What nutrition should contain of koi fish food?

It is very important when you will arrange food for koi fish. Foods should contains various elements that needed by koi fish, such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which are essential for koi fish to maintain healthy bodies, grow and reproduce. What these elements are and why they are important components of food to koi fish?

1. Proteins, are made up of amino acids. Thirteen essential amino acids should be included in any fish diet, although there are about 20 found in natural proteins. An adequate diet contains sufficient quantities of both essential and nonessential amino acids to allow the koi fish to grow, repair damaged tissue and produce either eggs or sperm. Deficiency of protein or any of the essential amino acids causes koi fish to grow more slowly. Proteins in corn, soy or wheat are very different from proteins in a feed ingredient like shrimp or blood meal. Corn protein may be VERY heavy in Leucine or Lysine. While shrimp meal may be heavy in sulfur containing amino acids and very low in Lysine. Therefore, the best way is use both foods to make protein content balance and complete. At the same time, plant proteins can contribute needed energy in the form of carbohydrates. They may also bring fiber to the equation.
2. Fats, provide a source of energy to koi fish; their important role is in providing fattyacids, such as triglyceride and phospholipids; vital components of membranes surrounding all cell walls. koi fish can make almost all of the fatty acids they need with the exceptions of linoleic and linolenic acids, which are essential and must be provided in the food. Linolenic acids are required for growth.
3. Carbohydrates, also form a source of energy for koi fish but fish metabolize them less readily than omnivorous birds or mammals. Too much carbohydrate is very bad for koi fish health, resulting in either degeneration of the liver or an excessive storage of these substances as glycogen, leading ultimately to heart failure.
4. Vitamins, are essential for the normal metabolism and growth of koi fish, and requirements of some are increased during spawning. Vitamins are complex-structured substances, needed in only small amounts in the diet, but deficiencies can cause clinical disorders.
5. Minerals, aid basic metabolic functions, as well as performing their own duties, which include building skeletal structures, osmoregulation, building of nerves, and maintaining the efficiency of gaseous exchange in the blood system. Normally 12 percent of the diet is made up of minerals, being contained in fish food in the form of ash.


See also Koi Fish Tips for more information...