You are what you eat....and so are your koi and goldfish.
The food you feed your koi is very important to their health and well-being. Feeding a low quality food or food that is not meant for koi can significantly shorten their lifespan. Trout food is a good example. Although it can be substantially less expensive than koi, food it does not meet the dietary needs of koi and goldfish. Trout food is designed for carnivorous fish and is often made with lower quality ingredients which are not easily digested by koi. It can also have up to 2 times the fat content of koi food.
We have a great selection of quality colour enhancing, growth staple, and wheat germ fish food for koi or goldfish at excellent prices. Hikari, Microbe-Lift / Legacy, Aquascape, and PondMax are some of the brands that we carry.
Which Fish Food To Choose
Like most pond enthusiasts,you want to feed your koi or goldfish the best fish food, one that meets all their nutritional requirements. But with so many varieties to choose from , how do you select the right one? The answer depends on many different things such as the age of your fish, the time of year and also price. Typically, cheap fish foods contain more fillers and are made from lower quality ingredients. Although they are easy on the pocket book, they often not very digestible which results in more waste in your pond and more frequent filter cleaning.
Colour Enhancing Fish Food
Colour enhancing fish food usually contains natural ingredients that bring out the reds, yellows and orange colours in koi and goldfish. If you want your fish to look their best, check for ingredients like spirulina, krill and astaxanthin.
High Growth Fish Food
High growth food usually contain higher levels of proteins. People that want to maximize the growth potential of their koi often choose this food. High growth foods should only be fed when the water temperature is above 60-65 F.
Wheat Germ Fish Food
Whet Germ food is typically fed in the spring and fall, when the water temperatures are below 60-65 F. As the temperatures drops, fish metabolism slows and their ability to digest food decreases as well. Koi and goldfish digest whet germ very easily so feeding wheat germ food in cooler temperatures really benefits the fish. Some people who have mature fish also feed this food as the staple diet right through the summer because their fish have stopped growing.
Read our Feeding Koi at Different Temperatures to find out when to start and stop feeding your fish depending on the water temperature and also what type of food is best to feed in each season.
Maintaining proper pH level in your pond is important. Ideally your pond water should measure between 7.0 and 8.0. As long as it falls within these values, there is no need to adjust it up or down.
Maintaining proper pH level in your pond is important. Ideally your pond water should measure between 7.0 and 8.0. As long as it falls within these values, there is no need to adjust it up or down.
Costia is common microscopic parasite that is active in cool water. They are smaller than most parasites and are shaped like a comma when viewed under a microscope.
Performing regular, parial water changes is a great way to maintain optimal water quality. Changing 10%-15% of the pond water every week or 2, helps to flush out nitrates, tannins and other waste products while replenishing essential minerals.
Koi make wonderful pets for larger ponds. Because they can often grow up to 24” / 60 cm long (or even larger), they are not well suited to small ponds. Ideally, your pond should be a minimum of 48” / 122 cm deep to adequately house koi.
Pond Flocculants help to clear cloudy water by clumping small particles together so they can be trapped by your filter.
Frog and toad tadpoles are wonderful additions to ponds. Not only is it fun to watch them develop from tadpole to frog or toad, but they also consume copious amounts of algae