Naturally, one of the major necessities of proper pet care is giving the animal a diet suitable to its needs. For breeders of Japanese Carp or Koi, the right Koi fish food means a lot more than just the survival of their collection. Feeding time is usually the only time when the owner and his pets can interact because we can’t really play with fish the way we play with dogs or cats. Also, because fish have a different metabolism than our furrier friends, the feeding process is slightly more complicated than feeding a dog or cat.
Koi, like other fish, are cold-blooded. This means their body temperature rises and falls to coincide with the surrounding water. The lower the body temperature of an ectothermic (cold-blooded) animal is, the lower its metabolism. A low metabolic rate means an animal’s vital systems move much slower and this includes the digestive processes.
For this reason, dispensing food for your Koi isn’t the same the whole year round and the food they will need will differ depending on the weather and water temperature.
Koi fish food usually comes in different-sized pellets and with different nutritional contents. This makes it easy for the owner of a Koi pond to feed his collection the right amount of food that that suits them. Somewhat akin to dog food, Koifish food comes in different sizes because quite often, a Koi pond will have fish of different sizes. It’s best to use the size of food that the smallest fish in the pond can eat. This will ensure all the Koi will have access to food (provided they’re getting enough of it). Make sure also that you’re giving the fish enough food to keep them from competing. Of course, the younger Koi will get left out of the buffet, boxed-out by their larger pond-mates. This will only result in under eating and eventually stress which more often than not leads to sickness and disease.
Food for Koi also come in varying percentages of protein and carbohydrates because these fish have different nutritional needs depending on the weather, as I mentioned earlier. During winter when the water turns really cold, Koi won’t need that much protein. Their appetite and metabolism will be really slow during this time, so feeding them high-protein food can result in indigestion and health problems. During months of cold weather, all Koi really need are supplemental, carbohydrate-rich food once every 2-3 days.
High-protein Koi fish food (40%) is ideal for the summer months when the water is at its warmest. This is a time when Koi are ravenous and will need all the nutrition they can get from what you give them. Summertime is also a good time to feed them food rich with color-enhancers to help them bring their natural colors and highlights out faster. Once in a while you can also give your beloved fish live treats like mealworms, brine shrimp or mosquito larvae. It’s a good idea to stay away from maggots though, for obvious reasons.
March 23, 2012 
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