What Do Koi Eat? A Complete Feeding Guide
Koi are omnivores — they'll happily eat both plant and animal foods. In a healthy pond, a quality staple pellet does most of the work, with the occasional treat for variety. Here's the full picture.
What koi eat in the wild
Wild and pond koi forage constantly. Left to their own devices they eat insects and their larvae, worms, small crustaceans, snails, algae, and soft aquatic plants — plus seeds and bits of organic matter they sift from the bottom. That omnivorous appetite is why they adapt so well to prepared foods.
What to feed koi in a pond
A balanced, quality pellet should be the foundation of the diet — it delivers consistent protein, fats, vitamins and minerals that scraps can't. Choose by your goal:
- Everyday staple — balanced nutrition to feed year-round.
- Color-enhancing — carotenoids (astaxanthin, spirulina) that deepen reds.
- Growth — higher protein for size in warm water.
- Wheat germ — easy-digest food for cooler weather.
Browse all options in our koi food collection.
Treats koi love (in moderation)
Koi enjoy a surprising range of human foods as occasional treats — keep them to roughly 10% of the diet and skip anything high in carbs or salt:
- Leafy greens — lettuce, spinach, kale
- Fruit — watermelon, orange segments, sliced grapes
- Shelled peas and cooked, de-shelled shrimp
Skip bread and starchy human food. Koi digest it poorly, it offers little nutrition, and uneaten scraps quickly foul your water.
Feeding changes with the seasons
Koi are cold-blooded, so water temperature — not the calendar — sets their appetite. They eat heavily in warm water and barely at all in the cold. See our feeding-by-temperature guide for the full chart, including when to stop in winter.
How much to feed
Follow the 5-minute rule: offer only what your koi finish in about five minutes, a few small meals a day in warm weather, and skim off anything left over.
