Koi Fish Food: Which Koi Fish Food Is Best?
Posted in Koi care on 04/20/2009 05:30 am by Karla
Koi can learn to eat from your hand!
There is a wide variety of Koi fish food available. How do you decide what to feed your precious Koi?
For starters Koi are voracious eaters, consuming almost anything that comes their way, so it’s up to you as their caretaker to provide your fish with a balanced and nutritious diet.
You have the option of feeding a commercially available food, live insects, or a combination of both these items. In addition you can (and sometimes should) feed occasional treats, fresh foods and nutritional supplements.
Koi fish are omnivores, meaning that they will consume both plant and animal matter, and their prefence runs towards larvae and aquatic insects. Many Koi pond owners either minimize or do not include plant life in their ponds because of their desire to have the Koi themselves be the main focal point.
Another reason they leave plants out of the equation is the enthusiasm with which Koi fish devour any edible in sight, often tipping over and destroying aquatic vegetation in the process! So…if you are one of those who leave the plant life out of your pond you MUST provide your Koi with adequate nutrition.
Make sure to choose a good quality Koi fish food.
The most common and convenient type of Koi fish food is manufactured dry foods made especially for Koi. They come in many different forms including pellets, granules, tablets, chunks and flakes. These products are easily stored, relatively inexpensive, easy to feed and contain sufficient nutrients.
When deciding which type and size to feed you need to take into consideration the age and size of your fish and even the time of year. The best Koi fish food for the summer months will contain more protein than the foods you feed in the cooler months when your Koi are less active. It should go without saying that you will want to choose smaller size pellets for smaller and younger fish and larger pellets or chunks for larger fish.
Many Koi owners like to use additional supplements to enhance the colors of their fish. In theory this works but take into consideration that the red color pattens in Koi are determined genetically. If the red fades then supplementation will not restore it even though the supplement may contain the raw ingredients necessary for color enhancement.
Supplements do improve the overall health of your Koi and do boost their immune systems. Commercial Koi fish food preparations incorporate some supplementation into their recipes. However new and more effective products have been developed in powder form and can be mixed with your current Koi fish food. Just make sure you do your research and aren’t overfeeding any particular supplement as too much of even a good thing can be toxic to your fish.
For further information about Koi fish food or Koi care in general you can visit the website at KoiCareBasics.com
If anyone’s fish have a special favorite I would love to hear about it!
Alan Deacon
