Find here the essentials and best sellers for our pond owners.
Find here the essentials and best sellers for our pond owners.
How do I choose a good food for my koi carp? How do I choose food for my fish? Today, we are going to take stock of the different fish foods according to their quality. To select a food, there are several criteria to take into account: the type of fish, the season, the protein level. We invite you to consult the page dedicated to food with several solutions to find the right food (filters by brand, by fish size, by fish, etc.).
In supermarkets, you are often offered low-end food because, obviously, it is very attractive from a budget point of view. Most supermarkets offer sticks and flakes. We advise you to use much more qualitative fish food in granules. There are a multitude of brands on the market:
At Foudebassin, we have for several years tested several types of food with our customers. We have selected 3 major brands that we have been offering for several years: hikari, ichi food & aquifood.
Now, we also know that what is cheap does not necessarily rhyme with quality. So let's see what low-end food for koi carp entails.
First, low-end food can be viewed purely from an aesthetic point of view. The producers will therefore put granules of different colors to make it more pleasant to see. And yet, they are exactly the same pellets. Except that we added dyes to make it look like different foods depending on the color of the pellets.
Second point to take into account: the quality of the proteins. Low-end foods are made with protein from poultry, feathers, chicken carcasses and stuff like that. The difference with premium foods ? We will rather be entitled to fish-based proteins.
Then we have the vitamins. Unlike higher range foods, lower range foods contain few vitamins. However, these are synonymous with good health for the fish and, by extension, for the balance of their immune system.
Our fourth point is directed towards the mineral elements that fish need. Sure, cheap food won't kill your fish. They will live and grow properly, however they will quickly lose their colors.
And for good reason, a deficiency in mineral elements such as carotene and spirulina exactly this result. It is therefore important that these contributions are substantial in quantity so that the koi carp can keep and develop their colors.
At the same time, we must not forget an essential quality of fish food. With low end food, fish will generally eat two to four times as much as higher end food. Why ? Because in the dry matter there are fewer nutrients.
Also, in order to get the elements it needs for its survival, the fish will have to eat more pellets. And he will eat even more with low-end food! As a result, they will also produce a lot more droppings. They will therefore soil their water much more quickly, even until they clog your filters.
Finally, there is another very important parameter: the buoyancy and the rate of decomposition of the food. When you feed your koi carp, this food must leave within 5 minutes.
Inexpensive pellets stand out with their very fast decomposition time. They will very quickly take on water, and become a kind of mash that will contribute to soiling your pond.
=> Discover the fish food selector here.
Generally speaking, quality food will float longer, and produce fewer pollutants. A better range of food will provide lots of vitamins and protein to the fish. By doing a little analysis, we will realize that the fish will eat less pellets by taking quality food.
All this to say that, all in all, eating quality food doesn't necessarily cost more. On the contrary, you can even gain on future maintenance and a better quality of life for the fish.
If you have any questions or other opinions, feel free to leave a comment! We will be happy to provide further explanations.
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