Southern Spirit Hunters
Gardening => Ponds => Topic started by: Dianna on Nov 15, 2007, 04:56:03 PM
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quit feeding Samson and Delilah? Every time I go close to the pond, they come up and beg for food. I was told that when you had cold weather, you are supposed to quit feeding them because their bodies do not metabolize the food in the colder weather. What do you do when one day it is 70 and the next 40? Do you feed according to the temperatures? I don't want to starve them? :SmileyQmarks:
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I don't know where you live. We feed all year but slow way down in winter. I'm thinking if they are coming up begging that feeding a little is probably right. When it is cold our fish stay deep and don't show much.
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:thx: Thank you, Tina.
I will go give them a little bit of food right now, if they come up looking for it. They probably think I have put them on some kind of fad diet!
I can't believe how much they have grown. I bought them as feeder fish in 2005 and now they are at least six inches long....
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Tina, Samson and Delilah said to tell you thank you. They came right up when I called them to eat. They were a little hungry, I think. :)
We live in SC. Our winters are usually mild and I have heard that it will be even warmer this year. We sure need rain, snow, or even ice, to get us out of this drought...
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What zone is that? You need to call around and ask a local pond place how to winter your fish. I'm zone nine and winter is mostly just a cool summer for the rest of the country. A year round fish environment. And the fish eat various bugs that get near the pond water all year also.
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We are in zone 8, Tina. Depending on which map you look at, we can be in 7... ::)
I don't even know if we have a local pond place around here. I have problems finding plants for my little puddle...
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County extension office? University with an Ag. department? Someone a phone call away will have your answers. And maybe your pond plants as well!
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Thank you, Tina. I will give them a call and see if they know...
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Up here we are suppose to feed a little bit 2x a week until they freeze and then well of course we stop. There is a type of food just for the cold weather :ThumbUp:
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It's always best to stop feeding the fish when the water temps get to be around 60-55 degrees. I believe around 50 they go to the bottom for the winter. I usually buy special fall food online that is supposed to give them a good boost for the winter hibernation. You can't feed them when it gets too cold because they can't digest their food when the water is too cold and they will die. If it's mostly cold and we get one or two warmer days I still don't feed my 10 goldfish. There is algae and such in the pond anyway and if they are starving to death then they can nibble on that. I always feel bad not feeding them. Like I am being a bad fish momma.
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quit feeding Samson and Delilah? Every time I go close to the pond, they come up and beg for food. I was told that when you had cold weather, you are supposed to quit feeding them because their bodies do not metabolize the food in the colder weather. What do you do when one day it is 70 and the next 40? Do you feed according to the temperatures? I don't want to starve them? :SmileyQmarks:
Stop feeding when the WATER TEMPRETURE (not air temp) falls below 40F. A rule of thumb is fish will not feed if the water is too cold their body goes into a state of hibernation but on warm days they may liven up a bit. Unless it freezes in your region I would not worry about it too much, just ease up on the amount
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Thanks, Laura and Johnnie. So far I have kept them from starving to death... :BigGrin:
It amazes me that they can go thru such cold weather outside and not freeze to death... :Wacko: