Some pond owners are looking for ways to make their koi grow faster. It’s important that you feed your fish the right type of food in order to support healthy growth. This blog will cover what types of food you should be feeding your koi, and how much they need per day.
I’m so excited to share this post on what I’ve learned about feeding my Koi and making them grow fast. Let’s get started…
What koi food is best to feed koi?
In order for koi to grow quickly, they need to be healthy and have the correct amount of proteins. This means that koi food made with 10% protein or even as high as 20% won’t make your koi grow fast at all… and can cause them harm.
Here are some koi foods that I recommend
Hikari Staple Floating Pellets for Koi and Pond Fish
Hikari Staple Floating Koi & Pond Fish Food is a koi and pond fish food that is made to grow koi or pond fish at their fastest rate. It contains floating pellets so that koi and pond fish can find it easily with minimal searching. The koi and pond fish food has the perfect blend of krill, krill meal, shrimp meal, and fish meal to ensure that koi or pond fish will grow quickly. It does not contain any artificial colors & flavors and has an optimal protein level.
Tetra Pond Koi Vibrance
Koi food is formulated to enhance koi color and promote rapid growth. Contains krill, krill meal, and fishmeal for healthy growth and conditioning. Enhances koi coloration and promotes rapid growth.
Tetra Pond Koi Pro Color koi food enhances koi coloration while promoting rapid growth, krill meal contains naturally high levels of astaxanthin which is an excellent natural koi pigment.
Blue Ridge, Platinum Professional, Koi, and Goldfish Food
Blue Ridge koi food includes koi pellets, koi wafers, koi minnows, and koi sticks. It also offers koi color-enhancing algae wafers, shrimp eggs, tubifex worms, live krill, and crab.
Blue Ridge has an entire line of koi foods for growth. Kois loves koi sticks and koi wafers. These are koi food for growth. Blue Ridge Koi fish food is the finest koi food in the world, keeping Kois healthy with good growth rates.
TetraPond Pond Sticks Pond Fish Food for Goldfish and Koi
Is the number-one selling koi food in Europe. Made with 80% real fish, Pond Sticks provide just the right nutrients to enhance Koi’s color and improve their overall health.
Koi are omnivores that need lots of protein, so they should be fed koi food that contains protein content. Pond sticks are also a good koi food for small koi and fry since they float on the surface, which makes them easier to spot.
Mazuri Koi Pond Nuggets
Will give your koi the color they need to stand out from koi that are not getting proper nutrition. Koi Pond Nuggets take koi to the next level in terms of color and growth.
This koi food is made for koi that are one year and older.
Adult koi are the foundation of any koi pond. They need a diet to help ensure that they are colorful, and healthy so that you get the most out of your koi. That’s why Mazuri Koi Pond Nuggets were developed with koi lovers.
Why koi food is important for koi health
Koi need to have a lot of food to eat so they can grow quickly, but koi fish need koi food that is rich in protein. This will help them have strong immune systems and resist diseases.
Bacteria, worms, fungus, and parasites all attack koi if their immune system isn’t at its best, and koi are very sensitive creatures. If koi get sick, koi meds aren’t effective and koi could die from koi disease, which makes koi need to eat food that’s rich in protein even more.
How often should you feed your KOI?
You should be feeding your koi at least 2 times a day but it is even better if you can feed them 6 tiny meals each day. This will help to keep their digestive system steady and healthy. If koi have too much food and don’t digest it right, they can get swim bladder or constipation.
Making sure that your koi are able to digest their pellets is extremely important. When water temperatures drop, koi won’t eat as much so you will need to monitor how hungry koi are and feed them pellets accordingly.
If koi aren’t eating koi food, they won’t grow fast at all. I’ve lost koi because they weren’t eating, which is why it’s important to get kois feeding properly on a regular basis.
What is the best temperature for koi growth?
Your koi will need to be in water that is between 60°F and 80°F. They prefer an environment that is cooler than most tropical fish since koi don’t like it when the water temperature gets above 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
When koi live in temperatures around 65-75°F, koi grow much faster. If koi live in warmer water, koi won’t grow as fast because koi metabolism will slow down.
When koi are around 65-75°F, koi can process food much faster, and they like this temperature range better than when they’re living in a high heat environment.
If koi are living in water that is too cold, koi can get koi diseases easily because their immune system will be weak and koi growth rate will be slower than it would otherwise.
How do you enhance koi color?
There are koi foods for color enhancement. These koi foods contain the proteins that koi need to stay in great health and grow quickly. They also help kois have brighter colors, making them look much healthier than they would if they were not getting proper nutrients.
Why aren’t my koi growing?
Have you recently purchased koi?
Koi will not grow the first few months after they are put into a pond. They may even eat less than when they were in their previous tank
Are koi being kept at optimal temperatures?
Growth rates are dramatically slowed when koi have been exposed to suboptimal water temperatures for extended periods. If koi are not growing they may need to be acclimated back into optimal temperatures.
Do koi have a healthy diet?
Be sure that koi have been fed for the last three months with high-quality koi food, such as Hikari (or another brand of flake or pellets foods) at the rate of 1% koi weight. Be sure to maintain a constant feeding schedule, and be careful not to overfeed koi with koi food that is too rich in protein (over 28%).
Are koi being kept in optimal water parameters?
Koi cannot thrive if the pond water is too low in dissolved oxygen, or has too much ammonia, nitrites, or too much organic waste.
Is pond water clean?
To ensure koi health, koi ponds should be regularly cleaned to remove accumulated sludge and debris. If your koi are not growing properly you may need to clean the pond more often than once a month.
Do koi have adequate shelter and cover?
Koi can become stressed out if they are exposed to predators, or have not been provided with adequate shade. You should be sure that koi are comfortable in their environment before assuming that koi growth is stunted.
Is koi pond water deep enough?
Growth rates of koi will slow as koi grow larger, koi will need a pond that is more than 4 feet deep for koi weighing over 20 lbs. If koi are not growing properly, then the koi may be stunted due to inadequate water depth.
Is koi pond filtered enough?
Koi in ponds without proper filtration will produce and consume very large amounts of waste, koi growth will slow when koi are put into ponds with inadequate filtration.
Are koi over 8 years old?
Koi may slow their growth around the age of 8, koi up to this age can sometimes continue to grow if they are in optimal conditions.
Summary
Koi grow best in a temperature range of 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit, but kois will not thrive if the pond water is too low in dissolved oxygen or has ammonia. Koi also need to be given food that contains less than 30% protein content and have adequate shelter and cover.
In order for kois to reach their full-size potential they should live in ponds with over four feet depth, as well as being fed at least 1% of their weight every day (Hikari brand koi foods are recommended).
References:
Effect of some food additives on growth performance of koi fish,
Cyprinus carpio http://www.pvamu.edu/engineering/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/Issue-8.pdf
