Pond Question.....

DH and I inheritated a pond with our new home....I'm sooooo worried about our fish with this weather...One day the pond is frozen and they are very still the next day it's sunny and warm and they are swimming all around....I feel like I should feed them b/c they are not hibernating.....should I? I'm so wrried they won't make it through the winter

Re: Pond Question.....

my parents has had their pond for years.. and the fish are always fine!! they eat everything on the bottom! i always feel bad for them too!!

Re: Pond Question.....

No, just because you see them swimming, you dont have to feed them.
We have had our pond with fish in it for years and never had a problem.

Re: Pond Question.....

We inherited a pond with our house as well - we have a heater that we plop in there and it turns on when the water dips below a certain temp. The fish all huddle around it. We have not fed them since maybe the begining of November. They are all still alive and well!

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Ok.... Thanks soooo much I've been so worried about them....

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Wow, I never even thought about this. So do you have to feed pond fish ever?

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Re: Pond Question.....

They should be fine. Just keep and eye out for raccoons. They love to steal fish from people's ponds!

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My Dad has had his pond for years and all the fish are fine. You actually don't wanna feed them once its too cold (not too sure why but I think it has to do with them using too much energy ) He only feeds them when the weather is warmer. HTH

Re: Pond Question.....

Posted by mpetretti

My Dad has had his pond for years and all the fish are fine. You actually don't wanna feed them once its too cold (not too sure why but I think it has to do with them using too much energy ) He only feeds them when the weather is warmer. HTH

Re: Pond Question.....

Yes, be careful with raccoons they will steal and kill the fish. You can search the web and reach out to rescue organizations that will give you the correct information on when to feed and how much to feed.

Re: Pond Question.....

We just inherited a pond with our house too. We were clueless so we bought some books, read the web, and had a pond guy come in.

As posted, you do not feed them in the winter because their metabolism slows down and their systems can't handle it. The pond guy told us some people never feed their fish. Feeding isn't necessary because they can live off the pond; but if you do, it will help them grow bigger.

When the temp of the water goes below 55, you should add an air pump and a heater. You need to prevent the pond from totally freezing over so that toxic gases can escape. The heater prevents freezing water from being pumped it.

We also have a net over the pond that is kept there year round to prevent raccoons and birds from eating the fish.

I was so nervous in the beginning that we were going to kill the fish but so far so good.

Hope this helps.

Re: Pond Question.....

Posted by Gertyrae

Posted by mpetretti

My Dad has had his pond for years and all the fish are fine. You actually don't wanna feed them once its too cold (not too sure why but I think it has to do with them using too much energy ) He only feeds them when the weather is warmer. HTH

You don't want to feed them because their metabolism has slowed way down and they won't be able to digest the food...and they will die.

My sister has had a koi pond for four years now and never feeds her fish in the winter.