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Hand Feeding your Fish
Getting your fish to hand feed is much easier than you think.
Like most pets, food seems to be the driving source behind behavior modification. When it comes to Koi and goldfish, these guys are an unending stomach!
When placing your new fish in their home, give them time to adjust to the new surrounding and water conditions. Often, the fish will feed within hours or days of the new introduction, but remain weary of eating too close to humans.
As time goes on, the fish soon feel comfortable and safe in their new environment. You want to feed your fish about the same time every day. The fish begin to develop this daily habit of knowing when those bi-peds are coming with dinner!
You will soon notice these fish are often ravenous eaters. They basically water tackle one another trying to vacuum up every last flake or Koi pellet. You can take advantage of this eagerness, by slowly approaching the pond as not to alarm them. Hovering by the edge, slowly sprinkle the food on the waters surface. Either hover your hand above the water or gentle slip it into the water.
The fish will soon make the connection that your hand is no threat or danger and associate it with food.
As the fish build their confidence and come closer every time, begin to hold the pellets or food with your fingers and only let a morsel or two start to slip away. The fish will succumb to their appetite and come in for the food.
Many people go a step further and talk to their fish. Some ring a bell, while others gently tap their fingers against the edge of the water. The purpose of this is once again to relay to the fish a signal for habit development. They will learn the sound of your voice, tapping, or bell to be the "dinner bell" to chow time.
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Another trick is using Koi's favorite foods: Earthworms, thawed peas, water melon, oranges, and crab meat are some of the foods that people have experimented with that the fish go crazy for. It’s interesting to test new foods and see what your group of fish prefer. While other peoples' fish devoured watermelon rinds, my fish snubbed their noses with indifference. However, introduction to earthworms turned the fish into well dressed GREAT WHITE SHARKS! Each fish kicking into high gear to snatch up a sinking worm before the others could take advantage of the new feast.
Koi and goldfish have wonderful personalities. Soon, you’ll find just the sound of your feet walking across the ground or your blurred shadow over the pond is enough to have them following you around the pond in hopes of food.
Some fish will be more bold and brash than others. Some a bit more weary and cautious. Whatever the type, you are bound to develop a very friendly bunch of fish.
Should your fish suddenly seem to hide and be weary of your visits to the pond, that could mean an attack by predator or other traumatic event.
Many times the attacks by raccoon or heron will have the surviving fish hiding in the depths and under any available cover. Even the lure of food is not always enough to have them come from their hiding spots. Give it time. They will need to build their confidence again that the creatures from above are not all trying to have them for dinner.
In my experience, everything here did produce a school of very friendly fish. I noticed when an unleashed neighborhood dog would stop by the pond (the pond is in the front yard) for a drink and a cool dip in the water. His boisterous and energetic splashing would send the fish into hiding and when it came time to feed the fish they remained weary and distrustful. A couple of weeks of dogless days, and old routines brought the fish back to their normal selves.
I installed a water scarecrow in hopes that a burst of water in this dogs face would deter him from his visits. However, some dogs Love water and now the scarecrow serves as his animated play toy. The dog purposely trips it off and then runs after the spray BITING DOWN on the stream of water like some cold, wet, prey item.
Well, I suppose if you can’t beat them... join them? At least it takes his attention away from his dips in the pond. I suppose, the sight of a wacko dog running around the pond after a stream of water falling over himself can be just a entertaining as the fish!
Carlos Flannery
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