What Do Koi Fish Eat? [Complete Guide on Koi Fish Feeding]

Overview

Koi Fish is the best choice to have as a sea pet because of its beautiful colors and entertaining nature. There are a lot of reasons to have Koi Fish as your sea pet. Above all, they are considered as a good luck charm in Japanese culture.

If you want to have healthy koi fish, you must know What do Koi Fish Eat? Also, how much and when to feed them. “Your Aquarium Guide” Is providing you a complete guide about Koi Fish Feeding.

Koi Fish is one of the most intelligent fish. Therefore, they learn very quickly from their environment. They come up in different color patterns such as black, yellow, red, orange, and cream out of which orange is very common.

There are about 24 kinds of Koi Fish discovered till now which could increase in the future. The intellectual level of Koi fish is quite amazing. Their adaptive nature makes them superior from other sea pet animals.

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They will start to recognize their owner after five to six times of feeding them. They like to have other koi friends with them and also look good in groups.

Koi Fish can be of three feet if grown-up properly and under a controlled environment. Their size directly depends on What Do Koi Fish Eat.

Diet is a very important factor in its growth. Here, we will discuss Koi Feeding for healthier and better growth of your Koi.

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What To Feed Koi Fish And How To Feed?

If you have koi fish in your aquarium or pond and want a healthier and happier koi fish you should take care of your Koi Feeding.

Before we start a discussion about Koi Feeding, you should have a piece of knowledge about what does Koi Eat in a natural environment.

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What Does Koi Eat In Natural Environment?

By nature, koi is among omnivores. Therefore, they can survive on plants, small creatures, fish eggs, fungi, etc. In the natural environment, koi eat small insects, fish eggs, fungi, sea plants, or any other thing that fits their mouth.

Koi Fish is flexible in eating. As a result, koi do not need to struggle for their food. They easily find their food in the sea. They eat bugs and insects that fall in the water.

They also eat sea plants and even the eggs of other fishes in the water. Fungi grown underwater is also among Koi Fish Food.

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Here Is: What Do Koi Eat?

As discussed earlier, koi is omnivore so it can eat almost everything that you consider as a Koi Food. Koi Fish can eat different varieties of food from insects and bugs to some specific human food. But it doesn’t mean you can give every human food to koi Fish.

Koi needs a special combination of proteins and other nutrients for better growth. You must know the protein and other nutrients levels in the Koi Food. Let us talk about some types of food that you can consider as Koi Fish Food.

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Sea Food

Koi can eat almost everything. It doesn’t mean koi do not like seafood. Seafood is the natural diet of koi and koi likes to have a sea dinner. Here, we will talk about some kinds of seafood that you can feed to your koi.

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Shrimp, Sardines, And Crayfish

Shrimp is the best choice to consider as Koi Food. They are small sea creatures found at the bottom of the sea. Therefore, shrimps are one of the favorite seafood of koi. Shrimps are full of proteins and other nutrients.

Thus, shrimps are very healthy for koi especially in hot season because koi become comparatively active in this season. Adult koi can eat the whole shrimp but you should cut the shrimp into small pieces. So, koi can swallow it easily.

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Sardine and crayfish are also a good choice for Feeding Koi. A question that arises here is do koi eat other fishes? Well, you don’t have to worry about this because koi’s mouth is very small.

Koi can only eat the stuff that is too small and fits in its mouth. They cannot eat the fishes you have in your pond or aquarium because of their size.

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Algae

Algae is a natural material that grows underwater. There are many types of algae. Some of them grow on the surface of rocks but koi likes to eat the bluish-green algae. These algae are lightweight and move freely underwater. Therefore, koi can eat it quite easily.

Let’s come to the benefits of this food. It helps to boost up the immune system and increase the metabolism rate. As a result, helps koi to digest food easily.

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Insects And Worms

You can feed koi some insects and worms if you are comfortable with it. Insects and worms are a natural diet for some fishes.

These things are full of proteins and will help koi for better growth. But if you feel any discomfort about seeing this type of feed, you can avoid this type of fish feed. As there are a lot of other options as Koi Food.

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Human Food

As you like food, koi also like to eat some specific human foods. You can feed these foods to koi and even the leftover of it. These foods are very economical and are easily available in your house.

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Lettuce And Other Green Leaves

You are making a salad for your dinner and have some leftover lettuce, spinach, or other green leaves. You don’t have to waste it because you can use it as a koi food.

Koi loves to eat green leaves. Lettuce is full of vitamin C, calcium, and other nutrients. Vitamin C helps to keep the immune system healthy. So, it is a good snack for Koi Fish.

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Watermelon

In the summer season, People love to eat watermelon so Koi. Just cut the watermelon into small pieces and remove all seeds from it. Seeds are difficult to digest for koi.

Therefore, they can cause a digestion problem. It is better to avoid this situation because that may cause trouble for you and your koi.

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How To Feed Koi Fish?

Feeding Koi is a fun part of having a Koi. You can feed them by just putting the food in the water and see them eating this food by their smallmouth.

Usually, Koi likes to eat the food that sinks to the bottom. But you can feed them the food that floats on the surface as well.

There is a fun trick to feed koi by your hand. Just, take the small piece of Koi Food in your hand and hold it at the surface of the water. Koi will swim up to take food from your hand.

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How Much You Should Feed Koi Fish?

There is no specific quantity of food that you should feed to your Koi Fish. However, there is a simple trick to identify how much food your koi fish need for a meal.

Take the food you think is enough for your koi fish and put it in the water. Wait for few minutes and remove the remaining food from the water.

Use a bit less quantity of food next time you Feed Koi. Repeat this procedure for 2 to 3 times and you will have the idea about your koi fish food needs.

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The metabolism rate of koi Fish changes with the temperature of the environment. In summer, when the temperature increases, koi become more active, and their metabolism rate increases.

They need a greater number of meals a day in summer. You can feed them 4 to 5 times a day. As the temperature falls, koi will merely move and start to swim slowly.

So, their body consumes less energy. As a result, they need less food. You should feed them 2 times a day in winter. That would be enough food for your koi fish.

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Don’ts of Koi fish Feeding

• Don’t see every human food as koi food. Every human food is not suitable for Koi Fish.
• Don’t feed koi fish rotten food. That would be harmful to them as for you.
• Don’t put a bulk of food in the water. That can affect the chemical level of water.
• Don’t feed anything bigger than their mouth.
• Don’t feed them hard foods like seeds, beans, or fruits with their peel. Hard food is difficult to digest for koi.
• Don’t just rely on human food. Use them in a specific amount and consider them as treat for koi.
• Don’t cover your aquarium or pond. Unless you have an oxygen stabilizer in it. Koi fish need oxygen to digest food.

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Closure

To summarize, Koi Feeding is important as any other thing for a healthier and happier koi fish. Therefore, you should feed koi fish with great care.

If you have any questions about your sea pet or your aquarium, let us know. ‘’Your Aquarium Guide’’ will provide you expert’s advice and knowledge on your queries.

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Best Food For Your Koi Fish