Bottom Feeder in Pond

Question
Several days ago our temperature reach 32 degrees.  I have a Bottom Feeder that I thought was dead.  It seem to be floating.  When I reached for it it swam to the bottom.  The past few days he comes to the top, turns over and sucks air. When I touch him...he swim to the bottom. Is he getting ready to die?  Is the pond to cold for the bottom feeder.  I have goldfish and Koi also.  It is 1.5 feet deep and approximately 120 gallons of water (or more) pond. Pond temp now 52 degrees.

Answer
What species of "bottom feeder" do you have?  If it's a common plecostomus catfish, they will die below about 50-55 degrees F.  Yes, he could be dying.  Your pond is pretty small so you should be able to catch him even if it means lowering the water level a bit.  A 120 gallon pond is not large enough for koi so I suggest considering building a larger pond over 1000 gallons.  Koi grow to 3 feet long.  Common plecos grow to 1 or 2 feet long.  If you have another bottom feeder let me know.  Channel catfish for example would be able to take down to freezing but grow huge and eat small fish.  Hifin banded sharks or garra pingi pingi's are also sometimes sold for ponds and normally can't survive much below 50 degrees F.  I hope you can catch your "bottom feeder" and set up an indoor tank or pond for the winter!  Good luck!

Robyn
fishpondinfo.com