Water Temperature

[Kirby]

This time of year the pond water temperature fluctuates several degrees during the day depending on the amount of sunshine the pond receives. If we are suppose to stop feeding the fish when the water temperature reaches 50 degrees, what if the temperature goes up during the day to 55 degrees?  Do I start feeding then or not?  The fish are sluggish in the morning when the water temp. is 50 or less, but in the afternoon if it has been sunny, the fish are active and the water temp. can be 55 or 57 degrees.
Thanks for any help.
Kirby

[Michiponder]

Just because the water temp goes up occasionally when the sun shines does not mean they need to eat.  Giving them pelleted food when they are going to be chilled down causes the food to remain in thier gut for long periods and can be unhealthy.  It also puts a strain on the biofiltration in a pond because it is slowed down or almost stopped at low temps.  That is a double whammy for your fishes health because thier imunity systems are slowed too and they have a much harder time dealing with poor water quality.  They do just fine without food when cool anyway.  I have gone through long winters here with the fish under insulated covers for up to 5 months.  They do just fine not eating or eating extreamly small amounts for that amount of time.  IMHO the biggest concern going into winter is water quality and having the pond clean.  I have had far better results by cleaning my pond in the fall so that organic matter is not sitting in there and rotting all winter.

[tranquility]

I would stop feeding--if they are sluggish then their guts aren't working well..Another thing to think about  is the bio bugs too--they die back when the temps fall so your not going to have them processing the excess ammonia very well..And just so you don't worry about them too much--they will graze on the algae growing on the pond sides and bottom thru out the winter...I'm always finding green algae poop in my mechanical filter thru out the winter...
Lawanna

[Kirby]

Thanks for the input.  That's what I thought but wanted to make sure. 

Kirby