Is is true that you must stop feeding fish in backyard pond in the winter time?
ok we live in arkansas and have had some winter set in already. i keep hearing and reading that you must stop feeding the fish in winter time, i just want to know if this is indeed true. i feel horrible not feeding them . i just want to know if this is true. they are very healthy so can anyone tell me if this is a fact?
If your water temperatures are remaining at 55 or below, yes you should stop feeding. At 50 they will go into hibernation. You need to stop feeding all together. What happens is the food does not have time to digest and will rot in their intestines over the winter killing your fish. If your water (mind you not air) temps remain at 55 or above you can continue to feed.
Also, don't worry about not feeding your fish. They eat even when you don't feed. They feed on all the algae in the pond as well as any water bugs and plants that are in there. I have 2 ponds I don't feed at all for any reason. These are some of the best koi and goldies I have. breeders.
No worries, they will be fine.
Also, if you have ice over on the pond, do not break a hole or cut a hole in the ice. In a Preformed ponds or solid bottom pond. Doing this will create shock waves that will cut thru the cold water and kill your fish. Leave it alone. Cold water holds more Dissolved oxygen and the fish are in hibernation using 1/8th the oxygen they would normally use. There is enough with the ice, water and melting to sustain them for a long time this way.
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Building a Backyard Pond
Article Referencing Backyard Pond
You may find it hard to believe but it is a do-it-yourself project to put a pond in your backyard. It's not as difficult as you might believe, with a little research and some knowledge about how to landscape in preparation for installing the pond and you're almost there. With the amount of information available today online and in books building a professional looking pond in your backyard is very doable.
Placement of the Pond
Pond placement simply means where do I dig the hole. It's a little more complicated than that but not too much more. You'll want to consider pond size in relation to the size of your backyard. For instance you don't want a huge pond that runs right up against the fencing all the way around your backyard or a 10 foot square pond in a 10 acre backyard. It just won't look right. Let's get back to digging the hole and placing your liner. The liner is needed to protect the pond whether you're using a fiberglass pre-fabricated pond or more of a free-form design. The liner is a rubberized very sick very heavy duty water tight material.
Depth will be an issue if you plan to have fish or breed fish. This is particularly important to cold weather climates because fish need deeper ponds to get away from the cold. One way to judge the necessary depth would be to find out where the frost line is in your town.
Don't place ponds in shaded areas under trees or in low-lying areas. The fish need the sun just as much as the plant life in the pond, especially lilies. Trees bring falling leaves and low-lying areas bring rainwater runoff into the pond. Runoff coming from the lawn may contain pesticides, chemicals and fertilizers that can kill fish and plant life.
Filtration System
Just like a swimming pool a pond does need a way to filter waste out of the water. Something for all of you that want a large pond is to know that it will be able to handle waste much better than a smaller pond will. This creates a much healthier environment for the fish. You also need to put down some gravel in the bottom of the pond to create a bed in which bacteria can grow to help keep the water quality high by acting as a natural filtration system.
If having fish in your pond is your primary reason for building one make sure you wait until the bottom of the pond is covered with gravel and a filtration system is installed and running. If you own an aquarium you'll be familiar with the concept that the fish should be put in the pond one at a time, because the environment in the pond needs time to adjust to the changing population of fish in the pond. Introducing all of the fish into the pond at one time would overload the natural bacteria filtering system killing the fish on their own waste and food. This is not why you built a pond to have a bunch of dead fish floating around in their own waste.
Mosquitoes are a big concern when introducing a pond into your backyard. There will be no fun times on the patio enjoying your pond if you spend most of the summer swatting at mosquitoes. A good filtration system will help with this potential problem because mosquitoes need still waters to lay their eggs. A filtration system will keep the water moving enough to make it useless for breeding mosquitoes. In that it is a filtration system you will need to clean the filter occasionally so as to keep fish alive and you enjoying your backyard on those summer evenings on the patio enjoying a party with your friends and family.
Ray writes about different topics and important things in his life. He has always loved to write and one of his latest sites about patio umbrella lights is something he loves to use along with his solar patio lights on the patio for the occasional backyard fiesta.
