2 kg bag of Aquatic Science Excellent Color medium granules 4 to 5 mm, on a white background

The four sizes of Excellent Color by Aquatic Science — 0.5 kg, 2 kg, 5 kg and 9.5 kg — on a white background

Koi carp rising to the surface in a garden pond at feeding time

Hand-feeding floating pellets at the edge of a pond, with a koi coming to take them at the surface.

The three Aquatic Science pellet sizes: small 2 to 3 mm, medium 4 to 5 mm and large 6 to 7 mm, matched to fish size

Bag of Aquatic Science Excellent Color food on a white background, red and white koi carp printed on the front

Excellent Color range from Aquatic Science, four bags lined up in order of volume on a white background

Three Aquatic Science calibration tablets, S, M and L, with the pellet sizes and minimum fish length

Aquatic Science comparison table: All Seasons, Vitality Plus, Excellent Color and Champion Growth rated on growth, immunity and colour

Continuation of the Aquatic Science comparison table with Wheat Germ Floating, Wheat Germ Sinking and Sinking feeds

Colour-enhancing food for koi carp, floating pellets

Name: Colour-enhancing food for koi carp, floating pellets
Brand: Aquatic Science
Price: 7400.0 JPY
Availability: InStock

¥7,400

These 4 to 5 mm floating pellets feed koi carp when the water temperature exceeds 16 °C. The medium size is intended for fish of around fifteen centimetres and above.

The formula contains 39.5% protein, with astaxanthin declared at 15 mg per kg and a probiotic. The resealable bag weighs 2 kg.

Food format : M

Weight : 2 kg

2 kg

7/7 customer service by e-mail

Payment in instalments, free of charge

The summary

What you receive: a 2 kg bag, medium pellets of 4 to 5 mm, 90% floating.
What's in it: 39.5% protein, 8.5% fat, astaxanthin, probiotic, vitamins.
When to use it: above 16 °C, during breeding, after treatment, before a show.
How long it lasts: approximately ten days for 10 kg of fish, a good month for 3 kg.
What else you'll need: a pond thermometer, and a set of scales to weigh out the ration.
How it arrives: 2 kg parcel, collection point or home delivery, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Floating pellets of 4 to 5 mm to enhance koi colour in summer

These 4 to 5 mm floating pellets are the warm-season food. Feed them from 16 °C onwards, when your koi's metabolism is at its peak and digestion keeps pace. The 2 kg bag contains a medium pellet, intended for fish of around fifteen centimetres and above. It floats at 90 %, so the fish come to collect it at the surface: you can see who is eating and who is not, and you can stop feeding before any surplus sinks to the bottom.

🎨 What astaxanthin does

The label declares astaxanthin at 15 mg per kg, under additive code 2a161j. This carotenoid binds into the skin and revives the reds and oranges of a koi carp. Allow eight weeks of continuous feeding before assessing any change, as colour cannot be recovered in a single bag. A pigment enhances what your fish already carries, it cannot give it a colouration it does not have. Also included is a probiotic, Bacillus subtilis at 10 billion CFU per kg, declared as a zootechnical additive.

🌞 Above 16 degrees

The feeding window opens at 16 °C and closes again as the water cools. Measure it in the water, in the morning, not in the air. Between 12 and 16 °C, switch to a floating maintenance food, then below 12 °C use a cold-water food, one to three times a week, and below 8 °C stop feeding altogether. In the height of summer, offer two to four small feeds per day rather than one large one, since a short digestive tract handles small, repeated meals far more efficiently.

Three common warm-season mistakes

Do not overfeed at the spring restart: a pond turning green and a filter becoming overloaded almost always trace back to this, as our article on green pond water explains. Do not keep an opened bag from one season to the next, as fish oil oxidises in light and heat. And never feed this food to ruminants or any other animal species, as the label states, because it contains fish meal.

A thermometer decides which bag to open

This entire schedule comes down to a single degree, and air temperature can be several degrees off in spring and autumn. A floating thermometer checked each morning tells you which of the three bags to open, at a cost that bears no comparison to that of a wasted bag. The maintenance and cold-water formulas are available alongside this one in the pond fish food collection, so a single order covers the whole year.

This pellet is not a growth food in disguise, and that distinction is worth making before you buy. A growth formula targets weight gain in young fish and is assessed over a few weeks on the scales. This one targets the colouration of an already mature fish and is assessed at the end of the season, by colour. Feeding a pigmented food to young fish still in the growing phase therefore produces nothing visible, whereas giving it to well-fed adult koi delivers its full effect.

🌿 In ponds and in aquaponics

With 39.5% protein, this pellet is richer than maintenance feed at 33.5% and freshwater feed at 32%. Every extra percentage point of protein translates directly into nitrogen in your water, and its 1.3% total phosphorus also feeds algae in a pond that receives a great deal of sun. Any pellet that goes uneaten sinks, decomposes on the bottom, and adds to the load your filtration has to handle. That is why you should remove refusals with a net, and monitor your water with an ammonium test during the weeks following a bag change, as our article on the nitrogen cycle describes.

📦 Opening and storage

A 2 kg bag represents roughly six weeks' feeding for around ten adult koi at the height of the season, which is approximately how long it retains its qualities once opened. Carotenoids and fish oils are the two most fragile components, and both deteriorate in light and heat, precisely the conditions found in a poolside shed in summer. Close the bag after every use, store it somewhere cool and dry, and scoop with a cup rather than your hand. A colour-enhancing food that has lost its freshness will still feed your fish, but it can no longer deliver on the promise you bought it for.

Technical specifications

The essentials

Pellet type: Floating, 90% statedThe fraction that sinks is taken at mid-depth.
Particle size: 4 to 5 mm, medium sizeAn oversized pellet gets spat out; an undersized one forces the fish to take too many bites.
Crude protein: 39.5%Compared with 33.5% for the maintenance feed and 32% for the cold-water feed.
Crude fat: 8.5%
Minimum temperature: 16 °CBelow this threshold, digestion slows and a less rich food takes over.
Packaging: Resealable bag of 2 kgApproximately 10 days for 10 kg of fish at a 2% daily ration.

Analytical composition

Crude fibre: 3.2%
Mineral content: 9.6%
Calcium: 1.5%
Total phosphorus: 1.3%Compared to 0.9% for cold-water feed: this is what returns to the water.
Sodium: 0.35%
Ingredients: Cereals, oilseeds, fish, algaeCereals and oilseed by-products, fish meal and fish oil, algae, minerals.

Declared additives

Vitamin A (E672): min. 10 000 IU per kg
Vitamine D3 (E671): min. 1 750 UI per kg
Vitamine E (3a700): min. 275 mg per kg
Vitamine C (3a312): min. 575 mg per kg
Astaxanthine (2a161j): 15 mg per kgColourant, the pigment declared on the label.
Probiotic: Bacillus subtilisZootechnical additive, 10 billion CFU per kg.

To budget for separately

Pond thermometer: 1 floating thermometer
Feeding dose: 1 set of scales or a measuring jug

12 further specifications are available in the detailed view.

In the box

1 resealable bag of 2 kg of medium floating pellets, 4 to 5 mm
1 manufacturer label: composition, analysis, batch number, and best-before date

Analysis, additives and composition recorded on 5 September 2026 from supplier product descriptions. Buoyancy, recommended fish size and feeding rates are guidelines from retailers and the shop.

Which pond food to choose according to the season

This feed compared to the three other pond products: warm-season maintenance, cold water, and the pond bottom.

Is colour-enhancing food the right choice right now? A pond food is chosen first by water temperature, then by what you expect from it, then by the feeding level at which your fish eat.

	Recommended Colour food, 2 kgYour choice	Pond fish food, floating pelletsYour choice	Floating food for koi carp in cool waterYour choice	Sinking food for sturgeon and bottom-feeding fishYour choice
When to use it
Minimum recommended temperature	16 °C	10 °C	5 °C	cold water
Typical season	Midsummer	Spring to autumn	Late autumn and mild winter	Year-round in cold water
Who it's for	Koi you want to be more colourful	All pond fish	Koi being prepared for winter	Sturgeon and bottom-dwelling fish
The pellet
Floating	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Size available from us	4 à 5 mm	2 to 3 mm or 4 to 5 mm	4 à 5 mm	4 à 5 mm
The formula
Crude protein (%)	39.5 %	33.5 %	32 %	47 %
Crude fat (%)	8.5 %	8.9 %	9 %	13 %
Probiotics	Yes	No	No	No
What the formula provides	Colour, immunity, digestibility	Digestibility, all fish	Cold digestion	Stability in water
The price
Price	¥7,400	¥4,700	¥10,500	¥5,000
Bag sold	2 kg	2 kg or 5 kg	5 kg	2 kg

Colour food, 2 kgRecommended

When to use it

Minimum recommended temperature16 °C

Typical seasonMidsummer

Who it's forKoi you want to be more colourful

The pellet

FloatingYes

Size available from us4 à 5 mm

The formula

Crude protein (%)39.5 %

Crude fat (%)8.5 %

ProbioticsYes

What the formula providesColour, immunity, digestibility

The price

Bag sold2 kg

Pond fish food, floating pellets

When to use it

Minimum recommended temperature10 °C

Typical seasonSpring to autumn

Who it's forAll pond fish

The pellet

FloatingYes

Size available from us2 to 3 mm or 4 to 5 mm

The formula

Crude protein (%)33.5 %

Crude fat (%)8.9 %

ProbioticsNo

What the formula providesDigestibility, all fish

The price

Bag sold2 kg or 5 kg

Floating food for koi carp in cool water

When to use it

Minimum recommended temperature5 °C

Typical seasonLate autumn and mild winter

Who it's forKoi being prepared for winter

The pellet

FloatingYes

Size available from us4 à 5 mm

The formula

Crude protein (%)32 %

Crude fat (%)9 %

ProbioticsNo

What the formula providesCold digestion

The price

Bag sold5 kg

Sinking food for sturgeon and bottom-feeding fish

When to use it

Minimum recommended temperaturecold water

Typical seasonYear-round in cold water

Who it's forSturgeon and bottom-dwelling fish

The pellet

FloatingNo

Size available from us4 à 5 mm

The formula

Crude protein (%)47 %

Crude fat (%)13 %

ProbioticsNo

What the formula providesStability in water

The price

Bag sold2 kg

Rates and specifications recorded on 5 September 2026 from supplier data sheets. The 16 °C threshold and the 5 to 15 °C range are published by the manufacturer; the 10 °C threshold comes from resellers.

Product videos

The Aquatic Science pond food range in store

All Seasons, the maintenance feed from the same range

Estimate your
delivery time

2 kg bag, dispatched to a collection point or to your door — your choice at checkout. The exact delivery cost is calculated in your basket based on the total weight of your order.

Frequently asked questions

8 questions

6 key questions, 8 in the detailed view

From what water temperature can this feed be given?

How many pellets to feed per day according to water temperature?

The daily ration is calculated as a percentage of your fish's total body weight:

Water temperature	Daily ration	For 10 kg of fish
15 to 18 °C	approximately 1%	100 g
18 to 21 °C	approximately 1.5%	150 g
21 to 23 °C	approximately 2%	200 g
23 to 27 °C	up to 3%	300 g

These are the figures commonly published for koi carp. The rule that takes priority remains: only feed what is consumed in under five minutes. To estimate your fish's weight, see our koi carp guide.

How many feeds per day should you give?

What pigments does this food contain?

How do you switch from summer food to winter food?

Is the 4 to 5 mm pellet suitable for my fish?

The bag sold here contains a medium pellet. Each size corresponds to a fish size:

Size	Pellet	Fish from
Small	2 to 3 mm	7 cm
Medium	4 to 5 mm	15 cm
Large	6 to 7 mm	25 cm

For small goldfish, this pellet size is too large. For sturgeon, a sinking, higher-protein feed is required — that is what the sinking sturgeon food is for.

How long does an opened bag of koi food keep?

Can this feed be used in an aquaponic system?

Yes, provided you remain strict about portion size. The predominantly floating nature of this food is an advantage here: you can see what is left and remove it before it sinks to the bottom.

Anything that is not eaten converts to ammonium and then to nitrates and will eventually show up in your water tests — our article on the nitrogen cycle in aquaponics covers this in detail.

Estimate your koi's daily feeding ration

Enter the total biomass of your fish, that is the sum of their weights. The calculator uses a feeding rate of 2% of biomass per day, the figure commonly published for water between 21 and 23 °C, the temperature range where Excellent Color performs best. Adjust accordingly based on your thermometer reading.

Total biomass of your fish

1 kg60 kg

0g per day

Total daily ration, to be split into several small feeds, for water at 21 to 23 °C.

Consumption over a full month at this ration

0 2 kg bags

These feeding guidelines are those commonly published for koi carp. Below 16 °C, Excellent Color is no longer the appropriate food. The overriding rule remains to feed only what is consumed within five minutes.

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Colour-enhancing food for koi carp, floating pellets

The summary