Handfeeding Koi

You'll need patience to train your koi to eat from your hand. Wild animals have a natural fear of anything that they feel may hurt them. Since you're a lot bigger than they are, the koi will see you as a threat at first. Just be patient in your training, and they'll soon overcome their fear, just as other animals will do.

It is easiest to train the fish, if you start the training from the very beginning. You can train fish that you have had in your pond for a while, but it is a lot easier to train them if you start the training with the first feeding.

Normally, when you feed fish, you would scatter the food on top of the water. Don't do this. You want to train the fish to eat from your hand, not from the surface of the pond. Kneel down next to the pond with a feed bag, and place a few pellets in your hand. Submerge your hand into the water, and let the pellets fall out slowly. The fish may seem to be ignoring you, but they know that you're there with your hand in the water, and they know that the food is there. Keep on doing this every time that you feed them.

Over time, one or two fish will swim up and eat. The rest of the fish will soon follow. Continue to slowly drop pellets into the water, until you've fed them the normal amount of food. Keep doing this for about a week.

After a week, kneel next to the pond with the feed bag, as you did the previous week. Instead of dropping the pellets slowly from your hand, hold the pellets in your palm. Keep your hand steady, and wait. Eventually the fish will come over and eat from your hand. Be sure not to make any quick movements, or you'll just scare the fish. Remove your empty hand, and repeat the process until you've fed the fish their normal amount. If the fish refuse to eat from your hand, then don't feed them. One day without food won't harm them, and it will teach them that if they don't eat from your hand, they won't get fed.

After you've gotten the fish to eat out of your palm, then you can teach the fish to take the food from your fingertips. Take a pellet between your fingertips, and place your hand in the water. Eventually, the boldest fish will approach to eat, and others will follow. Again, if they won't take the food, then let them miss a meal.

Once the fish are eating from your hand, then you can alternate between handfeeding and regular feeding. Having the fish eating out of your hand is a great way to interact with your koi.

About the Author
Tim is the webmaster of Water Gardens & Fountains, a great resource for water gardening enthusiasts.

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