Quality characteristics of koi food: How to choose the best food for your koi

 

Every koi owner probably asks himself this question sooner or later: “How much money do I have to spend on food that will keep my koi healthy?”

 

The price as the first indicator

 

The first indicator is the price. If the complete feed is very cheap, it is unlikely that high-priced raw materials were invested in during production. The use of high-quality raw materials means higher costs for producing the feed. Therefore, these additional costs must inevitably be reflected in the price.

High-quality raw materials are easier for koi to digest and at the same time put less strain on the pond water. Easily digestible animal proteins and fats are many times more expensive than their plant-based alternatives. The price per kilo of high-quality fish meal is currently more than three times that of soy protein and even more than ten times that of grain. The situation is similar with fish oil and vegetable oil. Special additives such as spirulina or essential herbal oils are particularly expensive. The latter often cost a three-digit amount per liter.

Although the price is a first guide, it is not that easy to determine good food. Cheap food is not automatically bad and the most expensive food is not automatically the best.

 

The declaration: The ingredients matter

 

The next guide is the declaration. This lists the ingredients of a food in descending order of quantity. Look specifically for high-quality, expensive raw materials in the declaration. Do they appear at the top? Are there any derivatives in the list?

 

What is in high quality koi food?

 

High-quality koi foods use expensive, high-quality components such as quality fish meal, algae, plant extracts, wheat germ, fish oil, carotenoids, immune stimulants and additives for nutrient optimization.

 

What to avoid: Derivatives and fillers

 

Cheap feeds use substitute raw materials, so-called derivatives. These substitutes should not be used at all or only in small quantities. A first indicator of a feed of insufficient quality is the listing of plant components such as grain, soy or plant by-products in the first place. An animal protein source should be in the first place (largest percentage). Ideally fish meal, because its amino acid profile is very easily usable by koi.

So-called fillers should also be avoided. Fillers are added to feed to increase its volume without having a positive effect on the nutritional value or properties of the feed.

 

 

Meaning of the Nutrition Label

 

Complete food

On the Koi food market, the majority are complete feeds, the composition of which must fully cover all of the koi’s needs [1] . This means that the koi only needs this feed to get all of its nutrients. The Food and Feed Code states that feeds must, among other things, “maintain and improve the performance of livestock […] and not impair the health of animals” [2] . The labelling is clearly regulated in the Feed Regulation [3] and Regulation (EC) No. 767/2009 [4] .

 

Composition

Under the composition, the individual feedstuffs are listed in descending order of percentage. This means that the individual ingredient that is the most abundant by weight is listed first. The percentage of the individual feedstuffs does not have to be stated.

There are no special patents on the recipe in the pet sector, so the legislator has created an opportunity to protect oneself from competitors. According to the Feed Regulation § 6 information paragraph (2), the following is permitted:

‘In the case of compound feedingstuffs for non-food producing animals […], instead of the specific name of a feed material as referred to in Article 17(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, the group to which the feed material belongs may be indicated as set out in Appendix 3’ [3] .

This means that individual feedstuffs in the group can be:

Meat and animal by-products

  • All meat cuts of slaughtered warm-blooded land animals, fresh or preserved by an appropriate process, as well as all products and by-products resulting from the processing of carcases or parts of carcases of warm-blooded land animals

Fish and fish by-products

  • Fish or fish parts, fresh or preserved by an appropriate process, and by-products resulting from the processing be merged [3] .

 

Feed additives

The additives are found under the feed composition. Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003 on additives for use in animal nutrition regulates the legal framework for feed ingredients. Every additive added must have a benefit. Depending on their function, feed additives are divided into 5 groups.

The allocation of individual additives to the corresponding groups is decided in Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 according to clear guidelines [5] .

The following groupings are distinguished as follows:

  1. Technological additives:

Here you can find all substances that have a positive influence on the quality of the feed – added due to manufacturing processes.

  1. Sensory additives:

Improvement of the organoleptic properties (ie taste, smell, appearance or colour) of the feed or the animal appearance (eg colour intensity in flamingos or fish).

  1. Nutritional additives:

The aim here is to promote materials that meet energy needs.

  1. Zootechnical additives:

The aim here is to improve animal performance, health status and reduce environmental pollution.

  1. Coccidiostats and histomonostats:

Prevention of coccidiosis and histomoniasis (blackhead disease) in broiler poultry

According to Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003 Article 11 paragraph 2, as of January 1, 2006, medicated feed such as antibiotics may no longer be used as a prophylactic or performance-enhancing treatment. An exception applies to infestations caused by coccidiostats and histomonostats [5] .

According to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003, feed additives that have a positive effect on fish are increasingly being used. These additives are not harmful to human or animal health and do not have a negative impact on the environment [5] . However, a clear distinction must be made between medicinal products and feed additives in order to avoid misleading the user.

This makes it legally difficult to aggressively promote the positive properties of specific secondary plant substances and essential oils with health-promoting properties. Although additives are often used because of their health-promoting effects, this cannot be aggressively promoted publicly.

 

Application

At this point, the manufacturer must give a recommendation regarding the amount of food to be administered.

 

Manufacturer number

For traceability purposes, every fish feed sold in Germany must identify the compound feed factory that produced it. This is in the form of a multi-digit alpha number in accordance with Article 9 paragraph 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 183/2005.

In the case of Nutramare, this is DE BB 100006. The first two characters represent the country of manufacture, in this case DE = Germany. The next two characters are only used by German manufacturers and indicate the federal state. In this case BB = Brandenburg. The following number is the identification number of the manufacturing company [6] .

Scientific sources:
[1] Steffens, W. (1989): Principles of fish nutrition . Ellis Horwood Limited. Chichester, New York, Brisbane, Toronto, p. 384.
[2] LFGB – Food and Feed Code in the version published on 3 June 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1426), last amended by Article 1 of the Act of 30 June 2017 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2147)
[3] Feed Ordinance in the version published on 29 August 2016 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2004), last amended by Article 2 of the Ordinance of 18 July 2018 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1219)
[4] REGULATION (EC) No 767/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 July 2009 on the placing on the market and use of feed, amending Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 79/373/EEC, 80/511/EEC, 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and 96/25/EC and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC
[5] REGULATION (EC) No 1831/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 September 2003 on additives for use in animal nutrition
[6] Notice No 06/01/021 on approved establishments with regard to certain additives, premixtures and feedingstuffs