- Whats exactly in a food?
- Whats the difference?
- What should I feed my Koi?
These and many other questions go through the minds of koi hobbiest and professionals alike. There are many different brands of koi food out there. What claims to be the best koi food to feed is not always the best. Here is some "food for thought" when feeding your koi and picking out the ideal koi food for your budget and the koi health.
Koi eat alot of worms bugs and water born insects in the wild. Koi are not cannibals and therefore will only eat food the appeals to them if they are in the wild. Our koi that are kept in captivity in our ponds are destined to eat whatever they are fed. They are hungry and will eat it.
Feed koi food that you would consider to eat yourself or feed another one of your animals. I have tried many brands of food over the years and have found that I read the ingredient label very close and examine the food. I feed only the food that have minimum ingredients and all or most that I can reconize and not some unpronounce name unbeknown to man!
Koi food must have Ascorbl-2-Phosphate in it. This is stableized Vitamin C. This type of vitamin c will be in the food for 3-6 months before breakdown. If your food claims vitamin c, then find out what kind of vitamin c it is. This is very important to koi health and immunity.
Protein level should be between 33-38 percent in the cooler (50-65 Degrees) months and 35-50 percent in the summer (65-80 degrees).
Spirulina will bring out the Beni (red) of the koi.
Wheat Germ will bring out the Shiroji (white) of the koi. This will also make for better digestion and therefore better growth and health.
Some koi food will not be digested as much from the koi and that make for unclear water and more filter cleaning, more often. This also constitutes more water change due to poor water quality.
- Avoid Corn in any food
- Feed the correct food at the right time
- Food must have acorbyl-2-phosphate
- Feed the highest quality food for a reasonable price
The koi food that fits this criteria the best is Nozomi. We are not paid to endorse this brand. We simply have the best results with it. Cotskoi currently feeds over 600 koi this food.
Alternative koi foods of high quality include:
- Hikari
- Evolution Aqua-Show
- Kodama koi Farm koi Food
- Tomigai
Another koi food of good quality but not great is Hai Feng.
If you feed your koi a high quality food, and present the right conditions you will see high growth, great sking and color quality, healthy koi with limited filter cleaning, and better water quality.
If you need more information you can contact wes@cotskoi.com |
