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Winter Feeding

25 9:59:59

Question
I am looking after some fish for the winter, they are in a pond 2m x 1m x .75m deep. It has a natural water flow in a the top and a natural exit at the othr end. I normally feed the 10 fish (not sure what type, look like standard goldfish to me, although there are some small black ones) each day. Should I change how much they get for winter. I use standard "flakes" of Goldfish food.

Answer
Where do you live and how cold is the water?  When the water goes below about 55 degrees F (12 degrees C), the fish should not get any food.  Is there a thermometer in the water?  Even if the water is not that cold, since it is cooler than in the summer, you should reduce how much and how often that you feed.  In the fall and early spring, I only feed once every day or two as opposed to the summer when I feed twice a day.  I don't feed in the winter but we have ice here (not sure where you are).  The black fish may be younger goldfish as they start dark and change later.  Flakes are okay for pond fish but pelleted foods are better as you can feed more fish with less mess and more bulky food than the flakes.  I calculated the pond to be 396 US gallons or 330 UK gallons.  So, that's a moderately-sized pond.