What Do Koi Fish Eat?

For your koi to survive they need a balanced diet just like us humans. They need a variety of protein, fats, minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates (although not too much). Koi can actually eat many human foods which may surprise you.

This article will explain what types of food your koi fish may eat, what koi in the wild may eat and the dos and don’ts of what human food you should be feeding your koi fish.

Koi fish both in ponds and in the wild can eat a variety of things. Koi are what we call omnivores which means they eat both plants and smalls animals. The list of foods that koi can eat is quite extensive. Although it is important that you do not feed koi more than what they can eat in 5 minutes. Fish do not stop eating if the food is available to them, so this is something that you should bear in mind.

Koi can eat:

• Wheat germ and sprouts
• Brine Shrimp
• Fish pellets
• Worms
• Larvae
• Algae
• Tadpoles

There is also a list of human foods that you can feed the koi fish in your pond, as long as you give this in smaller quantities. There are also foods that you should not feed to your koi fish.

Human food that you can feed your koi include:

• Lettuce and leafy greens
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit and other citrus fruit
• Shrimps and sardines
• Apples, bananas, berries, and many other fruits
• Cheerios
• Garlic

Human food that you should not feed your koi include:

• Bread
• Peas
• Corn

What Do Koi Fish Eat In A Pond

There are many things that your pond koi can eat although there are some foods that are more recommended than others.

Wheat Germ

Wheat germ is a very good thing for your koi to eat. The wheat germ is what helps your plants to grow, so it is effectively wheat seed. Feeding your koi wheat germ has actually been found through experiments to help them to grow faster.

Wheat germ has many beneficial vitamins in it. But it is a great source of vitamin E. This can help to improve blood circulation in your koi. Whilst also increasing oxygen and nutrient flow which can help to promote a balanced growth. These vitamins that can be found in wheat germ help your koi to fight off disease as well.

Brine shrimp

Brine shrimp are also a great source of food for your pond koi fish. Brine shrimp help to filter the water as they eat anything they can find, although this is not a lot as they are small in size. But the nutrients that the shrimp get from the food they eat, they then pass onto the fish that eat them.

It is recommended that you feed brine shrimp to your recently hatched koi fish as it has many nutrients that are great for koi. The process of the koi getting the nutrients from what the brine shrimp have eaten is called bio-enrichment.

Fish food and pellets

Depending on the size of your koi there will be food that is more suited to them. Small or baby koi will need fish food that is flakier as they will be more able to eat it. This is similar to the food that you would feed goldfish.

More average-sized koi can eat fish food that comes in pellets. This is because they will be able to digest this larger form of food. For your largest koi, you may need to feed them bars of fish food, so they are able to get the right amount of nutrients.

Most typical fish food that you would feed to your koi have a high number of proteins and a small number of fats. Most importantly, they contain all the essential vitamins and nutrients that your koi will need to survive.

What Do Koi Fish Eat In The Wild

Koi that is found in the wild will have a more refined diet as they will have less sources of food readily available to them. They will eat things like algae, worms, snails, insects, and other plants. Koi need a varied source of food as they get different nutrients and vitamins from each one. As long as koi in the wild have a varied source of food then they will be able to grow, reproduce and have developmental maintenance.

Koi are great at eating away at the algae which would otherwise cause problems for the water. There is a specific blue-green algae called cyanobacterium which lives in water which can provide a nutritional source of food for koi in the wild.

Cyanobacterium is very small and only grows to half a millimetre. This type of algae is commonly found in lakes that have a very high pH and in hard water. In the wild koi usually live-in lakes. So, if they have this source of food then they will be able to thrive.

Another form of algae that can be beneficial to koi in the wild is spirulina algae. Some of these benefits include higher growth rate, can improve digestion, boost their immune systems, and help to prevent swollen abdomens.

So, in the wild as long as koi have access to algae then they can survive as this provides the fish with a range of nutrients and vitamins that they need. Although a slightly varied diet of other plants, snails and tadpoles can help them gain further vitamins that they might not get from algae.

What Human Food Can Koi Fish Eat

Surprisingly, there is a range of human food that koi enjoy whilst also providing them with a range of nutrients that they need. So, if you find yourself with some left over food your koi may be able to eat it.

Lettuce and other leafy greens

Many people end up with left over lettuce and greenery that does not get eaten, but I bet you did not know you could feed this to your koi. Watching your koi rip apart lettuce leaves can provide you with a sense of enjoyment whilst also using up left-over food.

You should be careful to not overfeed your koi on lettuce though as it is not as nutritious as other food that koi eat. Therefore, you need to ensure they do not get too full up on lettuce that they cannot eat other more nutritional food.

Koi can also eat other leafy greens that you might find at the bottom of your refrigerator. This could be foods like spinach or romaine. Although ensure that the leaves you feed to your koi are clean and do not have anything added onto them like dressings as the koi will not be able to digest this.

Watermelon

During the summer watermelon can be a good source of food for your koi, however this should be fed to them in small quantities due to it being high in carbohydrates. However, if you are feeding watermelon to your koi then you should try to remove as many of the seeds as possible. These are difficult for koi to digest and will just end up decaying at the bottom of the pond.

Feeding watermelon to your koi is easy, you can just cut it into small chunks and allow the koi to eat it directly from your hand. Or you can cut the watermelon into chunks and allow it to float on the surface of the water.

Grapefruit and other citrus foods

Koi love to eat grapefruit, but they are also partial to other citrus fruits like oranges and lemons. To feed this to your koi you should cut these fruits into sections and let them float on the surface. You also need to ensure that you do not leave any rind or skin from the fruit in your pond as this could clog your filter which can lead to a very large and expensive problem.

Although koi love these types of fruit, it is important to feed them this in moderation. These fruits can be very acidic and therefore could scorch their lips and turn them a pale pink. Luckily, if you were to stop feeding your koi these fruits then a few days later your fish should turn back to normal with no permanent damage done.

Shrimp and sardines

Koi love seafood. Food like shrimp, sardines and crayfish make a great dinner for koi. Although if you are feeding these to your koi and they are frozen, you should make sure that they are thawed first. If you have koi on the larger side, then they can actually eat shrimp whole. Foods like shrimp are full of good nutrients that provide your koi with a healthy and balanced diet.

Apples, bananas, and berries

Fruits like apples, bananas, and berries can provide a good source of nutrients and can ensure your koi have a varied diet. Actually, fruit in general can provide your koi with carbohydrates, fibre, antioxidants, and vitamins.

If you are giving your koi banana then of course you need to remove the peel first. This fruit is soft making it easy for the koi to eat and digest. It is best to cut this into chunks and allow them to float on the surface of the water.

For fruits like apples, you need to ensure you remove the skin because koi will struggle to digest this. Also, if you have berries like strawberries or blueberries then these can be a great tasty treat for your koi fish to eat.

Many other fruits like melon, cantaloupe or honeydew can also be eaten by koi but you just have to ensure that you remove the rind and cut them into smaller, more manageable chunks first.

Cheerios

Surprisingly, koi can also eat cheerios. Cheerios are low in sugar, high in nutrients and can easily float on the surface of the water. Although you should not feed this to koi regularly as it is high in carbohydrates which they struggle to break down.

If you have children who like to eat cheerios then you could try a fun experiment with them. Feed your koi with different cheerios on different days and you may be surprised at the way they react to the different types of cheerios. There are normal cheerios and honey nut cheerios for example. Different koi tend to prefer one option over the other.

Garlic

The last human food that your koi fish can eat is garlic. Many other animals in your house and garden cannot eat garlic as it can be harmful, however for koi it makes a nutritious tasty treat. Garlic can be used to boost their immune systems.

In order for the koi to eat the garlic it is best to chop up the raw garlic, soak their pellets in garlic oil or sprinkle their pellets with minced garlic or garlic powder. Most koi love garlic, so much so that this food has often been used to acclimatise new koi to a pond and can encourage them to eat.

Human Foods That Should Not Be Fed To Koi

As we know, there are a lot of human foods that koi can eat, however there are also some human foods that you should avoid feeding to your koi. One of the biggest things that you should avoid feeding your koi is anything really high in carbohydrates like bread. This is because the koi struggle to digest it which can lead to a vast number of problems, even death in the worst cases.

If you must feed your koi fish foods like bread then you should only use whole grain and only in very small quantities. Ideally, it is best that you do not feed your koi bread.

Other human foods you should avoid feeding to your koi is food like peas and corn. These are actually surprisingly high in carbohydrates, and they have a tough outer casing that koi can find difficult to digest. If you wanted to feed your koi peas you could remove the outer casing, but there are many other fruit and vegetables that would be much easier for your koi to digest.

Also, koi love to eat fish that are much smaller than them that they may find in the pond, but it is important that you do not feed the koi fish you have caught elsewhere. If you were to put wild fish into your pond, it can really harm your pond fish. Wild fish could bring parasites and diseases into the pond. So, it is best to never put wild fish into your pond.

Conclusion

To conclude, there are a vast number of foods that your koi can eat. Whether that be food they can find in the pond or in the wild like algae, insects or plants.

There is a significant amount of human food that you can feed your koi too. For example, most fruits are thoroughly enjoyed by koi fish.

The main thing is that your koi are getting a varied diet from fish, plants, fish food and the odd fruit or leafy green then you should find you have happy koi.