The most enjoyable aspect of keeping koi fish is feeding them! The finest bonding experience for developing koi fish and their owners is seeing them come to the surface and even eating from the palm of your hand.
Koi are supposed to have a three-minute memory, yet they may learn to know their feeders. What a case of selective memory! We've compiled a few helpful hints to help you feed your koi.
- Feed your fish four times a day if possible. Feed them only as much as they can consume in approximately five minutes.
- Koi fish eat a wide variety of koi fish feeds, including tiny insects and beetles, plants and algae at the bottom of the pond, and store-bought koi fish food.
- Koi will even consume human food. Cereal, lettuce, shrimp, rice, peas, watermelon... almost whatever we eat is considered food by koi fish.
- Before a storm, don't feed your koi fish. When digesting koi fish food, fish require extra oxygen. When it rains, oxygen levels in the air drop, which is why it's a bad time to feed koi fish.
- After only a short time, your growing koi will recognize you as their feeder. If you feed your fish food on a regular basis, they will begin to greet you as you approach the pond.
- Flake or small plankton food is required for your smaller koi fish. Pellet is preferred by larger koi fish.
- Early in the spring and late in the fall, your koi fish prefer carbohydrate-rich diets, but protein is best in the early summer.