Koi fish food sticks, floating fish food, water quality

Pondkeeper's How to...

Koi fish and pond fish food

Pond fish food sticks, pond water quality

Do not buy fish food with more than 10% ash in it unless you know why. Read the label. If no label BE CAREFUL of fish food quality.

Gold fish food or koi food bought in stick form is normally money wasted and offers no real benefit to the fish. It is the analysis of the fish food that is important not the physical shape. Gold fish food or koi food in stick form was developed before pellets could float - this is the reason gold fish food or koi food sticks were invented. This type of fish food has been kept alive by excellent marketing by a German company called Tetra.

Do not feed more fish food than what your fish can eat in about 5 minutes. Remember your fish can survive almost indefinitely without food from you. Any excess food should be removed ... there are even devices sold that confine the food to an area to enable excess to be removed easily.

As water temperatures increase the appetites of fish increase and the oxygen holding capacity of water decreases. Getting the balance right between feeding and overfeeding fish food is important. If you find your fish gasping at the surface and are not sure why start changing portions of the water immediately ... ammonia is the likely cause especially early in the season when you may have overfed and the biofilter is not yet working efficiently.

Stop feeding whenever you suspect water quality problems of any kind.