Aquarium fish makes ornamental scenery in your tank and you should always keep them happy and healthy. If you give them the incorrect type of food, fish will lose energy and become weak. Keeping koi fish healthy, it is essential to feed the koi fish with the correct food and right time. To keep fish active and good health, most of the aquarium hobbyists use prepared foods in the form of flake, pellet or tablet. Good fish food contains macronutrients, vitamins and trace elements with the appropriate amount. To ensure optimum growth, health, and development, fish need a balanced diet with all the nutrients. Aquarium hobbyists offer specialized feeds to the fish with special ingredients that are helpful to the particular fish species or breed types.
Feeding is one of the most vital parts for taking care of your koi fish. To keep your koi fish healthy, you should choose the food with the perfect balance of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. You should always provide food with natural ingredients to maintain beautiful color patterns. The nutritional requirements of fish vary on species to species. In the pet market, there are lots of foods with different nutritional values. Among them, some are cheap that does not contain the right mix of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and nutrients. These types of food do not allow your koi to grow to their best. To choose the correct food types, we have reviewed the best koi foods and made a list in the following table. You can easily take a decision to pick the correct food type for your koi fish to keep up their well-being and color.
Comparison Table of Best Koi Food
Name of Food | Fish Species | Nutritional Info | Our Rating | Price on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TetraPond Koi Vibrance Premium Nutrition | Suitable for small and large sized koi, goldfish and other pond fish | |||
Kaytee Koi's Choice Premium Fish Food | Great for koi, goldfish and other pond fish | |||
TetraPond Pond Sticks, Healthy Nutrition for Goldfish and Koi | Suitable for all sizes of koi, goldfish, and other pond fish; | |||
Wardley Pond Fish Food | Perfect for any size of koi and pond fish due to their small pellet size; | |||
Hikari Gold Pellets Pond Fish Food | Appropriate for koi and other pond fish; | |||
Laguna All Season Goldfish & Koi Floating Food | Suitable for koi and pond fish; Perfect for fish that are 6 inches and over in length; |
TetraPond Koi Vibrance Premium Nutrition
TetraPond Koi Vibrance food is the best koi food among the koi fish enthusiasts. It is made using the advanced formula with the proper balance of nutrients (vitamins, protein, fat, fiber and minerals). It supports growth, various biological activities and metabolic changes. It makes softer quickly when contact with the water which helps both the small and large fish to eat easily and digest them. Besides these, it does not make the water cloudy by minimizing waste due to its high digestible capability (95%). This food also floats a longer period of time on the water surface so you can watch your fish feed on the surface of the water.
TetraPond Koi Vibrance food also enhances the vibrant red and yellow colors of your Koi and ornamental goldfish because it is made using a special combination of proteins, vitamins, fats, and minerals.
Key Benefits
Nutritional Info
Product Ingredients:
Feeding Instructions
TetraPond Koi Vibrance food is great for all sized koi fish and goldfish which is suitable for use in late spring and early summer period when water temperatures are 50 0F and above. You should feed the fish 3-4 times daily. It should not be fed with this feed when the water temperature is below 40 0F.
Kaytee Koi's Choice Premium Fish Food
Kaytee Koi's Choice Premium Fish food is a popular koi fish food among the koi fish keepers. It is made using the advanced formula which is perfect for all seasons. It is highly floating and easily digestible fish food that provides both animal and vegetable proteins. It also contains essential nutrients which are needed for proper growth, health, and longevity. It enhances the bright beautiful color of your fish due to its nutritionally complete diet. This floating food has been made using the special designed formula which provides the best health of your fish. It is great for koi, goldfish and other pond fish and it does not create waste and pollution of your fish tank.
This fish food is inexpensive and available in the pet market with five, ten or twenty-five pound bags. Kaytee Koi's choice premium fish food contains 35% protein, fish meal, wheat germ meal, corn, and alfalfa meal, fish oil, which boost up color, support eye, heart, brain health and help in digestion.
Key Benefits
Nutritional Info
Product Ingredients
Feeding Instructions
Feeding rations depend on water temperature. When the water temperature is above 60 0F, you should feed the fish 2-4 times daily. When water temperature ranges between 50 and 60 0F, at this temperature feed the fish 1-2 times daily while temperature ranges between 40 and 50 0F, feed the fish every other day but tank remains water temperature below 40 0F, you should stop feeding your fish.
TetraPond Pond Sticks, Healthy Nutrition for Goldfish and Koi
TetraPond Pond Sticks is one of the most popular koi fish foods in the pet fish market. It is an ideal maintenance food with a perfect blend of vitamins, protein, fat, and fiber which provides sufficient nutrition to your koi fish that supports for energy, growth, longevity, metabolism and overall good health. TetraPond soft sticks are suitable for small and large sized fish. It softens rapidly on contact with the water and easy to eat and digest. It does not create pollution and cloudy water due to their high digestibility into water. TetraPond Pond Sticks are suitable for all sizes koi and other pond fish. This particular koi food is the best quality food and you can use it for all seasons. It is lightweight and floats longer period of time on the water surface and fish can easily spot them to eat easily without any difficulty on the surface of the water. You should feed the fish at least two to three times daily.
Product Info
Key Features/Benefits
Ingredients
Nutritional Info
Feeding Instructions
Koi is a very popular decorative and ornamental fish. You should feed the fish with this food at least 2 - 3 times daily. It is totally restricted to feed the fish with this food when the temperature is below 39 0F.
Wardley Pond Fish Food
Wardley Pond Pellets is a nutritionally balanced food which is formulated for koi and other pond fish. It is made using a highly digestible formula which perfect to meet the nutritional needs of your koi carp. It is a floating pond pellet with balanced protein and fat that supports the proper growth of your koi. It also contains a stabilized form of vitamin C which ensures a healthy life and a good immune system. It contains no artificial dyes; hence it helps to prevent pollution and helps in keeping the water clean. It is lightweight floating food with heavy nutrition that provides sufficient energy needs of your koi and other pond fish. This food is perfect for any size of koi and pond fish due to their small pellet size.
Key Features/Benefits
Nutritional Info
Ingredients:
Feeding instructions
Feeding should be done 2-3 times daily when water temperature is above 500F but in the colder water, you feed the fish one time daily or stop the feeding. You should always eliminate all remaining food after the feeding period to prevent over-feeding and the water quality problems.
Hikari Gold Pellets Pond Fish Food
Hikari Gold Pellets Pond Fish Food is another popular koi fish food among koi enthusiasts. It is made using a protein-rich formula that meets all dietary needs of your koi and other pond fish. It has floating characteristics which help to monitor the intake food that helps reduce over-feeding and water quality problems. It is rich in enhanced astaxanthin, a form of carotenoid and other natural color enhancers which provide the natural beauty and true colors Koi. It also contains stabilized vitamin C that supports a healthy life and immune system which prevent stress and infectious diseases. It is made using balanced nutrition, vitamins, and amino acids which keep your koi healthy and full of energy. It is highly-palatable and keeps the water unpolluted and suppresses the chance of algae growth or pollution.
Key Features
Ingredients
Nutritional Info
Feeding Instructions
Laguna All Season Goldfish & Koi Floating Food
Laguna All Seasons food is one of the most popular foods among koi enthusiasts. It is made using a balanced nutritional formula for koi and other pond fish. It is suitable for the everyday feeding during the warmer and cooler months of the year due to their balanced blend of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. It also contains 32% proteins that provide the nutritional requirements for your koi, goldfish and other pond fishes. It is highly palatable floating pellet that produces less waste by the fish eating it. It becomes soften easily on contact with water and easy to eat and digest. It does not create cloud water due to their floating characteristics. It is made using special design which is perfect for fish that are 6 inches and over in length.
Key Features/ Benefits
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Feeding Instructions
Koi Fish Facts
Koi fish is exceptionally famous freshwater decorative and ornamental fish because of their different shading designs, beauty, patterns, and scalations. It is an Actinopterygian ray-finned fish under Cyprinidae family of order Cypriniformes. It is usually referred to in English as 'Japanese Carp'. In Japan, this fish is also known as Nishikigo or colored koi. It is native to central Asia which is the mostly distributed freshwater fish in the world. It is widely cultivated in Asia, the Middle East and is a prominent angling fish in Europe. Koi fish favors stagnant waters in lakes or backwaters in streams or rivers. It has various names for the different shading designs, patterns, and scalations. Among them, the most conventional are the Kohaku, Showa and the Sanke. Koi fish can grow up to three feet in length and live up to 200 years or more with proper care. Some popular koi fish types are described in the following table:
Koi Fish Types | Image | Distinctive Characteristics | |
|---|---|---|---|
Asagi Koi |  | ||
Bekko koi |  | ||
Kohaku koi |  | ||
Sanke Koi |  | ||
Showa Sanshoku Koi |  | ||
Tancho Koi |  | ||
Shiro Utsuri Koi |  | ||
|  | ||
Goshiki Koi |  | ||
Koromo Koi |  | ||
Hikari-Moyo Koi |  | ||
Matsuba koi |  | ||
Kujaku Koi |  | ||
Kin Kikokuryu Koi |  |
Feeding Behavior of Koi Fish
Koi fish have a strong digestive system and they feed all types of foods. It requires a balanced diet that should be of carbohydrates, proteins with a little amount of fat. In nature, they mainly feed on algae, other plant debris, leaves, insects and even animal faces. In captive condition, you can give them various types of foods such as fruits, vegetables, carbohydrate-rich foods such as cereal, bread, and rice. You can also offer them shrimp or cut-up pieces of chicken as a protein source. To make the fish happy and healthy, you should select the right types of foods rich in carbohydrates and protein which is an essential part of maximizing their health, color, and growth.
To promote red or other coloration of your koi, Spirulina is the best because they contain a high level of carotenoid vitamins. Spirulina also contains rich protein which is suitable for the immune system of your koi fish. You may also use wheat germ oil that provides your Koi a shining appearance. Krill is another nutritious protein food source which also contains carotenoid that enhances the color of your koi fish. Besides these, you can also add specific vitamins, carotenoids or other pigments to food to make your koi more colorful.
Some Factors Which Influence Feeding Behavior
Fish Size:
Fish size is an important factor which affects the feeding behavior. Smaller sized fish require less food than large-sized fish. Besides this, small sized fish need smaller pellets food while large sized fish need larger pellet foods.
Water Temperature
Feeding of koi also depends on the water temperature. Because the koi is a cold-blooded animal and the temperature directly affects the metabolism of food. Cold temperatures slow down and hot temperatures speed up the metabolism. During the summer season, they become very hungry and need much energy. But in the winter, they do not take much food at all because the burning of energy is very slow. Koi can eat up to 4 times a day when temperature ranges between 60-850F. At this time, about 40 % protein food should be offered which help to keep their energy up and to feed their fast metabolism. At transitional temperatures, you should provide a mix of proteins and carbohydrates.
When temperatures range from 50 to 600F, you should feed the fish once or twice a day. At this temperature, you should offer low protein foods with vegetables, squash, and fruit. Feeding should be stopped when the temperature goes below 500F or you may provide carbohydrate-rich diets with little amount.
At temperature above 85 or 900F, it is hard to metabolize the food for koi. At this time, you should check the temperature and feed the fish at night or early in the morning when the water temperature stays at an appropriate level.
Water Parameters
Koi are very sensitive to sudden changes in water parameters. In this case, you should check the water parameters like pH, ammonia, nitrites, etc. If these parameters sudden drops or spikes which lead to various problems with appetite.
Oxygen Content
Oxygen content is the important chemical parameters which influence the feeding behavior of your koi especially the digestion of food. In the water bodies, climatic conditions can play a big role in the oxygen content. Generally, sunny weather warms the water and ultimately reduces the oxygen content of the water bodies by heating up. In this case, it will be better to provide a protein-rich diet. Oxygen content is also important to maintain high water quality in your fish tank. In this case, you may use algae to produce oxygen which grows at the water surface. When algae become die, they sink into the bottom of the water. Microbes feed on dead algae and at this time they suck huge amounts of the oxygen. Your koi fish face low-oxygen situation due to the decomposition of microbes. To avoid such a situation you may use pumps or you may artificially increase or decrease the oxygen content of your koi tank water.
Some Important Tips For Koi Fish Care
Feeding Chart of Koi Fish
Water temperature | Feeding Ration | Key Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
Over 86 °F | Feed should be offered 2 times daily but for small koi you should feed them 4 times daily. | Generally, koi fish can lose their appetite at higher temperature. In this case, you should try to lessen the water temperature by providing shelter from direct sunlight. Fry or baby koi are less affected by higher water temperatures and you should provide small amounts of foods more often. | |
68-86 °F | Feed the koi 2 to 4 times daily with small amounts. | At this temperature range, fish become more active. You should give color or growth enhancing feed with small amounts to increase weight and girth more rapidly. Feeding should not be done within one hour of sunrise or sunset. Carefully monitor the water quality during feeding period. | |
59-68 °F | Feed should be offered 1 to 2 times daily. | At this ranges of temperature, carefully monitor activity level of fish. Over feeding should be avoided and feeding must be stopped during the period of inactivity. You should feed the fish during the warmest part of the day when water temperature is unstable. | |
50-59 °F | Feed should be offered no more than 2 times daily. | At this temperature range, carefully monitor the activity level of your fish and feed the fish with easily digested diets. In this case, feed should be given between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. | |
41-50 °F | Feed no more than 2-3 times weekly. | At this temperature range, if your koi are active and feed the fish with small amounts within 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. | |
Below 41 °F | Feeding must be stopped. |
|
Concluding Remarks
There are different types of food in the market with high levels of dietary benefit. Generally, the nutritional requirement of fish relies upon various factors such as species types, age, and temperature. Before feeding the fish, it is important to know the biology of koi fish. Because koi fish are cold-blooded animal and they do not have a stomach. Hence, they are unfit to control their very own digestion. Besides these, water temperature is the most significant determinant of when and how much to feed. Proper dietary selection is also a big factor and in this case, you should consider two major things such as the right food and the right method. Right food influences feeding behavior, proper growth, and healthy life of your koi fish. To pick the right food and make a decision easy for purchasing the food, we have reviewed the above best koi food for your fish.