Koi sticks contain all the essential nutrients for a balanced diet a good quality brand of pellet will also have additional
additives to enhance the colour of the fish. There are hundereds of manufacturers that produce these koi sticks and although most are very good, typically the very best are alot more expensive. Avoid any foods that are sold lose they have been open to the air and you really do not know how long the retailer has held that stock. Vitamins and minerals depleet over time and it is advisable to feed your fish with food no older than 12 months.
All round koi sticks are designed to be fed when water temperatures are above 10 degrees C. When your waters temperature is below this your koi will be slow at digesting their food which is why a winter food of wheatgerm should be used. Wheatgerm sticks 
contain a high level of cereal to which the fish can digest more easily especially during lower temperatures during late autumn to early spring. Hi protein feeds take alot longer to digest and therfore remain in the gut, which cab lead to severe health problems with your fish. With this all in mind people forget there sturgeon, Sturgeon will eat readily all winter and need the good quality high protein food and this needs to be supplied to them very little but often. It is a good idea to feed the sturgeon and watch them, if there is any remaining food scoop it out the pond. This will save your koi from eating all the sturgeon food and then having health problems.
Many koi keepers have a range of pellet foods to which they add various types of other pellet as to make their own mixed balanced diet. The bulk of these mixes will contain a "staple" pellet these have all the vitamins and minerals the koi require and some have enhanced vitamin content such as vitamin C. Vitamin C content provides your fish with a much needed summer health boost, helping to protect them from disease. To these mixes koi keepers will add colour enhancer pellets, and even products such as Koivits which is a vitamin enriched spray that is applied to the food for added health and welfare of the koi.
