How And When To Feed Your Koi Carp Tasty Treats
"Over The Garden Wall With Oaky" Today I’d like to take a look at the popular past-time of feeding your Koi carp treats. Yes just like any other type of pet, people find it fun and very popular to give their pet Koi treats. You might delight in seeing your Koi respond to treats whilst you, your children, or grandchildren feed them. While this is a great bonding experience between pet and owner, some precautions should always be taken.
Koi will eat pretty much anything that you put in the pond with them, no matter if it is good for them or not. Since Koi do not have a sense of what is bad and good for them, as their owner you must control their snack diet. Another potential problem is over feeding them with treats. Again, Koi do not have the knowledge to know when to stop eating, and over-weight issues may come from overfeeding them none nutritional foods.
However, if you feel that your Koi deserves treats, there are many types of foods that are available that may contain nutritional value, and will not harm your Koi in any way.
Natural Koi Treats
The best type of treat to feed your Koi is what they would find naturally in their pond. Things such as earthworms, tadpoles, and bloodworms are found in ponds, and may be eaten by your Koi without your knowledge. The best way to find out what natural treats are available is just to look around the pond. Once you know what is out there, then you can either dig up the treats from the ground around the pond or buy similar products at your local store.
Prawns
Prawns are edible crustaceans which are similar to shrimp, but are usually larger. Prawns are actually very good for Koi because they are high in Protein. You can find prawns at a number of places including your local pet stores, department stores, and feed stores. Prawns are available in regular and frozen, but be sure if you buy frozen to completely thaw them out before giving any to your Koi. Prawns are also one of the best treats to promote hand feeding.
Lettuce
Lettuce is high in essential vitamins and minerals, and is quite healthy for your Koi. There is no need to tear the lettuce in smaller pieces as the Koi can find joy in doing it themselves. Koi like most of the goldfish and other members of the carp family can easily strip a pond of its natural greenery, so adding lettuce to their diet occasionally can be a great beneficial supplement
Fruit
Koi will eat a wide variety of fruit. When feeding your Koi fruit, make sure to break the fruit up into smaller pieces. Fruit should only be fed to your Koi on special occasions, as most fruit contains high amounts of natural sugar, which can be bad for Koi in large amounts. Only give them what they will eat easily in the one feeding session, because left over and uneaten fruit can cause a build up of toxins in the water as they decay. It’s always a good idea to scoop out any uneaten fruit and discard to your garden rubbish area.
Bread
One of the cheapest treats available is Wheat Bread. Take a piece of bread, break it up, and roll it into small balls before throwing it into the pond. Be sure to avoid all types of white bread, as it may contain small amounts of bleach and other chemicals that can potentially be dangerous to your Koi. Whole meal brown bread is therefore the best for your Koi carp.
Maggots and Fly Chrysalis
Yes just like the ones that anglers use, maggots and fly chrysalis are ideal for feeding to your Koi carp. They can easily be obtained from any good angling supply shop, and are usually available in several bright colors
No matter what type of treat you decide to use, it is still very important that you do not over do it. Too many treats can interfere with their diets, and cause more harm then good. Just do not get carried away, and you will be set. It’s often best to plan your treat giving times to coincide with their regular feeding times
You should pay special attention to the certain foods such as corn, beans, and grapes, as they contain an outer casing, which cannot be properly digested if swallowed by Koi. If you must feed this type of foods to your Koi, be sure to completely remove the outer casings before giving it to your Koi.
Until we meet again "Over The Garden Wall" it's back to my potting shed for me. An Amateur landscape Gardeners work is never done, no matter what time of year it is
Here's to your Koi Carp Treat Feeding success
John
John Elliott aka Oaky Wood together with Luella May co-founded http://thecorner4women.com and are great believers in the relaxation and stress relief properties of having your own Koi Carp Pond somewhere in your landscaped garden. John has been an avid Amateur Gardener for over 25 years
However, if you feel that your Koi deserves treats, there are many types of foods that are available that may contain nutritional value, and will not harm your Koi in any way.
Natural Koi Treats
The best type of treat to feed your Koi is what they would find naturally in their pond. Things such as earthworms, tadpoles, and bloodworms are found in ponds, and may be eaten by your Koi without your knowledge. The best way to find out what natural treats are available is just to look around the pond. Once you know what is out there, then you can either dig up the treats from the ground around the pond or buy similar products at your local store.
Prawns
Prawns are edible crustaceans which are similar to shrimp, but are usually larger. Prawns are actually very good for Koi because they are high in Protein. You can find prawns at a number of places including your local pet stores, department stores, and feed stores. Prawns are available in regular and frozen, but be sure if you buy frozen to completely thaw them out before giving any to your Koi. Prawns are also one of the best treats to promote hand feeding.
Lettuce
Lettuce is high in essential vitamins and minerals, and is quite healthy for your Koi. There is no need to tear the lettuce in smaller pieces as the Koi can find joy in doing it themselves. Koi like most of the goldfish and other members of the carp family can easily strip a pond of its natural greenery, so adding lettuce to their diet occasionally can be a great beneficial supplement
Fruit
Koi will eat a wide variety of fruit. When feeding your Koi fruit, make sure to break the fruit up into smaller pieces. Fruit should only be fed to your Koi on special occasions, as most fruit contains high amounts of natural sugar, which can be bad for Koi in large amounts. Only give them what they will eat easily in the one feeding session, because left over and uneaten fruit can cause a build up of toxins in the water as they decay. It’s always a good idea to scoop out any uneaten fruit and discard to your garden rubbish area.
Bread
One of the cheapest treats available is Wheat Bread. Take a piece of bread, break it up, and roll it into small balls before throwing it into the pond. Be sure to avoid all types of white bread, as it may contain small amounts of bleach and other chemicals that can potentially be dangerous to your Koi. Whole meal brown bread is therefore the best for your Koi carp.
Maggots and Fly Chrysalis
Yes just like the ones that anglers use, maggots and fly chrysalis are ideal for feeding to your Koi carp. They can easily be obtained from any good angling supply shop, and are usually available in several bright colors
No matter what type of treat you decide to use, it is still very important that you do not over do it. Too many treats can interfere with their diets, and cause more harm then good. Just do not get carried away, and you will be set. It’s often best to plan your treat giving times to coincide with their regular feeding times
You should pay special attention to the certain foods such as corn, beans, and grapes, as they contain an outer casing, which cannot be properly digested if swallowed by Koi. If you must feed this type of foods to your Koi, be sure to completely remove the outer casings before giving it to your Koi.
Until we meet again "Over The Garden Wall" it's back to my potting shed for me. An Amateur landscape Gardeners work is never done, no matter what time of year it is
Here's to your Koi Carp Treat Feeding success
John
John Elliott aka Oaky Wood together with Luella May co-founded http://thecorner4women.com and are great believers in the relaxation and stress relief properties of having your own Koi Carp Pond somewhere in your landscaped garden. John has been an avid Amateur Gardener for over 25 years
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