Koi are not just beautiful and elegant fish, but they are also social animals! If you have ever been close to Koi ponds, you may notice that Koi seems to be curious about humans. They only swim when you touch the surface of the pond, because this is a natural survival instinct. However, due to their curiosity and friendly nature, many koi carps have been trained to eat directly from their owners. This is good news for the people who keep the pond, because now the pond is not only a quiet and relaxing garden, but also an interactive experience with pets.
What Should You Feed Your Koi Fish?
When deciding what to feed your koi, consider two parts-the basic diet and the supplementary diet.
The basic diet should have the protein, fat, most vitamins, and minerals needed for koi to survive. Commercial pellet food is the most reliable, convenient and healthy basic dietary choice.
- The protein content of food pellets should be at least 30%. Depending on the manufacturer, the protein content of the pellets varies greatly-usually between 25% and 36%.
- The main source of protein should be fish meal or soybean meal.
- The fat content in the pellets (from fish oil) should be at least 5%.
Before feeding your koi carps, soak their food pellets in the pond for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute. This will make them safer and easier to digest. This step is especially important when the frequency of feeding is low or the fish is particularly hungry, otherwise, they may eat the pellets too quickly and eventually eat dried fish food pellets. The dried pellets will expand in the digestive tract, increasing the risk of fatal visceral obstruction.
In a comprehensive diet, diversity is important. Includes natural pond plants and waste. Although the supplementary diet provides many of the same nutrients in the basic diet, it also provides various other nutrients necessary for Koi health. Natural pond plants include common pond algae and duckweed and other plants. Vegetable residues such as peas, carrots, spinach, lettuce, etc. are also a good supplementary dietary choice.
Shrimp is occasionally provided. Frozen shrimp can be used as a protein supplement, however, they should be used with caution. Add color-enhancing food. Of course, Koi is best known for their beautiful colors. You can feed them color-enhancing foods every four weeks to help them maintain and enhance their color. Such as foods containing spirulina, shrimp or krill.
Foods to Avoid
Now that you know all the koi food options, it’s time to understand what you should avoid. Any high carbohydrate foods should be avoided because they are difficult to digest for koi carps and can cause health problems if eaten frequently. These foods include peas, corn and bread (especially white bread). Another thing to avoid is to feed your koi anything you catch.
Koi Fish Feeding Guide
- I feed fish up to four times a day. In about five minutes, they can feed as much as they can.
- Small koi carps need to eat flaky or small koi carp.
- Koi eats almost anything, from small bugs, to plants and algae at the bottom of fish ponds, to koi fish food bought in stores.
- Koi will even eat human food. They like cereals, lettuce, shrimp, rice, peas, watermelon, etc. Koi can be considered for almost any food we like.
- I will not feed you koi before the storm, the fish need more oxygen when digesting food. When it rains, the oxygen content in the air will drop, so you can understand why this is a bad feeding time.
- Koi likes to eat foods with high carbohydrate content in early spring and late autumn, but prefers foods with higher protein content in early summer.
- Koi can skip food all winter, because their metabolism is as slow as crawling.
- If your pump is broken, it is not recommended to feed Koi, because your Koi needs oxygen to digest food.
Best Rated Koi Food Recommendations