# Ponds and Goldfish in winter.



## akuma 天

So I know that during the winter months goldfish eat less, or in some cases stop eating altogether,

But when, roughly does this start?

It currently 16 degrees in York, although the wind chill makes it seem much colder.

At what point in time should I stop putting the food in the pond etc...

This is my first winter having a pond so your advice is welcome.


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## mask-of-sanity

put them onto a wheatgerm based food when it gets really cold.....if they are coming up to feed then feed them if there not then dont bother ...let the fish dictate to you ....its always thought that you dont feed pond fish in the winter but if they want it let them have it all my pond fish are fed throughout if wanted but it is prob only 2 or 3 times a week and less than in the summer months


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## Fishman1908

We no longer have calender seasons so as such we are driven by the weather conditions and the activity of our fish.

Personally as soon as we get to single figures I shut down and turn everything off allowing my fish to go to the bottom and hibernate.

You no longer require your pump for water movement due to the cold water retaining oxygen and no bacteria can cultivate in single figures so your pump and filtration becomes of no significance.

With little feeding or no feeding you would not be producing ammonia to feed the bacteria also.

You should be feeding wheatgerm now as a low temperature food which is easily digestible in the colder months as the fish are no longer as active and need to burn their feed quicker.

I feed mine every day only if they are snatching at the food and then as they become more lethargic reduce that to every other day, every 3 days, once a week and then stop so you have weaned them off.

You do the same process to start the season also in reverse.


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## akuma 天

Thanks people.

Not quite in single figures yet, but I'll bear all that in mind once it gets there.


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## xyra

a very common problem (especially with koi) is that if they are fed over the winter they cannot digest their food as to is to cold, so it sits and rots in their stomach.

Then as the weather warms up they start digesting the rotten contents which can then very quickly kill them. Lots of people loose a lot of fish in the spring because of this.

I don't know what temporatures to stop feeding at (I assume the posts above are correct), as I don't keep koi/pond fish, just have seen various talks where it was brought up but didn't pay enough attention to have full details


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## mike515

around the 10 degree c mark. To be safe stop feeding when it's a stable 13 degrees at midday over a week. Just cut it down and then stop it altogether


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## simonas

I've cut right down oin mine, the pond water feels freezingto me but the fish are still very active.


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## theonejss

its not the air temp you go off it the water temp but you should be on wheat based now and feeding about 1/2 times a week then stop feeding and shut down for winter


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## mike515

theonejss said:


> *its not the air temp you go off it the water temp* but you should be on wheat based now and feeding about 1/2 times a week then stop feeding and shut down for winter


 
would have thought that was kinda obvious. What with the fish spending most of their time in the water, them being fish and all that


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## AshMashMash

mike515 said:


> would have thought that was kinda obvious. What with the fish spending most of their time in the water, them being fish and all that


LOL. Oh dear me. 

With mine, I feed wheatgerm 10-14C, and nothing below 10C.


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## akuma 天

I turned my filter off this morning, water was close to ice-cold.

So if I'm correct the fish should not be feed food of any description until the weather gets warmer, i.e. late winter/early spring.


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## paulrimmer69

Fishman1908 said:


> We no longer have calender seasons so as such we are driven by the weather conditions and the activity of our fish.
> 
> Personally as soon as we get to single figures I shut down and turn everything off allowing my fish to go to the bottom and hibernate.
> 
> You no longer require your pump for water movement due to the cold water retaining oxygen and no bacteria can cultivate in single figures so your pump and filtration becomes of no significance.
> 
> With little feeding or no feeding you would not be producing ammonia to feed the bacteria also.
> 
> You should be feeding wheatgerm now as a low temperature food which is easily digestible in the colder months as the fish are no longer as active and need to burn their feed quicker.
> 
> I feed mine every day only if they are snatching at the food and then as they become more lethargic reduce that to every other day, every 3 days, once a week and then stop so you have weaned them off.
> 
> You do the same process to start the season also in reverse.


 


i agree i always turn the filtration system off in the winter primarily to stop the water at the bottom of the pond getting 2 cold, assuming ur pond is deep enough, touch wood iv neva lost any fish over the winter


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## akuma 天

OK

I stopped feeding my pond goldfish about a week ago, but at roughly 08.30 every morning they are sat at the surface waiting to be fed.

I'm starting to wonder if they are still hungry, and should I be feeding them? Surely they wouldn't be waiting for food if they are going to hibenate?


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## akuma 天

akuma 天;2786253 said:


> OK
> 
> I stopped feeding my pond goldfish about a week ago, but at roughly 08.30 every morning they are sat at the surface waiting to be fed.
> 
> I'm starting to wonder if they are still hungry, and should I be feeding them? Surely they wouldn't be waiting for food if they are going to hibenate?


Well as no-one replied to say otherwise I fed the fish this morning, and they snapped up all the food like they had not been fed for a week, which they hadn't.

I'm beginning to think that unless the weather gets freezing over a sustained period as it has traditionally done in the past, I'm going to keep feeding while the weather is mild. Although I will go and buy some low temp food.


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## ALAN35

*hi all*

i got a oxygen pump in my pond do i need to tune if off in the winter


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## ALAN35

i got a oxygen pump in my pond do i need to tune if off in the winter


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## ALAN35

ALAN35 said:


> i got a oxygen pump in my pond do i need to tune if off in the winter


can any one help me to sort this out plz


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## mikef

Hi Allan, yes in cold water temps you can turn your air pump off, the colder the water the higher the oxygen level there is in the water.

Next point
you do NOT turn your filter off.. ever, even if the fish are not feeding they still require water flow and the filter will still perform its duty, this will obviously be far less effective than in the summer, its fine to slow it down but NEVER turn it off. If you turn off the filter then restart in the spring then you are subjecting the fish to 'new pond syndrome' every year, ie you are starting from fresh each year, the longer a filter runs, the better it becomes.

Thermal layering does not occur in shallow ponds, so the idea that the water is warmer at the bottom is rubbish too. You might see a very small difference, but its so little that it will make no difference.

Fish excreate ammoina ALL the time, even if there not feeding on the food you normally add to the pond, ph levels will can drop once the filter system is turned off leading to toxic issues in the pond, You must also check your levels throughout the winter ( Ammoinia, nitrite and ph), dont ever assume that beacuse the fish are not feeding they dont need looking after.
If you still fancy turning your filter off then...
Try boarding your toilet door up for 4 months and use the lounge, you might notice that the toxin levels will be a bit high !!!.

So to recap.
Turn off your air pump, you dont need it
DONT turn off your filter YOU DO NEED IT 

the above is FACT

Happy fish keeing


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