One of the best features of Koi is their lack of fear for humans. Once the Koi
understand that you are not going to harm them, and that you are the one who
provides them food, they will likely eat right out of your hand with the right
training. Hand feeding can be one of the funniest and most entertaining
experiences.
Koi are none-aggressive fish. Koi do not have teeth, so you will not get bit if
you decide to attempt to feed your Koi out of your hand. This even allows you to
get smaller children involved. Smaller children will be delighted by the
beautiful colors and gentle nature of the Koi.
Koi, like any other wild animal, will naturally be afraid of you in the
beginning. Instincts tell them to be afraid of you, which is what keeps them
alive in the wild. You must build up trust with your Koi, and this takes time
and patience. You will not be able to hand feed over night.
Koi are omnivorous fish, which means they will eat both meat and plants. This
means that their diets are very versatile. Koi will eat pretty much anything
that you put in the pond with them, no matter if it is good for them or not.
Since Koi do not have a sense of what is bad and good for them, as their owner
you must control their snack diet. Another potential problem is over feeding
treats. Again, Koi do not have the knowledge to know when to stop eating, and
weight issues may come from overfeeding none nutritional foods. The healthiest
treats for Koi are what they would find naturally in their ponds, such as
earthworms and tadpoles, but it will not hurt to feed Koi treats such as
lettuce, bread, fruit, and veggies. You should pay special attention to the
certain foods such as corn, beans, and grapes, as they contain an outer casing,
which cannot be properly digested if swallowed by Koi. If you must feed this
type of foods to your Koi, be sure to completely remove the outer casings before
giving it to your Koi.
The trick is to start slow. Never make any sudden movements, as this will scare
even the most trusting of fish. It will be best to begin hand training your fish
from the very moment you get them, but it is not impossible to train a fish that
you have had for awhile either. Begin by placing a few pellets or snacks in your
hand and submerging your hand under water. Slowly allow the food to fall out of
your hand into the water. The Koi may not seem to be paying by attention, but
rest assured that they are aware of your hand, and are aware that you hand is
providing the food. Do this for a couple of days.
After you have dropped the food into the pond for a couple of days, and have
gained the interest of your Koi, begin making 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. You will not stare your fish in this process. They will quickly 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 you have the fish eating out of your hand, then you can start getting your
Koi to eat the food directly from your fingers. If the Koi will not take the
food out of your fingers, do not feed them that day. Food is your number one
motivator when it comes to wild animals, and no fish will simply stare itself
because it is unsure of the situation.
Once your fish are comfortable with hand feeding, you can alternate between hand
are regular feeding. If you are in a rush, there is no reason to attempt 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. Always supervise children
and adults alike, making sure that they are feeding the fish proper foods, and
not making any sudden movements that will scare the fish.