Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

My koi had babies. What food should I give them? Smaller pellets?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Fish | Unknown - Fish

My koi fish in the dam just had babies. What food must I give them? Must I give them smaller fish pallets or must I just continue with the fish pallets that I'm currently giving them?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on August 21st, 2018

Koi fry can be fed daphnia, brine shrimp (live or freeze dried), krill or hard boiled eggs ( remove the yolk, blend, mix with water and pour into the tank). Feed them multiple times a day. Once they grow some, you can switch to "fry powder". This is basically finely ground koi pellets.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 8th, 2018

    At 7 days of age you can start feeding a special Koi fry food consisting of fine powder pellets. As they grow you can gradually increase the size of pellets. Be sure to only feed special Koi food with high protein content. Do not over feed. Your fish should eat as much as they can consume in about 1-2 minutes 4 times a day.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
We unexpectedly had baby koi after both parents had died. We watched pregnancy and fertilization, but both parents then died for unknown reasons. What do we feed the babies- they are about 3 inches long.
At 7 days of age you can start feeding a special Koi fry food consisting of fine powder pellets. As they grow you can gradually increase the size of pellets. Be sure to only feed special Koi food with high protein content. Do not over feed. Your fish should eat as much as they can consume in about 1-2 minutes 4 times a day.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I just got a baby betta fish the other day and I have these little fish food pellets. I wanna know how many times I need to feed him and how many pellets should I give him?
Bettas are carnivores and need food high in protein. There are many foods available for your betta that can be bought at your local fish store or cultivated at home. Here’s a quick list to get you started. Remember that like people, a variety of foods allows your fish to get a balanced diet. *Frozen or live bloodworms or bloodworms in gel *Frozen or live brine shrimp or brine shrimp in gel *Frozen or live daphnia *Frozen glass worms *Frozen beef heart (can be purchased at your supermarket or butcher) *Frozen tubifex worms (live tubifex often carry parasites or bacteria and is better avoided) *Frozen mysis shrimp *Live white worms *Live grindal worms *Live flightless or wingless fruit flies *Live black worms. Frozen foods should not be confused with freeze-dried. Freeze-dried foods may cause digestion problems leading to more serious medical issues when fed in excess. If possible, try to avoid feeding dried pellets, flake or freeze-dried food. Some foods are marketed as “For Bettas”
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I found really small fish in a freshwater pond and dont know what to fees them . What should i do ?
You can try feeding them commercial fish food or meal works from your local pet store. If you would like a consult, you can provide pictures and we can give you a better idea of what kinds of fish they are and if they have special requirements for their diet. Hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hello. My betta fish is a baby and I don't know how much to feed her. Whenever I go over to her tank, she swims around and begs for food. I don't know how much I should feed her. I feed her on flake once a day everyday. Should I be feeding her more?
While she is a baby, you can feed her twice a day. Only feed as much as she can eat in a minute or two. If you feed too much the feed will fall to the ground and then contaminate the water.Later, when she is grown up you can change to feeding her once a day. Your fish figured out that you feed her when you come near the tank, So it is fairly normal for her to beg.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I was wondering on how I could safely move my koi fish into my home for the winter with a tank. I have two koi that are about five inches long. We weren't shure how big of a tank to get , how to feed them , and how to keep the water clean. Help? By t
Anything less than a 100 gallon tank would be insufficient for koi of your sizes. They can be fed as you feed outdoors. Filtration would be critical to maintain water quality. A combination of mechanical, biological and chemicals filtration would be required.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
dog loves dr Foster and Smith super koi food it's it dangerous? if not and can I used it as treats? .Hes a 9 yr old 100 pound golden retriever.
I would avoid feeding any type of fish food to your dog. It could cause GI upset and skin issues. It may also cause him to not want to eat his regular diet. If he was given a piece every once in a while it is probably safe but I wouldn’t do much more than this.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hi, I bought 2 wood shrimp about a week ago and the woman from the pet store has accidentally put a fish fry in the bag with them he made the journey home and is in his own tank, however I’ve never dealt with fry before I have the food for him he see
It should be fine on its own. Once it gets bigger and you can definitively identify it, you can then decide to add tank mates or not. Continue to feed it the fry food. You can also use finely ground flakes or pellets.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, good afternoon! I have two baby goldfish, one is a black Moore, and the other is an oranda, I was curious on how much to feed them, currently I feed them once in the morning and once at night, and about five pellets each, I was curious as to i
Feed 2-3 times daily. It is important to avoid overfeeding goldfish as this can cause indigestion and/or contaminate the tank. In terms of the amount to feed, a good rule of thumb is to only feed an amount that the goldfish can consume in under two minutes or only feed as much as the size of the goldfish's eye. So, it sounds like you may be overfeeding them a bit......
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I got a baby beta fish yesterday and he still refuses to eat. What can I do?
Bettas are tropical fish. Make sure the water is warm, between 78F and 80F. Low temps can affect appetite in fish. Feed an appropriately sized pellet. Hikari Micro Pellets are great for tiny fish. You can also crush regular sized pellets.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I got a baby betta fish and was wondering how do I care for it : as in habitat , water changes , feeding and heating
Mushu is very cute! Betta care is very easy. Ideally, a 5 gallon tank should be used to house your Betta. A smaller tank can be used, but the maintenance (water changes) will be much more frequent. A filter is always recommended otherwise water changes will be required every few days to maintain water quality. With a filter, 20% water changes can be done weekly or every two weeks. Use only aged or conditioned water that is temperature matched to prevent stress or shock. Choices for conditioners include AmQuel Plus, NovAqua, StressCoat, Prime or StressZyme. A small submersible heater is necessary since Bettas are tropical fish. They do best in slow moving water between 78F and 80F. You can feed a pelleted diet such as Hikari Micro Pellets until he grows bigger. Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms and blackworms can also be fed. Feed one or twice daily. He should only need 2-3 pellets at each feeding. The conditioners and food can be found in the aquarium section of the local P
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored