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Koi Nutrition

Koi are genetically the same fish as the common carp which is often caught in our rivers and dams in South Africa. Aside from their beautiful colours, Koi as "Living Jewels" sport the same instincts and similar dietary requirements to their less adorned fellow carp.

Koi, being carp, are not known for being fussy eaters. In a natural watery environment that a typical Koi or carp may find it self in, their habits are to instinctively grub around for, well, pretty much anything bordering on the right side of edible.

This means small insects, crustaceans, other smaller fish fry and eggs, insect larvae, worms, algae, all manner of plants, roots, fruit, unfortunate snails etc.

Koi are omnivorous which is a polite way of saying greedy. They will eat plants and animal, reptile and insect foods with equal aplomb although it has to be said that their tendency is towards a preference for live food other than plants.

Koi also exhibit the ability to consume vast quantities of food relative to other cold water species. In fact Koi are not a true cold water species  - they can survive pretty low temperatures to around about 4-5 degrees Celsius, but below about 10 Celsuis their feeding activities are all but halted. However when conditions are warmer Koi are voracious feeders with the ability to consume up to 2% of their body weight a day.

That's a lot of food for a fish and the gluttonous nature of Koi can often land them in serious trouble if the filter system of their home is unable to deal with these extraordinary loads being placed on them.

In the wild, eating like this when hungry, one can pretty much surmise that an active Koi will eat almost anything. As a result the average dietary intake of a Koi is variable and this is one of the reasons why it is so tough to try and formulate a diet for them that works.

It seems that anyone can produce their own Koi foods, and because Koi are by their very nature accustomed to eating anything, they quite often survive and grow on weird and wonderful concoctions of ingredients that a fussier fish might not be able to develop on.

But Koi have added complexity when compared to their common carp brethren and this complexity of course are their colour schemes. Not only that, but we are also concerned, strongly concerned at that, about the body shape and development of our Koi.

Koi nutrition is not just about chucking some food into the water for our fish and hoping it'll work.Koi are surprisingly adaptable and I know of more than one occasion where they are fed dog pellets. Although the Koi appear to be healthy the reality is quite different. Their disease resistance is way down, and such Koi tend to have odd body shapes, and poor colouration. In other words their development is retarded.

Feeding your fish the right types of food is the right thing to do for them. Don't compromise!

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