Vitality Plus koi food with probiotics and beta-glucans

Beta-glucans are sugars extracted from the cell wall of yeasts, which the fish's body recognises and which stimulate its non-specific immune defences. Probiotics are live micro-organisms that promote a balanced intestinal flora, which improves your koi's digestion. The recipe combines fishmeal and fish oil, cereals, oilseed meals and algae, with no meat or poultry meal, for an analysis of 36.5% protein and 8.7% fat.

About 90% of the pellets float and 10% sink. Your koi therefore come to feed at the surface, which lets you watch them, while the portion that sinks benefits shyer fish and those that forage along the bottom. All three sizes come in 2 and 5 kg bags; the Medium size is also available in 0.5 kg for a trial, and the Medium and Large sizes in 9.5 kg for large ponds. Close the bag after each feed and keep it dry and cool, as the vitamins deteriorate with exposure to air and humidity.

Give Vitality Plus as soon as the water reaches 12 °C. Several small meals a day are better than one large one, and anything left after 5 minutes should be removed. Take a 15 m³ pond with 8 koi of 30 to 40 cm, about 6 kg of fish in total: in summer, at 1% of body weight per day, the ration comes to about 60 g, split into 3 meals, and a 5 kg bag in Large size then lasts nearly 3 months.

In spring, when the water rises above 12 °C again, feeding resumes in small rations, because the biological filter is restarting too. In summer, between 18 and 25 °C, your koi's appetite is at its peak and their growth at its fastest. Above 28 °C, the dissolved oxygen content falls: reduce the ration and aerate the pond. In autumn, when the water drops back below 15 °C, meals become less frequent, then a lighter food takes over, as the guide to feeding your fish in winter explains in detail.