Do you feed your fish?

[barb]

On another forum (Aquariacentral) someone was asking about how hard it was to keep goldfish in a backyard pond.  Some people responded that they feel goldfish ponds don't need aeration, or even food, they can survive without it.  And that it will just make them grow bigger too fast.  Am I wrong to feel that goldfish should be fed occasionally?  I know when I first set up my pond two years ago, the farm store I bought the fish from actually told me it was a bad idea to feed the fish regularly, because it just created more waste.  But unless you have a really big pond, can the goldfish actually get enough food from insects/plants?  My pond is only 5' x 7'.  That first summer I only fed the fish every 2-3 days and they didn't grow much.  I decided by last year they weren't getting enough food, and have since been feeding them daily in the warmer months.  And they have really grown, and seem very healthy.  Am I overfeeding them?

[miguynmkoi]

I don't know if this will answer your question but this is my experience:
I have "feeder" fish in my kiddie pools full of tropical lilies.  These skinny little goldfish were purchased at the local pet store.  I needed these guys to eat the mosquitoes.  After 2 years of NOT feeding these fish they have grown bigger than the pigs in the pond who get fed daily now, multiple times!  I think they also eat all the good algae and snail eggs+.  There is a make-shift planter filtration with a small waterfall for circulation.  Out in the open the water temperature gets very warm (bath water warm) when it's hot out and colder than comfy in the winter. 

  These guys are big, fat, and beautiful 

Then there are the ones in the bigger pond.  They eat very well in the warm weather.  They don't grow any faster than the kiddie pool fish and they don't look any better.  They may be a little slimmer but they also have more room to swim.  I think these guys do not need to be fed but I enjoy watching them in "action" so they get fed a few times throughout the day.

I don't think it hurts to fed them or not as long as the environment is healthy.

[flyhawk]

i have 4 large goldfish, 2 bluegills, and a young bass. i never feed them on a daily bases. i do occasionally give them a nightcrawler treat. as long as you have either snails, tadpoles, algae or plants, the goldfish will feed off those. my gold fish are fat, and theyve never tasted flake food!

[MikeW]

I purchased 10 feeder goldfish about six years ago. I have never fed them, and I have about 100 today.

I figure that if I start feeding them, they will grow too large to "self-sustain" foraging around the pond, and I then would not be able to stop.

I like the fact that when I travel, I can show the house-sitter how to unplug the pump / waterfall if there is a problem, and that is all they need to know. (They have enough of a nightmare with my potted plants, dogs and cat)

Cheers,

Mike

[maryvonne]

We also bought a handful of feeder gold fish when we first stated ponding about 6 years ago. I have food around for when children visit. They enjoy feeding the fish but otherwise don't feed them. We now have hundreds as well and they are all very healthy and happy. The heron and ducks get their share too.

Maryvonne

[Sonny]

I feed mine.  They get a high quality pellet, shrimp, peas, oranges and bloodworms.  

[Sandye]

Well, of course I feed my fishies.  That's the best way to check on them and to count them.   

Besides, I think "seed sishies" (that would be "feed fishies" in baby talk) were some of MDBB's (my grandson's) first words!    

I do know they can go without daily food if necessary.   

[Julles]

I have so many fish, and such a small pond, there is no way they could find enough food to feed themselves.  Of course, I have a lot of koi, and those definately have to be fed.

But feeding is part of the fun, so why skip that part?  I spend time in my garden every morning, feeding, trimming plants, watering, fiddling and futzing.  It's part of ponding!

[Cedric]

Ya I feed the fish. I do this primarily because it makes them come up and show off their glorious colours in the sunshine. But my fish are tropical fish so the amount of food has a  negligible effect on the water quality.

When I go away the maids have been instructed not to feed, the fish. They tend to over do it. The fish are fine for as long as I'm away, they just eat what ever is edible, insects algae pond weed etc. Happy for months if necessary. This also slows down breeding, so I don't come back to a population explosion.

[karen J]

I feed mine, mostly because I have two kids that love to do that. If I didn't feed them, I'd make sure I had a lot fewer fish. I feed worms to the Bluegill, who won't touch the Rangen.
I often find goldfish or koi mutt babies in "fish free" pots, the upper pond, and the swamp pond. Those fish never get fed, yet they're big; so I have to agree that it doesn't matter that much, depending on the fish load. The fish I find in those places are a surprise, and I'm usually amazed at how big they are cuz I don't feed them for months, and only discover them late in the season and they're huge.

Most fish food isn't really "food" anyway: it's wheat, corn, soy, and a bunch of other garbage grains and industrial cr@p that fish weren't designed to eat in the first place. Fish in the wild know exactly what to eat to maintain health: Bugs, plants, smaller fish, worms, crustaceans ... not corn    If the small pond can't provide that, a shovel (and a couple of kids) comes in handy.

Of course if you're like me, you get nightmares of kids digging up your yard. Holes everywhere, shovels missing, plants gone... happens every day.  . My turtle friend pays .10 for every cricket the kids can catch.

[Cedric]

I agree you should choose your food carefully. I find the Hikari series from japan very good, they list the ingredients and they're all good. The higher the amount of digestible matter the better. My fish thrive on it anyway.

I think though that it is cruel not to feed larger fish like goldfish in small ponds. As any available food will be seasonal and very short lived. Live food is always good. Daphnia which are filter feeders will also remove an algae bloom almost immediately, leaving the water crystal clear. I used to net vast quantities of these from ditches in wet lands between reeds to feed the goldfish. Daphnia also bring goldfish into breeding condition very quickly.

[Vickie]

I have 10 ponds. Only 8 of them have fish. Yes I feed my koi my goldfish my mollies my platy's and my gambusi. I have gambusi in every tub. Gambusi produce babies every 30 days so I feed them a few pieces every day. If feed all my fish to fatten them up so they can survive the winter. But I do take mollies and platies inside in the winter.

[joeyb5980]

Yep, I feed mine.  I enjoy feeding them.  I don't feed them every day, but probably 3 or 4 times a week.  My chihuahua enjoys it when I feed them too, because he LOVES the fish food, and sniffs out any dropped pieces in the gravel to snack on.