Koi spitting food

[FredrikAnderson]

Not sure how common this is. My largest Koi is about 14+ inches and for some reason he seems to spit out food a lot. I am sure he eats some of it but not sure why he will go up and suck in 5 pellets and then a few seconds later spit them back out. He is the only koi I have that I have seen do this but he does it all the time. I happen to be using 2 types of food that I have mixed together and I am wondering if he just likes the one over the other and is spiting out the one he doesn't like. The other koi don't seem to have the same deserning tastes. Anyone able to shed some light one this one?

 

[philfreenode]

I don't have koi, but that is what my smaller aquarium fish (mollys) do when they don't like that kind of food. They attack the flakes or bloodworms but wont eat small medicated pellets that other people complain their fish don't like either. (They chomp on them and then spit them right out).

 

[RSFish1]

I see this quite frequently with some of my Koi. They will grab a big mouthful and disappear below the surface. A few seconds later and you will see some pellets floating to the surface. I have also watched tropical fish do this in my tanks. I had to laugh just the night before left as some Koi got their first taste of flake food. They would inhale it, chew twice, and then spit it out. I think they get used to a certain taste or texture of food and don't like to change. But sooner or later, they will get hungry enough and eat what they can get their mouths on!

 

[carolinaguy]

my personal opinion is that they are playing with the food. we see it all the time. it's not the food. we get it a lot when we have floating contaminants from trees like seeds and flower buds in the Spring. the koi eat pellets and these husks and spit everything out over and over.

 

[DrDave]

Darn kids, playing with their food! :lol:

 

[Vaipulu]

Time to spank them.

 

[carolinaguy]

yea, but spanking a koi is like squeezing a ripe banana. squirts out over the floor. besides you can't really know your hitting a butt. then there is the issue of being ignored by a fish. tough on the ego.