Assess Over (or) Underfeeding.

Feeding Time!

Overfeeding is the most common hobbyist mistake. I want you to know that there are actually people who feed their fish SEVERAL times per day, if you can believe it. I recommend feeding once, or at most, twice per day. Now, in fairness, it should be noted that you can feed up to twenty times per day if your pond can handle the waste load that comes from that. So, if you're going to feed copiously, you will have to amend your filtration in the "expensive" direction.

Over feeding manifests as cloudy water and the overgrowth of green algae in the system. It's simple to assess, really. Feed all that the fish will consume in five minutes. I usually just toss in a few pellets continually as long as fish are up eating them for five minutes. I never try to guess how much they will eat in a five minute period but prefer to give the food as the fish surface to get it.

Underfeeding manifests as fish which appear with pinched-looking heads and drawn up bellies. A fish with a large head and a thin body is usually underfed. A Koi that grows less than an inch per month is underfed, overcrowded or is not benefiting from regular water changes.

In the assessment of your feeding rates, subtract 15% from your COSS "Chances Of Success" Score - if the pond is fed three or more times per day. Conversely, add 15% to your C.O.S.S if the pond is only fed once per day. You are not an overfeeder, and this defect will not require compensation.

Go to Step Four

Supplemental Reading:

FeedingKoi.com - The What To Feed and How To Feed of the Feeding and Nutrition of Koi and Goldfish