Overview

  The vast majority of pond keepers do not own champion fish, do not wish their fish to outgrow their ponds in a short time and have not much interest in having the largest fish on the block. Their pond is their way to reduce stress and have an interesting hobby.

Food Facts

 When we look at the feeding recommendations present on the food labels, all of them advise to feed 3-4 times daily as much as the fish will consume in 3-7 minutes. To complicate matters, some fish foods are highly concentrated and will leave a slime coat on your filter mats reducing the efficiency of your filter system, while some are expanded in cereal like fashion. There simply is no substitute for natural food, such as algae, insect larvae and eggs, earthworms and the like fed in moderation. Orange segments and Romaine lettuce leaves can be fed as a treat.

Food Absorption

 Fish have no stomach, but rather the bacteria, ever present in their intestines decompose the food and release the nutrients. If you feed your fish constantly, most of the food is never digested , it's directly passed through the intestine and ends up in the water column as decomposing matter. That may be O.K. for the breeder that wishes to grow large fish quickly and for someone that has the filtration capacity to handle the large amount of mulm (fish poop) that is produced, but in the case of most hobbyists with average filter systems, it is detrimental to water quality and will bring on deadly water conditions in short order. Uneaten food is expelled as waste and immediately deteriorates lowering PH and oxygen levels and increasing Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. If you wish to follow this type of feeding regimen, an oversized filter system, daily water tests and 50% weekly water changes are a must.

 Water temperature regulates a fish’s metabolism and their eating habits. You should, therefore, reduce or increase the amount of food according to temperature and stop feeding altogether at 50 degrees Fahrenheit water temperature. A pond thermometer is a wise investment.

Reduce Food

 If you want to keep your fish healthy, your filter cleanings and diseases to a minimum and enjoy your pond more than ever, our recommendation is to cut the feeding amounts by 75% from the manufacturers recommendations and feed small amounts of live food once every two weeks. If you wish, you can supplement their diet with some of the vitamin preparations on the market, although we have never found that to be needed.

 For 4 years now we have kept 24 Goldfish and Koi in our lily display tank outside the store. They have never been fed-NOT EVER. They started out as 3" fish some of them have grown to 6" and they have actually bred. The tank hold 560 Gallons and has no pump or filter system, but 75-95% of the water surface is covered with water lily leaves. Maintenance is limited to cleaning the bottom once a month. Water quality is superb, with a trace of nitrate every once in a while. Water clarity is from gin clear when we have a lot of lilies in the tank, to a tinge of green when the tank is sparsely planted. We realize that some food is introduced into the tank with new plants, snails, frog eggs etc. and therefore, we do not recommend no food, but unlike our other display tanks, there are never any tadpoles, or insect larvae present, we’re sure the eggs are eaten before they ever hatch. Our observations confirm that fish will not bother to eat algae or hunt for insects if they know their owner will be there shortly with a handful of food. Sort of a fishy couch potato. Naturally, if fish are kept in an aquarium, screened enclosure or indoors, feeding has to be increased, as all the food sources except algae are non existent.

Overview