Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Aquamax 500 vs 600

yeah I took it back and the person I need to talk to was not there, may try again this afternoon.

I am to the point of getting my $ back and going else where.

Thanks

Well I am going to order some new AM 600 from the place I usually get my GFC. For what ever reason AM 500 is not on there sheet anymore so I would have to get:

AM 300
AM 400
AM 600

So I guess I will just have to try the 600 for now.

Does anyone think I should just stick with GFC instead of AM 600?

Or go with the AM 400 instead?

Just want to get them started on this better food to see if it will make much of a difference.

Thanks

Are you hand feeding ? If so get some of both GFC and AM 600 and mix them around in a bucket and let them sit for about 15 min. Then feed. The GFC will absorb some of the fish oil from the 600.

AM300 is a sinking feed

Fred -- I'm not sure your new signature represents "middle age." I guess that you, George, Dave D., and few others of us who are "senior citizens" need to start using your codes!

K?
Gotta go! MNC

Ok I give up..

This will be in a feeder, I have been using since last year. Went with GFC last year and up til now do to cost, but since so many use AM 500 I was going to switch.

But since the feedstore here can not get it my options were 400 or 600.

So I have to choose one of them or stick with GFC.

Just wanted thoughts since 500 was not available
Thanks

I've been feeding (for the past 2 weeks) AM600 on a small pond. Even the 2" BG peck and push the larger pellet around until it's soft enough for them to eat it.

If GFC and AM are the same price, I'd stick with AM even tho the pellet size is larger. I wouldn't feed sinking food.

Pull the trigger and buy a bag. The longer that you wait, that's all the less that the fish will be eating.

Ken, I can't relate to any of those acronyms. Maybe you and Fred.........

I am going to go ahead and order 2 bags since it takes 3 weeks to get it. I have plenty of fish that can eat it, but like you said the smaller ones may just have to work a little harder.

I may even mix in a little GFC just to help the small ones out, or at least to use it up.

I just wish they could get AM 500 as it seems to be what is used the most on here and everyone that uses it loves it.

I have to prepay so it will be ordered this afternoon.

Thanks for all the help.

If the ones you mentioned are available,,, so is 500.. Unless there trying to just sell old stock they want to get rid of..

Be sure your feeder will handle 600 - some won't.

I am just saying what I was told, it is no longer on there price sheet, so maybe they can not get it from their supplier.

I hope my feeder will throw it, I guess I need to find that out.

Does GFC not have the same size pellet included in the six sizes it has in the bag?

Does GFC not have the same size pellet included in the six sizes it has in the bag?

No 600 is bigger than any pellet in GFC.

Well I went ahead and ordered a bag of 400 & 600 until someone can work out the issue with the 500.

I hope the 600 works in my feeder; otherwise I will be doing a ton of hand feeding.

I know the 400 will work and I may mix it with my GFC, and also the 600 if it works.

Will keep everyone posted, and hope to track down some 500 soon.

Thanks

I think you will be OK with those 2.

Either way I will make them work, just wont get any more if the feeder jams up. I just hope it does not take much over 2 weeks so I can get them on it. Once it gets real hot, I will cut back my feedings.

PS- test feeder with smaller amount so you don't have to shovel 50lbe out if it don't work

Even though I already thought of that, I sure appreciate you giving me the advice. I figure I will put in about a 1/4 - 1/3 of the bucket full and run a test from 3-5 seconds holding it up.

I hope it works, may even run more than one time to be sure. If no problems I will either fill it up with the 600 or mix the 400 and or the GFC with it and be on my way for a few months. If the fish do ok with it may stick with the 600 if not I will go to 500 if I can find it or just go back to GFC, and or GFC/400 mix.

Thanks for all the help.

I got a question for the guys.. Do you think feeding 600 will deter some of the smaller fish from the pellets do too the larger size?

Sorry to threadjack

Nope. They will nibble at it as it gets wetter. I've seen 4 or 5 all chewing on the same pellet.

Very much new to this forum, love any help I can get. Same issue really, I found out a few things about AQ in my area ( deep in the Ozarks of MO ) 1. They appear to price it as if they were selling off their mothers jewelry, and 2, the order takes so long to come in that based on my 60 years of age, calculates out to about 10 more bags I can get delivered before I croak!!

I mis read that last article in PB and ordered 2 bags of 600, since I already have many fairly large BG and HB, and after over a month of waiting, the first 2 bags came in yesterday. I already had a second feeder set up, first one is full of floating catfish food which everything in the pond has been eating for the last few years like it was their last meal, The six 30# + GP I have clean every single pellet that is not caught by everything else, something I did not know they eat.

I never should have bought any GP 6 years ago, neither pond has any aquatic life to speak of and their never is ( or was before I put them in ) any kind of algae problems. After I realized my mistake, I assumed they would starve to death, instead, any guests we have that look out over the pond and happen to see one or more sunning near the surface run in screaming that we have alligators in the pond!! How they got so huge, so fast, in fairly small ponds, back when I wasn't even feeding, in a place with any apparent food source for them in beyond me. But they have sure learned to adapt and are the single most efficient fish I have in the pond for cleaning up all the floating food, although watching them trying to eat it is both comical and elegant.

I ( incorrectly, failed to read again ) assumed that the 600 would be just a tad bigger than the 500, and still smaller than the CF food, but when I opened the bag this morning and loaded the feeder, I was surprised to see the pellets were actually half again larger than the pellets I have been using. Unfortunately, the massive rains our part of the country got last month caused both my ponds, which are connected together, to overflow twice ( yea, I know, very poorly built, that is another topic, my fault again, broken back put me on disability at age 49 and shut down my income) and I lost thousands of small fish, both times. I picked up a few handfuls and they appeared to be just about everything!! I guess it was part of my spring hatch.

At any rate, for what it is worth, my feeder flung out the feed like it was a fastball from the pros, and even though it was just a 1 second test, many BG of all sizes gave it a shot, and did exactly what others have seen, pecked at it till their heads hurt!! I saw many a pellet drug down by a fish the size of my finger, only to float back up a few seconds latter. Nothing wasted though, did not take long for 6 huge slow, shadows to show up slowly and cleanly plucking them up one at a time. I pre paid for 6 more bags of 600 before I saw the size of the pellet, I wish I had waited and had 500, I know many of my small BG, the exact fish I am trying to beef up, simply cannot access the food yet. But, I am very impressed how quickly my otherwise finicky fish ( for that time of the day ) were willing to immediately attack the AQ, something they will not do for the standard food I have been feeding them for years.

Sorry if I used the wrong abbreviations, I read them but I have the memory of a 3 striped Asian garden snail, courtesy of the pain medicine they have in this pain pump buried in my side. I need help with my ponds, and I will try to post in the appropriate places, Sorry I took so much space!!

Catbird, the BG will peck at the AM 600 until it softens up enough for them to eat it. If the GC (Grass Carp) eat all the food before the BG (or other fish) can eat it, then try ordering a few bags of Stubby Steves pellet baits. Catch a few of the GC, and they will realize that the food pellets aren't as good to eat as they thought.

Thanks Esshup, I will give that some thought. I really don't mind the big guys cleaning up that much, they seem to be doing me a favor. For some reason, despite their huge size, they seem intimidated by the large cats, and even the other fish of any size. They stay back from the feeding frenzy, never breaking the water like all the others, and the catch the floaters that have broken away from the main area ( which they avoid ) and I suspect help prevent any overfeeding on my part.

One thing I thought was a bit odd, I do need to do so much more research. My pain levels were so high this last 4 years that the ponds had very little attention from me, but I am doing considerably better now and I am somewhat amazed to find that my GC ( along with everything else in the pond, including the albino CC,) have spawned each year and I continue to have baby ( well, 12-15" ) GC, a fish that I was not aware would reproduce in a fairly small pond with very little attention given to it.

In fact, I will post in a more appropriate spot on the board with my concerns that are kinda silly to say, but I actually have to much of a good thing in to many ways and I do not understand why. I have been doing to many things wrong over the years, some out of ignorance, many out of inability to physically or financially respond properly. And yet, year after year, nearly every aspect of the whole system remains excellent or even improves.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have been reading PB for to many years to know this can go on forever. Thanks again for taking the time to help me out, I appreciate all the advice I can get!!