Types of Food
Koi eat many different kinds of food; from live food that lives in the pond, to dry food that you buy at koi dealers. There are many different kinds of foods that you can feed your koi.One kind of food that ponds are naturally supplied with is algae. This is nutritious, but after a long period of time on this type of diet, a koi starts to loose the brightness of it's color therefore loosing value. Koi need this natural nutrition, but they also need manufactured food to maintain their color.
Koi food can be bought at any pet store or at a koi dealer. There are three types of food that koi eat. One is color enhancing, the other is nutritional, and the other is normal staple food.
Color enhancing food brings the color out in the koi. I have seen an improvement in the color intensity of the koi after feeding them this for a few months. The only problem with this food, is that it is very expensive. A pound of it goes for about $10.
Nutritional food is to keep the koi on a healthy, balanced diet. This food should be mixed with color enhancing food or your koi may begin to loose it's color. If your koi is healthy, it is less likely to acquire a disease. Nutritional food is much cheaper than color enhancing food. It goes for about $2.50 a pound.
Staple koi food is good for ponds that have massive algae control. This food keeps their natural diet stable. It is also the cheapest of the foods. So if you have many koi, this is the most efficient way to keep your fish healthy.
A mix of these foods is usually the best way to go. Below is the mix, and brand name of food I use to keep my koi growing fast, staying colorful, and keeping a balanced diet.
Spring/Summer
50% OSI Pond Pellets
25% OSI Koi Staple Pellets (color enhancing)
25% OSI Growth PelletsFall/Winter
75% OSI Wheat Germ Pellets
25% OSI Koi Staple Pellets (color enhancing)
