Choosing the Right Koi Food

Earlier this week I had the good fortune to speak with the owner of one of the top koi fisheries in the US. I asked about his koi food bill because I knew it must be pretty significant to sustain his 400,000 koi. He confirmed that it was indeed a helluva lot of money and his single largest expense. No, I didn’t ask how much it was. 

He also mentioned that he had recently switched his source of koi food and that he was blown away by the difference. His fish were growing 25% faster then they were on the previous koi food!

I’m not mentioning any names because I don’t want to give away any of his secrets. The main point I want to make is that choosing koi food is actually a very important decision if you want healthy growing fish in your pond. Increasing growth by 25% is obviously extremely important to a fishery and meaningful to their business. Someone who has young fish in their pond will also appreciate these types of results although the value may not be viewed with the same criteria. 

Choosing the best food for fish isn’t rocket science, but it is important. As a caretaker of koi ypu need to spend some time researching the different types of food available and what might be best for the age of your fish and your goals. A breeder and someone with a pond full of mature adult koi that doesn’t enter them into competition have very different needs. Likewise the amount of money each might be willing to spend will vary.

For koi the three basic foods needed are food for fish you want to grow as quickly as possible, food for adult fish that need sustaining food, and medicated fish food for those times when your pond may not be as happy as you’d like. And then there are foods that can enhance the color of your fish for those who are more serious about their koi. 

Different brands use ingredients of differing levels of quality and that can’t be determined by the price tag. If only shopping could be so easy! Stronger brands can charge more then a lesser known brand regardless of whether or not their product is better. Fortunately, at least in the case of buying koi food, prestige isn’t much of a factor so ego can be set aside. What’s important is that your fish are getting the best food available for them at an affordable price that is sustainable for your wallet. 

More then likely you’re not going to conduct any scientific experiments so you’ll end up reading what you can find and asking some people whose opinions you respect. In my case I asked someone who owns 400,000 koi because I know the difference in the quality of the food relative to the cost is exceptionally important.  Whether or not I can buy the same in quantities that won’t fill up our garage I just don’t know yet. Stay tuned.

Now that’s a lot of fish to feed!