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Nutrient Requirements Of The Koi
A wide variety of commercially produced feeds are available to koi
owners. The majority of these fish foods can be purchased in pet and grocery
stores, or on the internet. The most commonly available and purchased koi
food is the floating pellet. Sinking pellets, paste food, and flake foods
are also available. When selecting a feed type, consider the leaching of
essential nutrients from the food in the water. Water-soluble vitamins are
most vurnerable to nutrient leaching, and studies show that a large percentage
of Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, choline and pantothenic acid dissapate in the
water within 30 seconds of feeding. Fresh water fish are unable to capture
those lost vitamins. By reducing surface-area-to-volume ratios, leaching
can be minimized. Thus, pelleted and granular feeds that are swallowed whole
by the fish tend to be more functionally nutritious than flake foods. Pelleted
foods also contain carbohydrates, which are more digestible than uncooked
carbohydrates. Provide some dietary variety when feeding your fish. This
could be done by offering two or three types of commercial feeds.
This data is from Nutrient Requirements Of Fish, National Research
Council, 2003.
NUTRIENT
.......................... |
UNIT
........................... |
REQUIREMENT
............................ |
| . |
. |
. |
| Crude
Protein |
% |
35 |
|
|
|
| Vitamins: |
Units/kg
diet |
|
| A |
IU |
4,000 -
20,000 |
| D |
IU |
Unknown |
| E |
mg |
100 |
| K |
mg |
Unknown |
| B1 |
mg |
0.5 |
| B2 |
mg |
5.0 |
| Niacin |
mg |
28 |
| B12 |
mg |
Synthesized by
koi |
| B6 |
mg |
5.0 |
| Pantothenate |
mg |
30 - 50 |
| Folate |
mg |
Not
required |
| Inositol |
mg |
440 |
| Choline |
mg |
1,500 |
| Biotin |
mg |
1.0 |
| C |
mg |
Unknown/required |
| . |
. |
. |
| AMINO
ACIDS |
% of dietary
Proein |
(38.5% Protein Dry
Diet) |
| Arginine |
% of dietary
Proein |
4.3 |
| Histidine |
% of dietary
Proein |
2.1 |
| Isoleucine |
% of dietary
Proein |
2.5 |
| Leucine |
% of dietary
Proein |
3.3 |
| Lysine |
% of dietary
Proein |
5.7 |
| Methionine |
% of dietary
Proein |
3.1 |
| Phenylalanine |
% of dietary
Proein |
6.5 |
| Threonine |
% of dietary
Proein |
3.9 |
| Tryptophan |
% of dietary
Proein |
0.8 |
| Valine |
% of dietary
Proein |
3.6 |
| . |
. |
. |
| MINERALS |
. |
. |
| Calcium |
% |
Unknown |
| Chlorine |
% |
Unknown |
| Copper |
mg/kg |
3.0 |
| Iodine |
mg/kg |
Unknown |
| Iron |
m/kg |
150 |
| Magnesium |
% |
0.05 |
| Manganese |
mg/kg |
13 |
| Phosphorus |
% |
0.6 |
| Potassium |
% |
Unknown |
| Selenium |
mg/kg |
Unknown |
| Sodium |
% |
Unknown |
| Zinc |
mg/kg |
30 |
|
