Feeding time!

[Johnnie]

There are always exceptions to the rule. Normally I would never feed my fishies in the middle of frozen Winter, but due to global warming--- my covered- pond-water shot up to 58 degrees. I dropped a fistful of pellets for my hungry fishies, which sucked them down into their bellies within 60 Mississippis. Ah... shall I be worry about the tag phrase: "NO GOOD DEEDS GO UNPUNISHED?" I hope fishies won't get sick later because of my kindnesses

 

[addy1]

They should be fine, mr softy!

 

[koiguy1969]

if they get problems from it...it was foolishness, disquised as kindness wasnt it? ........lol....just yankin your chain....
you really should wait til the water remains above feeding temps consistantly for several days before feeding. at that temp their digestion will still be slowed. after a long cold spell with no digestion taking place it takes a while to rebuild the neccessary digestive bacteria and enzimes in their digestive tract. a drop in temp could be a real problem. please say you at least fed them a wheatgerm based SPRING / FALL FOOD. that atleast is a highly digestable food.my fish winter in my basement in a 800 gal pond. the temp stays at 58 - 60* and i stil try to feed wheatgerm only until they go back outsde and the water hits 65*f. and thats without a winter cold spell without food.

 

[Johnnie]

if they get problems from it...it was foolishness, disquised as kindness wasnt it? ........lol....just yankin your chain....
you really should wait til the water remains above feeding temps consistantly for several days before feeding. at that temp their digestion will still be slowed. after a long cold spell with no digestion taking place it takes a while to rebuild the neccessary digestive bacteria and enzimes in their digestive tract. a drop in temp could be a real problem. please say you at least fed them a wheatgerm based SPRING / FALL FOOD. that atleast is a highly digestable food.my fish winter in my basement in a 800 gal pond. the temp stays at 58 - 60* and i stil try to feed wheatgerm only until they go back outsde and the water hits 65*f. and thats without a winter cold spell without food.

Koiguy, thanks for your suggestions. The water temperation under the cover has been 56ish for weeks & kept on rising (air temp is 70ish today!). I've fed my fishies with pellets of Tetra which claims its soft sticks have the follow advantages:
"1) Designed to soften quickly for easy consumption,
2) high digestibility which is important because pond fish have no stocmachs...etc..."

 

[koiguy1969]

you know tetrapond makes a wheatgerm based spring / fall diet food also...its just a good thing to start the season off with wheatgerm...far more easily digested than regular foods. but they also suggest that feeding is O.K down to 39* with wheatgerm foods. altho i dont know if i agree with that. most folks stop feeding all together at 50*. below that temp they can lightly feed off the pond if neccessary. that said, i also ocassionally use that food.

 

[rdk]

My pond reached 60% for the first time this year. Should I wait untill the pond reaches 65%. for several days before I feed them regular fish food ? I don't want to buy anymore wheat germ fish food, because my fish cuss me out. Been there done that. RDK.
What do you think?

 

[addy1]

My pond is still temperature bouncing, but so is our air temp, up and down. With the bog running it cools and warms the water faster than when nothing was running. So long and short, if your water is being stable you prob would be ok. Mine is not stable yet.

 

[taherrmann4]

I am at 55 but will wait until it is consistently 55. Like addy said our temps are still bouncing around.

 

[j.w]

Bouncing here too so I'll wait!

 

[Johnnie]

you know tetrapond makes a wheatgerm based spring / fall diet food also...its just a good thing to start the season off with wheatgerm...far more easily digested than regular foods. but they also suggest that feeding is O.K down to 39* with wheatgerm foods. altho i dont know if i agree with that. most folks stop feeding all together at 50*. below that temp they can lightly feed off the pond if necessary. that said, i also ocassionally use that food.

As printed on the above Tetra's instructions, Tetra does recommend ponders to feed fish 2 or 3 times per day when the temperature is at least 50 degrees, and to reduce feeding when temperatures are between 50 & 39, and do not feed at all thereafter.

If the above instructions are Gospel, then I might have starved my "Fire Cracker" to death. For the past Winters/Spring Seasons, I had starved all my fishies as per advices from the fellow ponders here

In retrospect, Fire Cracker was the only fish which had lost lots of weight and died "skinny" during the last Winter/Spring season. In April 2011 when I found Fire Cracker "sat" at the pond floor by the corner, I though it still hibernated, but then I realized it passed away while it was in its sleep. I didn't think it could die of starvation as implied by Tetra (i.e., per Tetra, ponders need to feed fish when the temperture is at least 38 degrees.)

In memory of "Fire Cracker"

 

[addy1]

Beautiful fish, what a bright color. I don't feed mine, but they have a ton of plants etc to nibble on, even in the winter.

 

[Johnnie]

Are the sellers in a conflict of interest situation? The fish pellet sellers have encouraged ponders to buy and feed fishies even though the water temperature is below 50 degrees.

On photo number 1, Pond-Care Company implies that ponders should feed their fishies when the water temperatures are between 42 and 70 degrees.

On photo number 2, on the other hand, Tetra extends the water temperature a little bit further down from 42 to 39 degrees, 4 degrees colder. Go figure