Koi Feeding: How To Hand Feed Your Koi Successfully

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Koi Feeding: How To Hand Feed Your Koi Successfully

Sunday, May 10th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

The great thing there is about Koi is that they lack fear when it comes to humans. Once they see you as someone who feeds them food and the one who takes care of them, they are likely to eat through your hand (with you given the proper training). Hand feeding your pets can be one of the most entertaining and funniest experiences you're going to get into!

The Koi are non-aggressive fish. They do not have teeth, making it safe for you to feed them with your hand. This activity will also attract smaller kids, who will be delighted by the fish's gentle nature and beautiful patterns and colors. Like any other wild animal, they will have that fear of you in the start.

Their instincts are the ones that tell them to fear you, which is what keeps them alive and survive in the wild in the first place. So, you have to build up trust with your fish, which takes a lot of time and patience. Keep in mind that hand feeding your Koi can't be achieved over night!

They feed on both meat and plants, as they are an omnivorous species. Being omnivorous will bring adaptability in their diets. They'll eat almost anything they are given, not caring whether it's good for them or not. Since they don't have the ability to judge what's good or bad for them, you, as the owner, should be the one to control their diet.

Overfeeding is another problem, because they could get overweight from eating non-nutritious food. The healthiest treats for them are the natural ones, such as tadpoles and earthworms. Also, you can feed them with bread, lettuce, veggies and fruit. Just be careful when feeding them with food such as beans, corn and grapes, as they have those outer casings. These outer casings will be harmful for your fish if not properly digested. So, just make sure that you remove the outer casings before feeding them.

Now, the trick here is to start slow in feeding your fish. Don't make any sudden movements, as this will scare away even the most trusting of your fish. What you should do is start hand training your pet right from the moment you get them (which is also applicable for those that are in your current population). Start by placing few of the pellets or snacks in your hand and then put your hand under the water.

Then slowly allow the food to fall from your hand. Now, it may seem that your fish may not seem to pay any attention, but the reality is that they are aware of your hand (and that your hand is the ones giving them food). This can be done within two days.

Doing this will help you gain the interest of your Koi. As you now have their interest, let the fish remove the food from your hand. Now, if your pet will refuse to take food from your hand, don't feed them on that day (and do not stare at them during this process). Then they will feel that they must get the food from your hand if they want to eat it. If you do this everyday, this will be able to make your fish comfortable with you.

So once you have the fish feeding out of your hand, you can then start in making them feed from your fingers. And the same thing applies here: if they are not feeding from your fingers, then don't feed them on that day. Remember that food will serve as your motivator when it comes to feeding wild animals, and guaranteed, no fish will simply stare itself just because it is not sure of the situation it's in.

And once you’re successful in making your Koi feed from your hand, you can then have an alternate routine between regular feeding and hand feeding. Remember that there is no reason in trying to take the time in hand feeding if your hurrying. And after you get your Koi to feed from your hand, always be careful as you allow your visitors to feed them. Supervise both the kids and adults in feeding your pets properly; no sudden movements and giving the right treats for your pets.

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