Koi Feeding – Maintaining a Healthy Diet By John Stoner At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

How fast to Koi grow? This is a question we hear often. A Koi’s grow the rate is dependent on the feeding pattern and several other factors. The key determinates are the water temperature, water quality, number of fish in the pond and the basic genetic background of the fish. Some types just grow faster than others.

For good health and growth Koi need food that has a balanced amount of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Sounds just like us. The right diet is key to their good health.

The type of food and the amount to feed them will depend on the size of the Koi. The smaller fish need food in a size they can eat, while the larger fish will do just fine with larger pieces. If you have the usual mix of smaller and larger fish then you will have to make sure there is something for each. Make sure the smaller don’t get left out.

To insure proper nutrition I recommend commercial food. This comes in two types. You can choose either a floating food or one that sinks to the bottom. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. The sinking food takes advantage of the Koi’s natural bottom feeding characteristic. But with this you’ll miss out on watching them eat. This type of food lasts longer because it is formulated to be less effected by cold water.

If you want to watch and enjoy your Koi while they eat, then choose a floating food type. This type of food is steamed cooked to create a shell that dissolves slowing allowing the food to float on the pond’s surface for a time before sinking to the bottom. Use this if you want to train your fish to eat from your hand.

The amount of food given at each feeding is important. You don’t want to over or under feed your Koi. Remember that the nutritional value of the food is based on the weight of the fish and not the volume of food given. It’s recommended that smaller Koi be given about 5% of their body weight, while the larger fish no more than 2% of their weight.

Most Koi will also have live food included in their diet. This should always be considered a supplement and never the main dietary component since they lack the necessary vitamins and amino acids necessary for good health. Koi will eat cockles and worms as well as tadpoles in the spring. The smaller fish will love chironomid and mosquito larva. Daphnia and water fleas are also usually plentiful in a garden pond and good for small Koi fry.

If you want to try bread you can but make sure it is brown bread. White bread contains a mild bleaching agent that is harmful to the fish. Remember never to give Koi fish peas, corn or fish beans since the shells of these can’t be digested by the fish. Lettuce leaves, duckweed and other plants found in the pond will be just fine.

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