What Should Koi Fish Eat?

Although to some people they look a little like oversized goldfish, koi are actually a species of carp that were originally bred in Japan and are known for their beautiful colors. Because koi often live for two decades (or even longer), creating and maintaining a koi pond can provide years of enjoyment. One very important factor that impacts the long-term health and even the coloring of koi is their daily diet. Here’s why the right food is one of the most crucial koi pond supplies and what to consider when feeding your fish.

Feeding koi is one of the most exciting parts of having a pond. Koi can be hand fed and even begin to recognize their owners. An interesting fact about koi is that they don’t have stomachs. Even so, it takes them only a few hours to digest their food. To avoid overfeeding koi, each feeding session should only last about five minutes, with no food left floating about after that time. Koi need oxygen for optimal digestion, so it’s important to maintain water quality to avoid poor digestion and other health issues. Many koi pond owners have been known to even avoid feeding their koi before thunderstorms due to the lower amounts of atmospheric oxygen available before storms.

Koi are omnivores, so they’ll eat just about anything—even some specific human foods like cereal or rice. Of course, this doesn’t mean care shouldn’t be taken to select optimally nutritious food to feed pond-dwelling koi. When feeding in nature, koi (carp) dine on things they encounter like insects or algae, and koi living in ponds enjoy eating these foods as well, but domestic koi need a wholesome, well-balanced koi food like Hikari pellets. Many koi owners also occasionally feed their koi human foods such as lettuce or watermelon as a treat.

There are several formulations of koi food available for purchase designed to provide a healthy diet and address specific needs such as color enhancement, optimal growth, and digestive issues. Smaller koi may prefer food formulated as flakes or food that has been broken up into smaller pieces instead of larger pellets. The largest koi grow up to three feet long, but most grow to be just under two feet in length.

Because they’re cold-blooded, koi are greatly impacted by the temperature of the pond they’re living in. When pond temperatures are lower than 50 degrees, koi metabolism drops and they’ll eat little to no food for months at a time. When temperatures are cooler and koi are noticeably less active, they should be fed only twice a day and their food should be higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein because protein requires more of the koi’s limited energy for digestion. When water temperatures in the pond are on the warmer side, 64 degrees and above, food with a higher content of protein can be used.

Though getting the right food is important for keeping your koi healthy, there are several other supplies you’ll need to properly maintain a pond. From submersible pond pumps to beneficial bacteria, you can find everything you need at Aquatic Warehouse. Give one of our aquatic experts a call today at 858-467-9297.