Koi is using stones to chew her food

[Forest]

One of my Koi is clearly using a mouthful of rough gravel to chew her
food when I put a piece of meat in front of her. Then she spits the
gravel out. This is in a 60 gallon aquarium. The bottom is covered
with irregular rubble granite gravel with approximately 1/4"
dimensions. The fish takes the food near the surface and then goes to
the bottom and pulls up several such stones clearly chewing her food.
Some of the small pieces of food will escape from her gills during this
and then she spits out the stones. The other fish (I have only two in
there) does not do this and the "tool user" does not pull stones into
her mouth in this way (and keep them there) when she is foraging the
bottom. Of course, they both move stones around with their mouths when
they are searching. She also does not do this when she is eating
"flake" food.

[Reel Mckoi]

"Forest" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> One of my Koi is clearly using a mouthful of rough gravel to chew her
> food when I put a piece of meat in front of her.
=========================>
A piece of "meat?"
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[~ janj JJsPond.us]

>On 25 Jun 2005 16:49:14 -0700, "Forest" > wrote:

>One of my Koi is clearly using a mouthful of rough gravel to chew her
>food when I put a piece of meat in front of her. Then she spits the
>gravel out. This is in a 60 gallon aquarium. The bottom is covered
>with irregular rubble granite gravel with approximately 1/4"
>dimensions. The fish takes the food near the surface and then goes to
>the bottom and pulls up several such stones clearly chewing her food.
>Some of the small pieces of food will escape from her gills during this
>and then she spits out the stones. The other fish (I have only two in
>there) does not do this and the "tool user" does not pull stones into
>her mouth in this way (and keep them there) when she is foraging the
>bottom. Of course, they both move stones around with their mouths when
>they are searching. She also does not do this when she is eating
>"flake" food.

Interesting, I've never heard of this before. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Courageous]

>One of my Koi is clearly using a mouthful of rough gravel to chew her
>food when I put a piece of meat in front of her. Then she spits the
>gravel out. This is in a 60 gallon aquarium.

A 60 gallon aquarium is woefully insufficient space for a koi. Unless
this is a temporary holding tank, one may have some thinking to do.

C//

[Forest]

Yeah. Like a small piece of people food. They like raw beef, and seem
especially happy with salmon or shrimp.

[Reel Mckoi]

"Forest" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Yeah. Like a small piece of people food. They like raw beef, and seem
> especially happy with salmon or shrimp.
===========================
The only meat mine get are compost grubs and earth worms.
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McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
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[Forest]

Well, I hadn't heard of this either but I figured you all would have
seen something related if the use of these small stones as grinding
tools was a normal behavior with carp. I do see that sometimes folks
have reported a stone caught in the throat of a Koi. So we must assume
that some of them are either stupid enough to try to swallow a stone
that they could never pass or smart enough to use the stones like teeth
and the "caught in the throat" incidents are simply accidents during a
normal event. Since you all are mostly working with ponds, and the
smaller specimens in aquariums would not have a large enough mouth to
use stones in this manner, such an observaton might be rare even if the
behavior is common. Have stones been found in the stomach of this
species. Perhaps thought to have been swallowed as ballast?

[Reel Mckoi]

"Forest" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Well, I hadn't heard of this either but I figured you all would have
> seen something related if the use of these small stones as grinding
> tools was a normal behavior with carp.

** I've never seen this behavior and have kept koi for 5 or 6 years now.
They have access to stones and gravel in the potted plants.

I do see that sometimes folks
> have reported a stone caught in the throat of a Koi. So we must assume
> that some of them are either stupid enough to try to swallow a stone
> that they could never pass or smart enough to use the stones like teeth
> and the "caught in the throat" incidents are simply accidents during a
> normal event.

** But they do have lyringal (sp?) teeth and shouldn't need stones.

Since you all are mostly working with ponds, and the
> smaller specimens in aquariums would not have a large enough mouth to
> use stones in this manner,

** Some of my koi are quite large with large mouths but I never saw what you
described. Perhaps someone else has witnessed it.

such an observaton might be rare even if the
> behavior is common. Have stones been found in the stomach of this
> species. Perhaps thought to have been swallowed as ballast?

** Interesting question........
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
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