Most koi will enjoy watermelon, peas, and oranges. My fish were afraid of the watermelon the first time I put it in, but now they know what it is and gather at the edge waiting for me to get a string on it. Some people cut a one inch section down through the center of the melon (like a donut), remove the seeds, and set it in the pond. Cut like that, it will float, and they will eventually check it out and start tasting it. The fish seem to enjoy pushing it around the pond.

I've never tried anything else except peas. They love peas. Some people use frozen peas, cooked and cooled, then squeeze the soft part out of the hull. I use canned peas, which tend to be softer, and I don't "peel" those.

Only give these items as an occasional treat, though, and always remove the left-overs.

All fish do good with some greens once every few months. It helps thier digestive systems. I learned this years ago with my tank fish. I put about a half can/jar in the pond at one end. They love it!

As kids we would use corn as bait when fishing for carp so I gave my wife's koi some corn and they went wild. She had been giving them peas occasionally so I tried mixing peas and corn. They sort out most of the corn first.

hehehe corn sounds great. i tried the peas this morning and they just spit them back out. i tried a nectorine also, same thing. i'm going out in just a bit. this time i'm going to try a banana.. hehehe.. i will just keep trying diffrent stuff. i think it may be healthy for them to eat fruits and veggies. is that correct??? i really want them to be healthy and happy.

i'm going to get some koi clay this week this should help them be healthy. and due to my very soft watter i keep ck on the testing and i add ph buffer and stablizer alot. good bacteria too. but i 'm getting alot of green growning on the plants, the rocks, and the liner. is this normal?? it is not like string algae. but it is sort of slimmy.

my filter keeps getting alot of slimmy brown stuff in it so i clean it out every few days??? any idea if this is good to do.. thanks a bunch.. laura

I give my koi watermelon,canteloupe, honeydew melon, grapefruit, oranges and zucchini. I peel the zuchinni and slice it lengthwise. They like the zucchini the best.

When I amke the homemade food Lisa (Goodkarma) posted the recipe for I add carrots and either peas or broccoli.

Jenny

thank you so very much. i need to find that recipie. i tried a bannana today they seemed to like that. but i just tried a few very small pieces. i bought them some watermellon to give them tomarrow. i so hope they like it..

Sometimes Koi will act afraid of fruit and veggies if they are not used to them. A good way to introduce it is to include it with their normal feedings vs giving it alone. Mine love melons, broccoli, strawberries, ect.

The best way I get a good mix of fruit and veggies in my guys is to make their own food. Today I added broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, strawberries, blueberries, seaweed, spirilina and a powder supplement mix (about 3 oz) of 50 vegetables and fruit to their fish,shrimp,egg and wheatgerm base. Seriously- you guys have got to try baking your own fish food, even if just for treats. It is amazing how well they grow and how much they love home cooking.

Lisa

oh my gosh goodkarma, plz tell me more that sounds so healthy and fun for the koi. i would love to start making my own food for them. how do you make it. thanks so very much

Hi loriques:

Below please find the link to Goodkarma's koi food recipe. This food is well worth the effort it takes to make. In the past I always fed my fish cheerios and on occassion some fruit. Even though they were going on four years old their growth seemed to be stunted. I just can believe how big and beautiful they have gotten after making this homemade recipe. Maybe the homemade food is the reason I had hundreds of grandkoi this spring!!! lol

I always make a double batch and freeze some. I add a whole peeled orange when I am grinding up the spirulina tablets that I buy at the health food store. In addition to the homemade food I supplement them with Hikari Gold during the summer till the temps drop. Then I feed them the Hikari winter food till the water temp drops below 55. With the economic state of the US today many people have given up on ponding and are resorting to pondless waterfalls. A lot of the major pet food chains have stopped selling the Hikari food, or have done away with their pond supplies entirely in Ohio which is why I value this recipe. I have a feeling people are going to give up watergardening/ponding entirely if the economy doesn't pick up soon.

Jenny

Here is a link that might be useful: Goodkarma's Koi food recipe

thank you so much jenny, i'm most definatly going to make my fish some.. big hugs laura

i just tried peas.. oh my gosh how they loved them. it is so cool to see them eating healthy foods..

What about wheatgrass (young sprouted wheat)? I start a little periodically for the cats by using a small piece of filter pad sitting in a little water (no soil or anything) and it sprouts & grows 4 or 5 inches before the cats mow it down. Is there any reason that this wouldn't be a good treat for the koi ( weight down the piece of filter pad or hang it plant side down in the water)? Thanks for any input. PS wheat for sprouting is inexpensive at the feed or health food store.

Hey guys, BTW I love this tread, I've always wondered the different things to feed koi. In my experience, Koi love watermellon, I have seen videos of people hand feeding their koi with a slice of watermellon. I've heard they like grapes, you have to slice them in half. In my experience, my koi, under one foot lenght wont touch it. Another great food I found they like is spinach and swiss chard. I found with it cooked a bit amd small pieces. Last, Ive also feed my fish cooked green beans in small pieces. My father has a vegetable garden, its kind of funny how the koi enjoy it now too.