How To Hand Feed Your Koi

One of the most fascinating aspects of keeping Koi is their total lack of fear of humans. Once the Koi fish understand that you won't harm them and that you are the one who provides dinner, they will likely eat right out of your hand with just a little training. Hand feeding koi is great fun and will greatly enhance your enjoyment of keeping these fascinating fish.

Koi are not aggressive fish. They don't have teeth, so you will not get bit if you decide to attempt to feed them out of your hand. Because of this, you can even get smaller children involved during feeding times. Small children will be delighted by the beautiful colors and gentle nature of the Koi.

Koi, like any other wild creature, will most likely show a natural fear of you in the beginning. Instincts tell them to be afraid of things they are not familiar with, which is a good thing because it helps to keep them alive in the wild. Accordingly, you must build up trust with your Koi, and this takes time and patience. You will not be able to hand feed them over night.

Koi are omnivorous fish, so they eat both meat and plants. This means that their diets allow for a lot of flexibility. The truth is that Koi will eat pretty much anything that you put in the pond with them, whether it is good for them or not. Since Koi do not have built-in common sense for what is bad and good for them, the owner is responsible for providing a proper diet.

A common issue with koi is over feeding of treats. Again, Koi do not have the knowledge to know when to stop eating, and weight issues may occur as a result of overfeeding non-nutritional foods. The healthiest treats for Koi are what they would find naturally, such as earthworms and tadpoles, but it will not hurt to offer treats such as lettuce, bread, fruit, and veggies. You'll need to be careful of certain foods such as corn, beans, and grapes. These have an outer casing which cannot be digested properly if swallowed by Koi. It's best not to feed these foods at all, but if you do, be sure to completely remove the outer casings first.

Getting Started with Training

The trick when teaching your Koi to be fed by hand is to start slow. Don't make any sudden movements as this will scare even the most trusting of fish. It is often easiest to begin hand training young fish from the very moment you get them, but it is not impossible to train a fish that you have had for awhile. Begin by placing a few pellets or snacks in your hand and lowering your hand under the water. Slowly allow the food to fall out of your hand into the water. It may not appear that the fish are paying attention, but rest assured that they are aware of your hand and are aware that your hand is providing the food. Do this consistently for a few days.

After you have dropped the food into the pond for a few days and have gained the interest of your Koi, try to make the fish remove the food from your hand. If the Koi refuse to take the food from your hand, do not feed them that day. Don't worry, your fish won't starve. You just want them to get the idea that if they want to eat, they must get the food from you. Doing this everyday will get them comfortable with you.

Once the fish are eating out of your hand, you can then encourage the Koi to eat the food directly from your fingers. If the Koi will not take the food out of your fingers, again, do not feed them that day. Food is a strong motivator, and it won't be long before the Koi are eating from your fingers as well.

Once your fish are comfortable with hand feeding, you can switch back and forth between hand feeding and regular feeding. That way when you are in a hurry, you don't have to take the time to hand feed. Also, once you get your Koi taking food from your hand, be careful when allowing visitors to feed your fish. It's important to keep an eye on children and adults alike to make sure they are offering only proper foods to your Koi.