Nishikoi Feeding Guide . Health . Growth . Colour
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| Fish Feeding
Guide - UK Climate |
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Feeding
Temperature |
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10ºC
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| Staple |
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8ºC
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| Wheatgerm |
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5ºC
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| Pond Stick |
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8ºC
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| Flake |
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8ºC
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| Sinking |
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10ºC
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Colour
Enhancers
Through extensive research,
nutritionists have discovered that by adding certain ingredients to
the diet, the colour of certain animals can be improved or enhanced.
This is particularly true of koi and other pondfish. Spirulina,
grassmeal, alfalfa, krill and other curious products are often
included in the diet as colour enhancers. In December 1999, there
was even a report of a girl’s skin temporarily taking on an
orange hue after drinking considerable volumes of a leading fresh
orange juice. |
What are they
and how do they work?
Colour enhancers are natural pigments
which when fed in the diet enhance the colour of fish flesh or skin
in order to improve the appearance and desirability of fish.
Carotenoids are the colour pigments responsible for enhancing skin
colour some of which include: alpha carotene, beta carotene,
astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. They are available in a range of
natural products including algae, flowers, aquatic invertebrates and
yeasts and some are also manufactured synthetically.
Generally natural sources of
carotenoids provide a wide spectrum of colour enhancers producing
good colour, however they can be quite unstable and prone to
variations in quality. Synthetic colour enhancers provide a
guaranteed content of specific carotenoids but do not offer the wide
range of carotenoids found in natural products.
Colour enhancers are used widely in
the salmon and trout industry where they are used to enhance the
pink in flesh. Carp have the added ability to convert some
carotenoids such as zeaxanthin (orange/yellow) into the more
desirable astaxanthin (red) in their skin, thereby enhancing the red
colouration on the fish.
Great care and expertise is required
in the formulation of colour enhancing diets to provide suitable
quality carotenoids in the correct quantities. Care must be taken
because if koi are fed excessive amounts of xanthophyll and other
specific carotenoids then previously unpigmented white skin can
become ‘pink’ reducing the overall appeal and quality of
the fish.
Fish skin contains colour cells called
xanthocytes which contain pigment carrying chromatophores.
Chromatophores can be divided into melanophores (black) and
lipophores (coloured) which contain the carotenoid pigments.
The genetic make up of the fish
controls the depth and colour of the pigments in lipophores. Colour
enhancers improve the pigment concentration by laying down more
carotenoids in the lipophores (colour cells). |
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The more
carotenoids in the diet the better?There
is a limit to the quantity of extra carotenoid which can be stored
in each lipophore and therefore a limit to the extent to which the
colour of koi can be enhanced. Carotenoids cannot introduce new
colours in lipophores which are not coded for genetically, i.e. an
orange fish cannot be made red by feeding excessive quantities of
colour enhancers.
In conclusion, good skin quality can
only be achieved by feeding a high quality balanced diet while
maintaining an optimum water quality environment. A good quality
colour enhancing diet will contain a wide range of quality colour
enhancers and improve the colouration on a healthy fish while not
adversely affecting white areas.
Nishikoi Growth, Wheatgerm and Sinking
Pellets all contain a blend of natural and artificial colour
enhancers. |
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Stabilised Vitamin C
Natures Oldest Immuno-stimulant
Fish food is an artificially formulated diet tailored to provide your
fish with all the nutrients required for health and growth. However, fish food
is dry and unappealing to the eye and is far removed the fresh and moist
natural carp diet.
Unfortunately,
during the production of pelleted diets, the milling and extrusion process can
be quite harsh on certain ingredients. Particular attention must be given to
the unstable and ‘fragile’ but vitally important vitamins to ensure
the final diet is not vitamin deficient.
Vitamins are naturally occurring organic compounds
that are required in minute amounts for normal growth. There are 15 vitamins in
total which can be divided into 2 groups, the fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K)
and the 11 water soluble vitamins including the essential vitamin B complexes
and vitamin C. If an of these essential vitamins are absent or deficient in the
diet then fish health will be put at risk.
As vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is water soluble it
is particularly unstable in its natural or free form (as seen when over-boiling
vegetables) and will easily degrade during manufacturing, reducing the vitamin
content of the food. Its role is vital in maintaining the immune response and
aiding the healing process.
During the
food manufacturing process, pellets are produced using an extruder/expander
process which is aggressive to the food material, subjecting it to high
temperature, pressure and moisture. This degrades the unstable natural vitamin
C producing a nutritionally poor diet deficient in vitamin C. However, vitamin
C’s reactive and unstable nature can now be stabilised (stabilised vitamin
C) restricting its degradation in the manufacturing process, thus ensuring the
recommended levels of vitamin C in the final pelleted diet.
Vitamin C is reacted with a phosphate group to
produce ascorbate polyphosphate or stabilised vitamin C. During digestion, the
fish removes the phosphate group leaving ascorbic acid (vitamin C) which is
readily absorbed through the intestine wall. Therefore, fish fed on a diet
containing stabilised vitamin C (300mg/kg feed) will not suffer from vitamin C
deficiency and the associated ailments.
All Nishikoi pellets and sticks contain stabilised
vitamin C |
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