NUTRITION
Feeding in cold weather
Numerous studies have confirmed
this to be the case, with carp requiring more feed to simply maintain themselves with increasing temperature. For example, the feed required as a percentage of body weight increases threefold between 12°C and 24°C for so-called maintenance – just keeping the body ‘ticking over’, with no apparent growth. Growth rates also increase with corresponding increases in temperature.
so how often should
we feed? Koi are adapted to feeding more-or-less constantly, and they can be found to be foraging pretty much non-stop in a typical pond, especially in warmer temperatures. For this reason, it’s best to feed ‘little and often’. They don’t have a stomach to speak of, so they aren’t able to store large meals for consumption later. Experience shows that small feeds
about three times a day is ideal. Not only does this have a beneficial effect on the fish themselves, but it can also limit the onset of pollution ‘spikes’ through the addition of infrequent,
Being poikiolothermic ectotherms, the pond’s temperature largely determines the appetite of koi, and the hobbyist needs to adjust feeding rates according to it. Below around 10°C, the appetite of koi will decrease markedly, but they should still be offered food below this, and they may feed at temperatures considerably lower. However, a ‘regular’ diet geared
towards growth, with a high protein content, should be avoided in cold weather; instead, a wheatgerm-based feed is preferable, as the cereal-derived protein content is highly digestible. This prevents protein from hanging around in the gut for too long, reducing the risk of it rotting within the fish’s digestive system, with the obvious associated health risks.
large meals. Note that this does vary, again, with temperature – frequent meals are advisable in warmer water, whereas in colder weather perhaps one feed a day is sufficient. Koi are, on the other hand, actually
extremely adaptable to a range of feeding frequencies, and they demonstrate a number of nifty physiological tricks to cope with varying conditions. When starved, for example, they reduce their metabolic rate to compensate for the decrease in feed, and they reduce their levels of protein synthesis accordingly. All things considered, koi are incredibly
All things considered, koi are incredibly tough, adaptable fish…
34 KOI CARP
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