Feeding Koi
Like us Koi are omnivores and will eat most things.
Again like us, some of these are not good for them and can lead to disease and death.
They should never be given any animal fat or Dairy Product. They are unable to digest the fats properly and this gets deposited inside the gut cavity between the organs. Over time these become filled with fat, cannot operate properly and finally Fatty Degenerative Disease will occur with death to follow. This is why Dog and Cat Foods are totally unsuitable for the long term feeding of Koi. When you buy Koi food, look at the analysis and make sure that it does not contain any meat or meat extracts. The oils from plants can be digested and are in fact required in small quantities.
The blood from red meat is also harmful as it contains substances which break down the blood cells of the Koi and also drastically reduce their immune system.
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Suggested Greens are: |
Lettuce
and Chinese Cabbage.
Both these can be given whole, even suspended from a wire.
This keeps them busy for some time as well as exercising the diagonal
muscles!
Watercress. (NOT WILD) Duckweed. (NOT WILD) |
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Fruit |
Watermelon.
Cut into LARGE pieces, remove seeds and watch them play
water polo, Koi
Code |
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Natural Colour
Enhancers |
Cooked Pumpkin.
Put whole into microwave. Pierce about 6 times. When cold
cut open and remove seeds. Leave skin
on. Cooked Carrots. Prawn Heads. Blend and freeze. Feed
frozen |
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Artificially Prepared Enhancers. (Not in winter or
fish younger than three years) |
Spirolina.
Available in Koi
foods or capsules from Health Food
Store. Contents from one capsule stirred into 1L cold
porridge |
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High Fibre Carbohydrate Food
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Feed sparingly, say weekly as their undigested
remains are not readily handled by the filter bacteria. BEST -Brown Bread
and Vegemite OTHER - Rolled Oats. Pasta.
Rice |
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Dried Natural Foods |
Feed only sparingly because of the high cholesterol
level. Dried Shrimp
(Krill). Tubifex Worms etc |
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Fresh Live Foods |
Garden Worms.
(Only from your own wormery). Pippis. Cockles. Mealy worms
etc |
Extracts for "Keeping Koi in Australia"