Koi are not really pets but each koi seems to have a little personality that we make up for them. They can’t go on walks and they’re pretty quiet. Not too many tricks they can do but they are focused when it comes to eating. My koi seem to know to race to the corner when they see me standing at the edge to feed them.

I have been working this winter on hand feeding and they have gotten much better at it. Manda Fu is the secret. You can hold a piece, it’s easily digestible and they like it. I bought it from Kodama Koi Supply. It really looks like packing peanuts. The pieces of Manda Fu become soft in the water so the smaller koi can eat it as well.

Here’s a two minute video of hand feeding the koi:

My local club had their first meeting for the year. As part of the meeting we had a videoconference with Robert Wicker about koi skin quality. He is a member of ZNA Carolina and in the judging certification program. The quality of the koi’s skin is a big piece of determining how good of a koi you may have. Skin and scales have a lot of nuances and skin quality changes as the koi ages (just like people). Glossy, thick looking skins showing no veins is very desirable. I learned about a Japanese koi that is well known for her beautiful skin – Loulan. The story about Loulan can be found HERE:

I don’t have any koi that are this brilliant white … maybe some day 🤞🏼