Feeding Pond Fish Properly in Every Season

Feeding pond fish is easy and simple. You need to consider a few factors like the temperature of your location. This is because fish metabolism works according to the temperature of the pond. The lower the temperature, the less likely they feel the need to eat. Fishes prepare themselves for the colder days in the month of summer so they can survive in winter without eating.

If you want to know how much food you can feed to your pond fish, read the article.

How to Feed Pond Fish in Different Seasons?

Feeding pond fish may often seem complicated. You need to consider the temperature of water the very moment before feeding your fishes, as it decides how easily they can digest the food. Here, we have mentioned some feeding recommendations for each season.

Spring

When the spring season begins, the temperature of the pond starts to rise. This motivates fishes to come to the surface of the water in search of food. When the temperature is around 41-50 °F, you need to feed them a low protein diet.

You also need to understand that when the weather starts getting warmer, the fishes will take time to fully active again. In the meantime, you need to observe that whether your fishes are eating the food you have given them. You need to take out the leftover food from the pond to prevent contamination of the water. This is more crucial in the starting weeks of the warmer months, as your fishes will take a longer time to come back to their full feeding, even on protein food. So, it’s better to feed them a minimum in the first few weeks and gradually increase the amount of food.

Summer

When, finally,  the summer begins and the pond’s temperature reaches 64 °F or above, the fishes will start to digest properly. They will also digest high protein foods easily as their metabolism becomes faster. Because of this, fishes will need a regular diet. In the warmer months, if you feed your fishes a regular amount and they finish food quickly but still seem to be hungry, you can feed them more food. Besides, you can also feed them more than once a day if you feel they are hungry.

Feeding your fishes high protein food at this time of the year will help you grow your livestock. It also helps fishes prepare themselves for cooler months and be in their most active and vibrant state.

Autumn

When the summer comes to its end, and you will feel a slight change in the season, this is the time of autumn. The nights become longer, and the ponds become cooler. At this time of the year, the metabolism of the pond fishes starts working slower as the pond temperature reaches around 50 to 62 °F. You need to give a specific amount of food to your fish. The high protein summer diet causes difficulty in digestion during autumn. A staple diet will be great for them and helps to digest on colder days.

Winter

By the time of winter, your fishes will stop eating because of the drop in the temperature. When the temperature reaches 39 °F, it’s better to stop feeding these little creatures. This is because the water temperature is too low and prevents fishes from metabolizing the food. If you keep feeding them, the food can contaminate the water. So, just let pond fishes enjoy winter without giving them any food.

How Much Food Can You Feed Pond Fish?

Well, it totally depends on the pond size and fish quantity. Suppose you have 13,000 gallons in a pond and 4 goldfishes and 2 koi fish in it. You don’t need to feed them the same amount of food you will use for a 5,000 gallon pond with 20 goldfish and 10 koi fish.

The simplest way to find how much food you need to feed these little pond creatures is to begin feeding them a small amount. Observe your fishes while they eat and then decide what to do next. Make sure to look that everyone has eaten, or do they still look hungry. You also need to consider the species you have. The goldfish and koi are the types of Carp family fishes that are popular for having an appetite. However, their hunger is more than their bellies can handle, so it’s better to underfeed them than contaminating the pond.

What Are Nutritional Requirements of Your Pond Fish?

Cold-blooded pond fishes have completely different needs than warm-blooded organisms. If you take humans’ example, they can use more than 60% of their consumed food to control their internal body temperature. But fishes don’t need to produce body heat because of their different bodily mechanism. Not to mention, fishes have one more advantage over humans in terms of energy. These little creatures have the support of water around them, so they don’t need to use up their energy to fight gravity. This is why your pond fish don’t need food in water, as discussed earlier. In fact, even if you try to feed them, the food can putrefy in fishes’ gut, as their digestive system is not working. This will kill your fishes.

So, when the water gets warm, their digestive system startsto work, and they begin to feed. Fishes will feel easy to consume carbohydrates based diet. But when the temperature becomes completely warm, you need to feed them a high protein diet for their growth and spawning.

Furthermore, fishes also need trace elements and vitamins. The food containing a good amount of vitamins and minerals boosts their immune system. This way, they gain the power to fight against diseases.

Bottom Line

Feeding pond fish is easy if you consider all the factors mentioned above. It’s important to consider the season before throwing food in the pond. When you think about the temperature and type of fish food, you will make a better decision.

In addition you may be interested in our article How to Feed Your Koi Fish!