wheatgerm

[saph.st24]

right you all should know how i love my hikari wheatgerm i feed it all year round (opps you know my secret to crystal water  )
well just ran out and cant get it locally has to be ordered and no-one in to take delivery from postal so cmc aquatics (my local koi dude) is ordering me some but it wont be for a fornight  so as a short term make went to me local trebaron and they are selling ea wheatgerm so got 1.5 kg to tide them over , heard stuff about it  lots of waste, fish wont eat it 
so dave was mmmmin and rrrring i told him they are british bred not fussy japanese divas they will eat anything  and i was right they do
they have been on it 3 day s now  i am seeing some waste just because it seem lighter but its not masses and it was being bragged to the filter

but i have noticed that mrs wong how ever seem to be going a pinky color i know she not white more creamy white( i think she has chag in her lol) its these creamy white bits going pink 
she doesnt look in the bit stressed no veins no blotches shes isnt hurt and she is stuffing her face 
shes just her usual layed back self just pink and i have only noticed this since this food started 

[Rodders]

My water has the old yellow tinge and foam, nice!

Need to get a proper protein skimmer on the go really. Not feeding growth food this year though, they are large enough now. Going for the colour/health stuff.

But I did buy a 2.5kg tube of EA koi sticks, reduced from £35 to £15 at world of water. Dunno whats in it, lol, but they like it. Doesnt smell too bad either.

[andykoitech]

Rodders,
Dont worry about the yellow tinge, believe it or not it is not a bad sign. Basically the water is not full of protein which is a good sign but if your not happy with it just do weekly water changes of about 40% [oops that will start some criticism from elsewhere]. It wont be long and it will be sparkling again.

[andykoitech]

Hi Saph,
If they will eat it then let them eat it. [a bit blunt]. Sounds like Mrs wong is aShiro  Muji. Dont worry what is triggering the colour/shade change is the temps as she matures further.However, what most koi keepers dont take into account is the fact that they are now grazing on the algae and as as I know you would appreciate it is the most valuable source of spirulina which enhances the colours of the fish. Personally, I think it is a good sign as it shows that the fish is developing good and if it is a shiro muji it will soon show its true colours ie. red and black developing over time. On a different note, a shro muji in my opinion is a perfect fish for breeding as they carry the colours [ maybe hard to believe but trust me I do speak from experience]. I dont know the history of the spawning you seen last year but a shiro muji would be capable of spawning Bekko and shiro, not forgetting my favourite of them the Ki utsuri/Hi utsuri which as I have said before I am keen to watch its progress.

[saph.st24]

hi andy
this is my mrs wong  you can see her creamy bits (probably a bit of sun burn as the pic from winter shes more white) but these are the bits going pic
she is well matured shes 6-7 years old now

[andykoitech]

Hi Saph
Firstly I believe your like me, forget the books its down to experience. Book writers make money and we dont.Forget the different shades of colour Mrs Wong is showing she is  looking good [probably a bekko] she is getting enhanced colours by natural daylight/sun she really is doing fine  by the natural process. If it was detrimental to the fish believe me I would be the first to comment. Your doing a fine job dont worry

[saph.st24]

koi books i dont read koi book learnt everything from other keepers really,
i think your right about the sun light or sun burn as i put it because she back to normal creamy colour its not been sunny here very overcaste for the last few days but its been warm, how well might have been good having a pink koi   you will notice its her  head thats this colour which is stuck out when she on the look for food and her fins and tail these are the bits usually stuck out of the water when she grazes off the top shelf
this is the first year shes gone this colour as last year i didnt put the gazebo up but it was a fairly rubbish summer, in years past when we have had good summers i have always put the gazebo over the pond i was worried i would have blanket weed,turns out my pond just doesnt suffer with it i get a short carpet for a few weeks then it just dies off this may have something to do with feeding wheatgerm and not over feeding so the koi just graze and the algea doesnt have to much to feed on

[andykoitech]

Hi Saph
As a rule of thumb if you live in a hard warter area then you will suffer with blanket weed. As I know you buffer your water with some shell this suggests to me that you dont live in an area with hard water. The sunburn on the fish is not detrimental to the fish provided you have some plant or shaded area for it to retreat to

[saph.st24]

oh yes super soft water takes a week to get soap of you hands, washing up liquid lasts weeks, yet 7 miles down the road my mum in law as the hardest water ever
they have to filter the water for drinking but even when filter the brew still tastes funny

[andykoitech]

The benefits of having to buffer your water if it is to soft is that you effectively increase your nitrifying bacteria on the media. Personally I use a seperate system for this and have a flow regulator on it to allow for fluctuations and I use limestone which doesn't break down as quick as most other medias but invariably you do need to use more of it

[saph.st24]

hi andy
i have the oyster shells in the filter i have had the same bag in the filter for 2 years just every now and then stick it in a bucket of pond water and give it a rinse

i have the oyster shells in one of these bargin and they dont rot

[andykoitech]

Giving away secrets here saph,
For media bags I go to the 99p stores and buy 5 pairs of tights for 99p, cut the legs off and use them as filter bags.
I put the media in them then twist the top 2 or 3 times and then with the excess material stretch it back over giving it a double bag effect then tie a not in it. I use them as smallll filter bags because they can be compacted into small gaps and therefore utilise every bit of free space in the filter and are easy to maintain because of their size

[saph.st24]

tried tights but the oyster shells kept laddering them lol

dave uses tights to strain gloss and undercoat paint (painter and decorator by trade)

[andykoitech]

No good if they are laddered the filter bugs will find a way of climbing out  he he

[saph.st24]

this ea wheat germ is pants and smells funny
the fish like it and it doesnt dicolour the water but there more waste then usual in the filter
i want my hikari back
the peoples (cmc aquatics) i ordered it from rang me to say they sent my hikari back as the date was only had a month left,to be honest i would have had it any way but they had already sent i back but i havent told them that lol