It is hard to believe that any fish can have personalities but in the case of Koi, they really do. These feeding times are great opportunities for the Koi-keeper to get to know their fish, as well as being a good time to inspect them for signs of disease, injury and overall health.The first rule of Koi training is patience and so is the second rule and the third. Koi will not eat out of your hand straight away. It may take a week or it may take two weeks but it will not happen overnight. Their natural fear of anything that might hurt them is too great to be overcome immediately. Trust will take time to build up. Never make any sudden moves as this will frighten even the most trusting of fish.
If you can, start the training from the first time you feed the new fish because it will be easier but the technique can also be applied to existing fish.
Let the Koi get used to your presence first of all. Some Koi are so timid that they will not even surface to eat if anything unfamiliar is around. Therefore, crouch down and just wait next to the Koi fish pond until they eventually come up to eat the food you have thrown onto the water. Do this at the same time in the same spot every day and gradually they will get used to you being there. In due course, you may very well find the fish waiting for you near the water surface as feeding time approaches.Once the Koi are used to your presence, the next step is to take some food into your hand and slowly submerge the hand in the water. Let a few pellets drop out through your fingers at a time until all the food have been released and you have fed the Koi their normal amount.
At first, the fish will appear to ignore you but it only takes one or two bold fish to eventually swim over and start eating before more and more fish arrive to join in and do the same. Repeat this exercise at every feed for several days.
After that, you can move to the next stage which is to put some food pellets in a slightly cupped hand and slowly submerge the hand in the water and wait. Maybe let a few pellets escape. Again, remember not to make any sudden movements. Your patience will be rewarded when at least one Koi eventually swim over and start eating out of your hand. As more fish join in, let your hand submerge slightly deeper.
Do not worry if none of the fish eat from your hand in the beginning. Let them miss a meal and just try again at the next feed. The Koi will not starve. In fact, they will be more motivated to feed from your hand next time if they are a little hungry. Once trained, you can always swap hand feeding your beloved Koi to normal feeding on occasions when you are busy.
Back to Homepage: 'Building a Koi Pond'