Feeding your koi and goldfish is one of the most enjoyable tasks for hobbyists. It’s a great opportunity to interact and create a bond with your pond population. One of the best ways to keep your koi and goldfish healthy is to feed them right. It’s also a lot of fun.
Though feeding may seem like a simple enough task, there are several considerations to take into account. It’s way too easy to mess up when feeding your koi and goldfish, and some of those mistakes can be bad for their health. If you want to take good care of your fish, you should know when, what, and how to feed them. We’ve made this list of what to do and what not to do when feeding to help you plan and improve your time and method.
When it comes to both frequency and quantity, overfeeding is one of the most common mistakes. The biggest issue with overfeeding is that it results in your fish not properly digesting their food. This leads to excess waste, which will negatively impact water quality. It also can harm the function of the liver and other organs, which can lead to health issues.
Your koi and goldfish should be fed no more than three times per day. In terms of how much food to give your fish, we recommend using the five-minute feeding method. Give your koi and goldfish a small amount of food. Once they’ve eaten it all, give them a little bit more. Continue this process for a total of five minutes, and then stop feeding. Skim any uneaten food from the water after five minutes.
Though not as common as overfeeding, underfeeding your koi and goldfish can also cause issues. In colder temperatures, when the metabolism of koi and goldfish naturally slows, underfeeding typically isn’t a problem. However, in warmer temperatures, underfeeding can be extremely dangerous.
In the spring and summer months, your fish can grow up to 0. 5-1” per month. Lack of growth is one obvious sign of underfeeding. A thin body, sunken eyes and stomach, dull skin, feeling tired all the time, and losing weight quickly are some of the other signs and symptoms. Follow the five-minute feeding method above to ensure you’re not underfeeding your koi and goldfish.
As a fellow koi and goldfish enthusiast I often get asked if it’s okay to feed koi the same goldfish food. While they come from the same family of fish and have some similarities, koi and goldfish do have slightly different nutritional requirements.
So should you feed your prized koi the same affordable goldfish pellets flakes and treats? Or do koi need their own special diet to thrive?
I decided to do some digging to find the answer. After researching and consulting with experienced koi keepers, here’s what I discovered about feeding koi goldfish food:
Koi and Goldfish – Close Cousins
While koi fish can grow over 3 feet long, and goldfish usually max out under 1 foot, they are still very closely related.
In fact, koi originated from colorful mutations of the wild Prussian carp, which is an Asian cousin of the goldfish. So while they have diverged over centuries of selective breeding, koi and goldfish share a common carp ancestry.
This gives them the ability to live in similar pond environments and makes them compatible as tank mates if proper space requirements are met. And it also means they can eat a lot of the same foods.
Yes, Koi Can Eat Goldfish Food
The short answer is yes, koi can eat and digest the same goldfish pellets, flakes and treats sold for pet goldfish.
Koi are not picky eaters by nature. They are opportunistic omnivores that will eat just about anything remotely edible that happens to fall into the pond. Goldfish food included.
Koi lack a stomach and their intestinal tract is shorter than many fish. So they can process a wide variety of foods, even those not specifically made for koi.
As fellow carp, koi and goldfish share similar digestive systems and nutritional needs. So goldfish food can provide basic nutrition to keep koi alive and healthy.
But There Are Some Drawbacks to Feed Goldfish Food
Just because koi can eat goldfish food doesn’t necessarily mean they should eat it as their sole diet.
There are some potential downsides to feeding koi a steady goldfish diet instead of foods formulated for koi:
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Nutritional deficiencies – Goldfish foods often contain less protein than koi foods. And protein is crucial for koi growth and development.
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Digestive issues – The starchier ingredients in some goldfish foods may cause bloating or constipation in koi.
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Small pellet size – Goldfish foods usually have smaller pellets that may be inappropriate and difficult for koi to eat properly.
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Impaired color – Koi foods contain pigments and ingredients specifically meant to enhance color that goldfish food lacks.
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Slower growth – Without optimal nutrition, koi growth and size gain may plateau below their potential.
So while goldfish food can keep koi alive, their health may be compromised long term without a diet specially formulated for koi nutritional needs.
Key Differences in Koi and Goldfish Diets
There are some key differences between foods designed for koi versus goldfish:
Protein content – Koi foods have a higher protein content, usually 28% or more, while goldfish foods are around 20-25% protein. Koi need more protein to support proper growth and their large size.
ingredients – Koi foods include color-enhancing pigments like astaxanthin, as well as immune boosters. Goldfish food is more generic.
Pellet Size – Koi pellets are usually larger to fit a koi’s big mouth, and sink faster than lightweight goldfish flakes.
Wheat sources – Koi food utilizes more easily digestible wheat gluten, while goldfish food relies on harder to digest starches like wheat flour.
Feeding frequency – Koi need to be fed daily while goldfish only require feeding 2-3 times per week.
When Goldfish Food May Work For Koi
While not ideal, feeding your koi goldfish foods once in awhile is unlikely to cause them harm. And in certain situations, using a goldfish staple food could even be warranted:
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Introducing koi to a new pond with existing goldfish.
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When gradually switching koi to their new diet over a few weeks.
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Providing variety for picky eaters reluctant to try new koi foods.
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Supplementing koi diets with occasional goldfish snacks or treats between regular koi meals.
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When koi specific foods are unavailable or too costly. Any food is better than none.
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Cooler water temperatures under 50°F when koi digestive systems work slower.
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For younger, juvenile koi that are still small.
So the verdict is you can get away with using a quality staple goldfish food to feed your koi in certain circumstances when ideal koi food is not available. But a diet specifically tailored to meet koi nutritional requirements should make up the bulk of what your koi eat for optimal health.
Tips on Feeding Koi a Goldfish Diet
If you need to feed your koi goldfish food for an extended period of time, here are some tips to make it work:
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Select a high quality goldfish pellet with at least 25% protein like Hikari Fancy Goldfish Food. Avoid flakes.
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Soak pellets in tank water first if koi are having trouble eating due to small pellet size.
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Supplement with wheat germ, meat-based foods or spirulina powder to add key nutrients goldfish food lacks.
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Feed koi daily rather than the 2-3 times per week recommendation for goldfish. Koi have higher metabolism.
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Offer a variety of goldfish foods to provide different ingredients rather than just one kind.
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Make sure water parameters and filtration meet koi requirements for waste produced by frequent feedings.
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Watch koi closely and address any signs of malnutrition like lethargy, poor coloration, lack of growth.
The Bottom Line
Can koi survive and eat goldfish food if they have to? Absolutely. But a diet specifically developed with a koi’s nutritional requirements in mind is always going to be better for their health and longevity.
Use goldfish foods just for occasional variety or temporary situations when koi food access is limited. Feed a dedicated koi diet as the regular staple whenever possible.
Your koi may survive on goldfish food alone. But they will truly thrive when their unique dietary needs are met with a koi fish diet!
Frequency of Entities:
koi: 28
goldfish: 25
food: 20
eat: 8
pond: 3
carp: 3
protein: 3
diet: 3
pellet: 3
feed: 2
✗ Feed In Cold Weather
Fish like koi and goldfish have slower metabolisms when the temperature drops. This makes it harder for them to digest food. The number of times you feed your koi and goldfish should change depending on the water temperature, but you should stop feeding them completely when the water stays below 50°F.
Since koi and goldfish have cold blood, the temperature of the water around them controls their body temperature, activity level, and metabolism. When it gets cold, your fish will enter a sleep-like state called torpor, which is similar to hibernation. Torpor makes digestion extremely difficult. If koi and goldfish are fed during this time, it can be detrimental. It might seem wrong to not feed your fish for a few months, but it won’t die of hunger. Torpor is completely normal and healthy for koi and goldfish.
✗ Let Uneaten Food Remain In The Water
When you feed your fish too much, some of the food may not get eaten and end up in the pond. If food that hasn’t been eaten is left in the water, it will break down and make the water less clean. Ammonia and nitrite levels will rise, and dissolved oxygen levels will lower. Leftover food can also clog your pond’s filter and cause it to not function as effectively.
The best way to prevent these issues is to simply avoid overfeeding. But if you give your koi and goldfish too much food by accident, all you have to do is use a pond skimmer to get rid of any pellets that are still in the water.
Keeping Goldfish and Koi Fish Together?
Do Koi eat goldfish?
Koi are not inherently aggressive towards other fish – they can however, be boisterous and may chase other fish or bump into other fish with their large bodies, which could cause harm, especially to those smaller goldfish. Koi also have the same tendencies as goldfish in their eating habits.
Is gold fish good for health?
Like any other fish, gold fish is also edible but poor in nutritional value. As gold fish is used mostly for aesthetic purposes, its habitat is mostly artificial and food consists of gross flake or pellet stuff. Thus, gold fish should be raised as a pet and not be eaten as it tastes exactly like its food.
Can koi & goldfish overfeed?
Skim any uneaten food from the water after five minutes. Though not as common as overfeeding, underfeeding your koi and goldfish can also cause issues. In colder temperatures, when the metabolism of koi and goldfish naturally slows, underfeeding typically isn’t a problem. However, in warmer temperatures, underfeeding can be extremely dangerous.
What worms do koi & goldfish eat?
A healthy diet is important, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your koi and goldfish a treat every once in a while. One of the most popular choices are worms, including freeze-dried silkworm pupae, bloodworms, and earthworms.