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This had all started out of concern for Tobi's shell. We got Tobi a year ago in July at between the size of a fifty cent piece and a silver dollar. Feeding daily pellets the size of her head resulted in some rapid growth and we pulled back a bit. We pulled back to slightly less than that and introduced veggies early. There were skin and scute shedding every few months.
Back in March or April, a number of changes occurred. I began to see a jagged edge to the scutes and realized that growth had begun to slow from the speed of youth, even though the feeding schedule had not. So, we went to more veggies and every other day feeding of pellets about the size of her head. I also replaced the UVB coil bulb with another of the same brand at about the same time.
Growth still seemed fast but not as bad, so I ended up cutting back on the pellets but going back to daily. Now, she gets veggies in the morning (mostly red or green leaf or romaine, duckweed, with the occasional spring mix from the wife's salad bag. Carrots maybe once a month and the occasional blueberry) and pellets each night, the equivalent of about 1/3 of her head. So, it takes 3 days to get what is recommended every two days. Bloodworms as a treat every four to six weeks.
Pellets are Omega One, with about 3 koi with wheat weekly.
As you can see from the picture below, we have retained scutes. They have built up since March/April. The layers of scutes are much closer together since I've gotten the food under better control. In frustration at her lack of shedding, I got a PowerSun MVB back in June or July, but ultimately realized it was not providing enough UVB. I supplemented with the CFL UVB and just last week switched to the MegaRay.
As the growth slowed, I do think I was overfeeding. I don't think I'm overfeeding now. I do know that she gets more veggies than protein. I'm also pretty sure that she has not received sufficient UVB. I'm hoping this MegaRay bulb fixes that. I do think she definitely has retained scutes edging toward pyramiding.
With all the background, here's a picture taken last night (click for slow loading/larger pic):
