when do I quit feeding the fish for this season?

[jax]

This fluctuation of temperatures over the past few weeks has me and my fish wondering what month it really is.  I have the pond totally cleaned out and ready for winter.  Some days the fish are really still active and other days they are just stationary in the bottom of the pond.  I was told that when the water gets to 50 or below I should stop feeding them for the winter, but, then we get days in the 60's and the water warms up a bit and I don't know what to do.  They have no vegetation left in the pond to nibble on and the summer bugs that fell in there are all gone.  I want to keep them healthy as possible before we go into the big freeze time.  My pump is still running and I will continue to do that until it begins to get really cold and then I pull everything for winter and put the deicing ring in.  Use to be by the beginning of November you knew you were well into fall and heading for winter.  With the droughts and temperature changes, I don't know where I am at any more.  What do you all suggest for central Pennsylvania?  I don't know what zone I am in.  By next week, the weather could change again and we could be into the 20 and 30's.  Last year we only had light jackets on in December.  What's a pond person to do?  Help.            Jax

[frloplady]

If the pond temp gets below 50 I quit even if it may creep back up, because it's a short lived thing.  Actually the fish generally quit eating at about 52.  Water temp is 46 now and they may take a few nibbles if I threw some food in but it would be mostly wasted and not healthy for them.  They have plenty of algae on the sides of the pond that if they were really hungry they would nibble on. 

Mary

[Jerry]

The same seems to be true for toads and turtles.  If I have any frogs I am not aware of it

[perplexed ponder]

I'm in Mi. Zone 5. I stop feeding about 50 degrees. Honestly fish don't NEED supplemental food from us. (Gee, I bet THAT will get replieS!) They find plenty to eat on thier own, bugs, vegetation etc... They are not going to starve.

[Rocmon]

I didn't feed my fish for a couple of years, they were fine. It's mild here and there's usually something growing on the liner or in the plants roots. I feel guilty not feeding them now that it's gotten cooler—mid to upper 50's in the pond, but they seem fine and have stopped begging already.



                                                             

[Jerry]

I know a few fish keepers who do not feed the fish at all.  I think Koi people must.

[barb]

I have been wondering the same thing, I'm here in Connecticut.  It's been a weird fall.  I'm still feeding them a little cool weather food daily, it has been in the 50's during the day, and around freezing at night.  Tomorrow will cool down more, highs of 40's for the rest of the week, so I think I might stop feeding them.  The pond is small, only 5' x 8', and with no vegetation and no bugs there isn't anything for them to eat. 

Maybe some people who don't feed their fish have bigger ponds?  I do know I was advised last year to only feed them once every three days or so in the warm months, and the fish hardly grew at all.  This year after reading so many comments about fish needing to be fed daily I did so, and my fish grew by leaps and bounds.  So much so that one of my "goldfish" grew big enough so that I learned he's actually a Koi.   

[miguynmkoi]

There are fish food made for certain seasons when it's warm/hot with more protein or cool/cold with wheat germ.  Many types of foods to be had in any case.  I use to feed my fish very little like Barb but last year I started feeding them everyday a few times a day (I'm not the only person feeding them unless the weather is bad, then it's all me).  The fish all grew at least an inch by this summer and they're all carrying rounder bellies.

In our mild winters I feed the fish very little and mostly when we go out to see them but I use a wheat germ pellet (Hikari or what ever is on sale).

Before the fish had personalities I didn't feed them during cooler weather...and they were fine eating the good algae and snails.