Water temperature is the best way to tell |
| When spring rolls around and you’re anxiously waiting to see your playful koi once again, you’ll be glad you took consideration in the fall to properly care for them. Until the pond water rises above 50-degrees you should not feed your fish. And remember, you can feed them Aquascape Premium Cold Water Fish Food up until the pond water rises above 60-degrees! When pond temperatures fall below 60-degrees, your fishes’ metabolism and digestive system begins to slow down. Investing in a pond thermometer will help you determine when to change the eating regimen of your beloved finned friends. You’ve enjoyed watching and feeding your fish all summer, and now it’s time to help them prepare for their winter’s nap. You want to make sure your fish are strong and healthy as Old Man Winter makes his way to your pond. A well-balanced diet is critical to the health of your fish. When pond temperatures fall below 50-degrees it is time to stop feeding. | |
The most common feeding mistake is overfeeding. This is because the feeding process is arguably the most fun you can have with your fish. At feeding time, koi come up to eat so you can see them and interact with them. Anyone with a maternal instinct will be thrilled to watch their favorite fish engulf food with such koi-ish zeal.
Overfeeding occurs anytime the fish are eating more than they need. This can make your fish sick, and excessive amounts of waste that strains the limits of what can be biologically reduced, results in a decline of water quality. Fish that are overfed in typical ornamental pond facilities will eventually develop large bellies and begin to look a little bit like tadpoles, with the big body and the wispy tail. That will not usually kill the fish, but the impact on the liver and other internal organs can and will be severe. So How Much is Just Right?
Fish should be fed no more than three times per day. In cooler water (65-70) they should only be fed once per day, if that. In much warmer water (76-82), three times per day is not "crazy,"' however, you have to be wary of bacterial blooms (cloudy water and low oxygen levels) if you feed heavy and there's a lot of waste.
Fish should be fed for about five minutes per feeding. If they don't come up and eat voraciously, they are telling you that they are too cold, too warm or, for some other reason, are not hungry. So feed light. If they are eating like crazy, you can sprinkle food on the water for five minutes as long as there are fish there to carry it off and eat it. Pretend it's a game – never feed so much that there is excess food left to float into the skimmer or filter.
Overfeeding occurs anytime the fish are eating more than they need. This can make your fish sick, and excessive amounts of waste that strains the limits of what can be biologically reduced, results in a decline of water quality. Fish that are overfed in typical ornamental pond facilities will eventually develop large bellies and begin to look a little bit like tadpoles, with the big body and the wispy tail. That will not usually kill the fish, but the impact on the liver and other internal organs can and will be severe. So How Much is Just Right?
Fish should be fed no more than three times per day. In cooler water (65-70) they should only be fed once per day, if that. In much warmer water (76-82), three times per day is not "crazy,"' however, you have to be wary of bacterial blooms (cloudy water and low oxygen levels) if you feed heavy and there's a lot of waste.
Fish should be fed for about five minutes per feeding. If they don't come up and eat voraciously, they are telling you that they are too cold, too warm or, for some other reason, are not hungry. So feed light. If they are eating like crazy, you can sprinkle food on the water for five minutes as long as there are fish there to carry it off and eat it. Pretend it's a game – never feed so much that there is excess food left to float into the skimmer or filter.
Can I underfeed my fish?
Sometimes a person is very busy and they may neglect to feed the fish every day. This impacts the very large fish, which in summer, will rapidly lose weight as their metabolism is working without enough calories for their big bodies. It also affects very small fish, which will be stunted or, in extreme cases, die. Fish in ponds with natural forage and some plant material will help themselves to nature's bounty and are less dependent on their human owners for nourishment.
If your fish are growing about a ½ to 1 inch per month, you're feeding enough. If not, you are either underfeeding, keeping them in too small facilities, or the food is not adequate to push growth. Signs of underfeeding include, heads that are wider than bodies, slightly sunken eyes, a kink at the base of the tail, poor color, thinness, trailing white stools, and inactivity.
If your fish are growing about a ½ to 1 inch per month, you're feeding enough. If not, you are either underfeeding, keeping them in too small facilities, or the food is not adequate to push growth. Signs of underfeeding include, heads that are wider than bodies, slightly sunken eyes, a kink at the base of the tail, poor color, thinness, trailing white stools, and inactivity.
Where to Feed my fish?
In the day-to-day experience of ponding, where to feed can be significant. Many people feed the fish all at once, near the skimmer. Because they don't know about sprinkling the food for five minutes, they dump the whole coffee-can of food four feet from their skimmer and off it goes. Hungry fish living in polluted water is the result. Skimmers a great, don't get me wrong, but if there's a place you can feed the fish where it doesn't migrate to the skimmer too quickly, choose that space instead
Proper Food Storage
Sometimes you luck out and get a deal on bulk foods. Too bad. I do not recommend that you buy big bags of food unless your fish can eat it all in a season or you can keep 45 pounds of food in the fridge. Of course, if you can, do it! Otherwise, the fish food sits in the bag in a "cool dark place" and weevils hatch in it and the food is lost. Or mold grows in it, and it's lost. Or, the cats ( or mice) tear out the bottom corner of the bag and the food spreads across the floor of the garage like a cancer. Can you tell I've, "been there, done that"?
If you do buy fish food in large quantities refrigerate it, don't freeze it. Freezing damages (think freezer burn) the fats in the food and so the fat-soluble vitamins are compromised.
Foods which are packed in nitrogen (no oxygen) by the manufacturer are better than food which is in cans with oxygen. If you can find food which has a bag that allows expression of air from the bag and resealing, that is optimal.
If you do buy fish food in large quantities refrigerate it, don't freeze it. Freezing damages (think freezer burn) the fats in the food and so the fat-soluble vitamins are compromised.
Foods which are packed in nitrogen (no oxygen) by the manufacturer are better than food which is in cans with oxygen. If you can find food which has a bag that allows expression of air from the bag and resealing, that is optimal.
Author
Love to make custom water features. I am the owner of Gordon's Pond Utopia. Doing what I love building ponds and water features.
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