Bag of floating wheat germ food on a white background, pellets for koi carp in cool water

Bags of Aquatic Science Wheat Germ floating food in several sizes, yellow packaging featuring a red koi carp

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

Diagram of the intestinal transit time in a cold-blooded fish: 12 to 16 hours in summer versus 36 to 48 hours in winter

Diagram showing the temperature windows for the three floating foods; only the 5 to 15 °C window is closed on both sides

Floating food for koi carp in cool water

Name: Floating food for koi carp in cool water
Brand: Aquatic Science
Price: 67.0 USD
Availability: InStock

$67.00

These 100% floating pellets of 4 to 5 mm feed koi carp and goldfish when the water sits between 5 and 15 °C, in spring as it warms and in autumn as it cools.

The formula contains 32% protein, and the resealable bag holds 5 kg.

Food format : M

Weight : 5 kg

5 kg

7/7 customer service by e-mail

Payment in instalments, free of charge

The summary

What you receive: a resealable 5 kg bag, medium pellets of 4 to 5 mm, 100% floating.
What the analysis shows: 32% protein, 9% fat, 0.9% total phosphorus.
Its feeding window: 5 to 15 °C, covering the pond's two shoulder seasons.
Why floating: you can see who's eating, and remove anything left with a net.
What else you'll need: a pond thermometer, and a set of scales for the first feed.
How it arrives: 5 kg parcel, collection point or home delivery.

100% floating pellets of 4 to 5 mm, for water temperatures of 5 to 15 °C

There is a temperature window where a growth food is no longer appropriate but stopping feeding entirely is premature. It opens twice a year: in spring as the water warms and your koi start asking for food again, then in autumn as it cools and they are still feeding. These pellets cover that window, ranging from 5 to 15 °C, in a medium 4–5 mm size and a resealable 5 kg bag.

🍂 Digestion in cool water

Koi are cold-blooded, which means the speed of their digestive tract follows that of the water around them. As the water cools, transit time increases, gastric emptying slows and digestive enzyme activity weakens. In studied fish, transit time is two to four times longer in winter than in summer. A high-energy feed given at this time spends longer in a sluggish digestive tract, and a greater proportion of its content goes unabsorbed. What is not absorbed passes back into your water and adds to the nitrogen load your filtration must then process, as described in our article on the nitrogen cycle. At 32% protein, this pellet places less digestive demand on the fish than the maintenance feed at 33.5% or the colour feed at 39.5%.

In spring

The water temperature rises back above 5 °C. Give a single, very small feed, then carry out a water test before giving a second one.

In autumn

Your koi are still feeding below 15 °C. Aim for one to three feeds per week, removed if still floating after a few minutes.

Below 5 °C

Feeding stops. Your fish live off their reserves until spring temperatures rise again.

🧪 The filter at restart

A biological filter recovers more slowly than your fish's appetite. Coming out of winter, nitrifying bacteria are still sparse, and the load you are feeding shows up in the water several days before it becomes visible on the fish. Two tests settle the question in five minutes: an ammonium test for what your fish are excreting, and a nitrite test for the intermediate stage, which lingers longest in a filter that is getting back up to speed. If either value rises, reduce the feed ration before anything else. A bacterial supplement will speed up this recovery.

Read the water and weigh the first ration

This 5 to 15 °C window refers to water temperature, not air temperature, the difference between the two can be several degrees in spring. Pick up a floating thermometer at the same time as the bag, along with a precision scale or a measuring cup to work out the first reduced ration. Above 15 °C, the pond fish food range takes over.

The pellet that stays on the surface

These pellets float completely, and that gives you direct control over feeding portions: you can see who is eating, who is ignoring the food, and you can net out anything left after five minutes. Never leave uneaten food in the pond in cool water, as it breaks down slowly and burdens a filter that is already running at reduced capacity. And never feed this food to ruminants or any other animal species, as the label states, because it contains fish meal.

🌡️ The two transitions of the year

The two windows call for different approaches, and this is what most printed calendars fail to mention. In autumn, your fish have built up reserves over the summer and the filter is still fully active, so rations can be reduced gradually, without any urgency, and feeding stops naturally on its own. In spring, the situation is reversed: the fish are lean and hungry, yet the filter has not yet recovered. Spring is therefore when mistakes prove costly, and the rule can be summed up in a single sentence, always resume feeding more slowly than your fish are demanding.

📦 The 5 kg bag

Five kilogrammes is a lot for a food distributed one to three times a week, and that is intentional. These pellets are used during two short periods each year, so a single bag generally covers both autumn and the following spring for a medium-sized pond. The bag's resealability therefore matters more here than it does with a summer food: it is worth resealing it carefully, storing it somewhere dry and frost-free, and scooping with a dry measure rather than using your hand. Wheat germ, which gives this formula its name, is valued for its digestibility in cool water, but it does not tolerate moisture once the bag has been opened.

Technical specifications

Guaranteed analysis

Crude protein: 32 %Less digestive effort at the time of year when the gut is slowest.
Crude fat: 9 %
Crude fibre: 4.4%
Mineral content: 8.4%Ash: the indigestible mineral fraction of the food.
Calcium: 1 %
Total phosphorus: 0.9%Compared with 1.3% for the colour feed and 1.6% for the sinking sturgeon feed.

Use and packaging

Temperature range: 5 to 15 °CMeasure in the water, in the morning, on several consecutive days.
Pellet behaviour: 100% floatingWhatever remains after five minutes should be removed with a net.
Particle size: 4 to 5 mm, medium sizeFor specimens of around fifteen centimetres and above.
Target species: Koi carp, goldfish
Pace in cold water: 1 to 3 feeds per weekBelow 5 °C, deliveries stop until spring.
Packaging: Resealable bag of 5 kg

Additives and composition

Vitamin A (E672): min. 8 000 UI per kg
Vitamine D3 (E671): min. 1 400 UI per kg
Vitamine E (3a700): min. 160 mg per kg
Vitamine C (3a312): min. 150 mg per kg
Declared ingredients: Cereals, oilseeds, fish, algaeCereal and oilseed by-products, fishmeal, fish oil, algae, minerals.
Wheat germ: In cereal by-productsThe regulatory category that covers it without naming it.

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

Analysis guaranteed, additives, ingredient list, the 5 to 15 °C range, and the 100% floating rate recorded on 5 September 2026 from supplier product sheets. Recommended fish size comes from resellers. Feeding frequencies and nitrogen estimates are reference figures from the shop.

Which food to use when the water is neither warm nor cold

The three floating foods in this range, ranked by the factor that matters most mid-season: water temperature, and what the portion sends back into the filter.

A cool-season feed: is it the right one for you? This formula is digested when the water is still cold, at a point where other feeds begin to put strain on a sluggish digestive tract.

	Lowest working temperature (°C)	The moment you open the bag	Time of year	Crude protein (%)	Total phosphorus (%)	Ammoniacal nitrogen per 100 g dispensed (g)	Floating portion	Size sold by us	Bag sold by us
Recommended Fresh water, 5 kgYour choice	5 °C	From snowmelt, 5 °C	Early spring and late autumn	32 %	0.9 %	3.1 g	100 %	4 à 5 mm	5 kg
Pond fish food, floating pelletsYour choice	10 °C	At resumption, 10 °C	Long growing season	33.5 %	0.99 %	3.2 g	90 %	2 to 3 mm or 4 to 5 mm	2 kg or 5 kg
Colour-enhancing food for koi carp, floating pelletsYour choice	16 °C	At peak warmth, 16 °C	Height of summer	39.5 %	1.3 %	3.8 g	90 %	4 à 5 mm	2 kg

Fresh water, 5 kgRecommended

Its temperature window

Lowest working temperature (°C)5 °C

The moment you open the bagFrom snowmelt, 5 °C

Time of yearEarly spring and late autumn

What the feed ration returns to the water

Crude protein (%)32 %

Total phosphorus (%)0.9 %

Ammoniacal nitrogen per 100 g dispensed (g)3.1 g

The pellet

Floating portion100 %

Size sold by us4 à 5 mm

Bag sold by us5 kg

Pond fish food, floating pellets

Its temperature window

Lowest working temperature (°C)10 °C

The moment you open the bagAt resumption, 10 °C

Time of yearLong growing season

What the feed ration returns to the water

Crude protein (%)33.5 %

Total phosphorus (%)0.99 %

Ammoniacal nitrogen per 100 g dispensed (g)3.2 g

The pellet

Floating portion90 %

Size sold by us2 to 3 mm or 4 to 5 mm

Bag sold by us2 kg or 5 kg

Colour-enhancing food for koi carp, floating pellets

Its temperature window

Lowest working temperature (°C)16 °C

The moment you open the bagAt peak warmth, 16 °C

Time of yearHeight of summer

What the feed ration returns to the water

Crude protein (%)39.5 %

Total phosphorus (%)1.3 %

Ammoniacal nitrogen per 100 g dispensed (g)3.8 g

The pellet

Floating portion90 %

Size sold by us4 à 5 mm

Bag sold by us2 kg

Figures guaranteed as recorded on 5 September 2026 from supplier product sheets. The range of 5 to 15 °C and the 16 °C threshold are published by the manufacturer; the 10 °C threshold comes from resellers. Ammonia nitrogen values are an upper-bound estimate for 100 g distributed per day.

Estimate your
delivery time

5 kg bag, dispatched to a collection point or to your home address, your choice at checkout. The exact amount is calculated at checkout based on the total weight of your order.

Frequently asked questions

8 questions

6 key questions, 8 in the detailed view

Why carry on feeding your koi when the water temperature has dropped to 8 or 10 °C?

Because the fish has not yet stopped feeding and its reserves are still being drawn upon. Between 5 and 15 °C a koi is still eating, just less frequently and more slowly: intestinal transit time is two to four times longer in winter than in summer, and digestive enzyme activity drops sharply outside the optimal temperature range.

What changes, therefore, is the feed given. A growth formula delivers a protein load that a sluggish digestive system can only partially process at this point, and the remainder ends up in the water. A feed with 32% protein given between 5 and 15 °C places far less demand on the digestive system at precisely the moment when it is working at its slowest.

How many feeds to give per week when the water is between 5 and 15 °C?

How do you restart feeding after winter?

Measure the temperature in the water, in the morning, over several consecutive days. One mild day is not enough to confirm a recovery.
Wait until the water stays above 5 °C without dropping back, then begin with a single, very small feed.
Carry out an ammonium test two to three days after that first feed, before offering a second one.
Then gradually increase feeding frequency rather than quantity, removing anything still floating after five minutes each time.

How can I tell if I'm giving too much?

Does this food really contain wheat germ?

Wheat germ falls under the "cereals and cereal by-products" category on the label, a regulatory grouping that covers it without naming it explicitly.

Category labelling is standard practice for animal feed, and it applies across the entire pond range. What is guaranteed for this product comes down to three points: the 5 to 15 °C temperature range, 32% protein content, and 100% floating pellets.

My biological filter didn't restart in spring: can I feed the fish anyway?

Feed sparingly, and measure before increasing. Nitrifying bacteria restart more slowly than the fish's appetite, and the load distributed reads in the water several days before it shows on the fish.

Two tests are enough to judge: an ammonium test for what the fish are excreting, and a nitrite test for the intermediate stage of nitrification, the one that lingers longest when a filter is restarting. An addition of bacteria speeds up this recovery.

Should you stop feeding when the fish stop asking for food?

Yes, and there is no need to encourage them to feed. Loss of appetite is gradual, and feeding stops entirely well before the critical temperature is reached. This is a perfectly normal regulatory response.

In practice: offer a small handful, wait five minutes, and if it is still floating, remove it and do not try again for several days. The 100% floating nature of the pellet makes this test cost-free, as nothing that has not been eaten will go unnoticed.

Can this feed be mixed with another from the same range?

There is nothing against it, and this is indeed common practice during the two or three weeks of transition, when the water crosses the 15 °C mark in one direction or the other depending on the day. Gradually reduce the proportion of the richer food as the temperature drops, rather than switching bags overnight.

There is one limitation, however: mixing feeds makes the ration impossible to interpret. If you no longer know exactly what you have given, you cannot draw any conclusions from your water test results. During a spring start-up, one food and one variable is far the better approach.

How much to feed, and how long does a 5 kg bag last

Enter your fish biomass, that is the sum of their weights. The calculator uses 1% of that biomass per meal, the upper feeding limit commonly published for koi carp in the upper part of the 12 to 15 °C window. The colder the water, the further below this ceiling you should go, and the longer you should space out meals.

Total biomass of your fish

1 kg60 kg

0g per meal

One meal's ration, the upper limit set for water at 12 to 15 °C. Only give what disappears in under five minutes.

Monthly consumption at two meals per week

0 g per month

The 1% ceiling comes from figures commonly published for koi carp and stays below the 1.5 to 2% of biomass maximum cited by the FAO for common carp in ponds. The monthly consumption figure assumes two feeds per week, a mid-season rhythm: it has no relevance in summer. The rule that overrides any calculation remains the five-minute rule.

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Floating food for koi carp in cool water

The summary