeed the whole-body fat of HSB fed the 55/15 was 62% greater than that of the fish fed the 42/4.

Lets revisit this topic on LMB this fall as Bob Lusk is working on a trial this summer that should give us some more to discuss. Mark

Thanks Mark. Good info.

A couple of things for all to keep in mind.

WRT feed trained LMB there is an absence of peer reviewed scientific studies on formulations and results over a period of time.

WRT fish food , contents of the food and quality control in its manufacturing are important. I have used several different kinds of foods and they are not the same as to contents or getting the same quality every time. Whether the protein comes from soy or fish oil derivatives (fish based) is important for carnivores (BG , LMB , trout , HSB). Spend some time looking at these food site links. I have always received quality and consistency from Purina.


Fish Food Links http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=000234;p=1#000000

I've tried several different kinds. Some they like and some they don't. They have never turned down Game Fish Chow or Aquamax.

We have started distributing Arkat Fish Food and have had very good luck with it. They offer a Commercial food and a Recreation Food for Catfish. It's available from our warehouse ton pricing and from our retail store in Dallas for smaller quantities.
George Spann 972-554-7881 Southland Supply- Irving, Texas More information: www.arkat.com
or email me at gspann@southlandsupply.net. We distribute to N. Texas, OK, TN, AR, N.LA, & KY.

I look forward to visiting with fellow pond nuts, uh enthusiasts!

Mark according to my delaer he can not get a straight answer on what is avail. I went to Purina website and it does not list as far as I can tell the % protein, fat, etc. for each product. If you could let me know this I might be able to get the product shipped to my dealer. thx