Couple of questions

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Hi all, hope you have had a great Christmas.

I've had a few electrical issues with my pond set up (water getting into the wiring) which kept tripping out my pump. I've now rectified this and sealed all my junction boxes. Whilst carrying out this work I have added some spot lights around the pond, lighting up my waterfall and parts of the pond. Looks great, my only concern is will the lights p*ss off the fish? I'm not sure. The lights can be easily removed if this is the case.

My other concern is feeding. I stopped feeding my fish when the temps plummeted. Also the fish didn't seem interested they just chilled out at the bottom of the pond. During the last few weeks it has been very mild and the water temps have rose. Even spotted a few frogs, and the fish are very active and actively seeking food. I gave them a little bit of wheat germ earlier which they went through in no time at all. Am I ok feeding wheat germ during this period?

Many thanks
Rich
 
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I had a great Christmas, thanks! I have wondered the same thing about my fish with my pond lighting on at night but i only plug it in when i am outside to feed, maintain, or just watch the fish and as soon as i turn it on they freek out and follow me because they know me as "Food" lol. I am not sure how sensitive fish are to light but Mine don't go and hide when the lights come on!? I would think it would determine what type of light spectrum they can handle and since LED's don't give off any strong harmful UV rays then it should not be a problem, especially since There are allot of people who keep fish in Aquariums with brighter Lights and Habitats than most of our ponds! Just my thought but I'm still new to all this lol. As far as feeding them goes, I just go by gut instinct! :goldfish:
 

j.w

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With the feeding the average consensus is stop feeding at around 55* and when temps are consistently above that in the Spring then start feeding again. No need to feed every time the temps go above 55* during the winter. Fish will survive and if they are hungry they nibble on algae or plants and any bugs/worms that fall in the pond.

I don't think the lights will bother the fish but it would be nice to turn them off at night when you go to bed so they can get some rest in the natural darkness. I know I wouldn't want spotlights on me all night long while trying to sleep :wacko:

H-Newyrfish.gif
 

fishin4cars

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Lights don't bother fish as per say but fish don't have eye lids so will continue to look for food and swim around without rest. So it isn't a bad idea to give them some time of darkness. On the food, If the water temps climb above 50 and the fish are actively up and trying to feed then wheat germ is the best choice, If your going to feed. I don't feed at all once the water has dropped below 50 until the water temps climb above 55 for at least a week or longer.
 

fishin4cars

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as John stated it's easier to digest and it is suppose to help prevent internal bacterial infections that can be caused from undigested proteins that are found in regular food.
 

HARO

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I would think the same is true for ANY cold-blooded creature. Bacteria in the digestive tract need a certain temperature range to function properly, and once they get below this range, problems can arise.
John
 

j.w

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Even true for warm blooded creatures if they get too cold. 11 yr old Dog fell in water surrounded by ice on the news last night and was hanging on for dear life till they rescued him w/ a boat sliding over the ice. They had to warm him up w/ an electric blanket slowly and then later only fed him some warm soup first. Vet said if they tried to feed him regular food it might not digest and just sit in his gut and could kill him. He made a nice recovery.
baby01w.gif
 

addy1

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Mine get to live off the land from octoberish to march or april. They do just fine.
 

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