Feeding: Small vs Large ponds

[rubyduby]

I see that many people choose not to feed their fish and if the pond is large I can see that there is probably enough natural food but for the people that have small ponds like myself, I would question whether or not the fish would be able to sustain a healthy diet without supplementing....Thoughts?

 

[GBBUDD]

KOI WILL NEED SOME HELP IN SUPLIMENTING, WHILE GOLD FISH ARE SMALL ENOUGH A COUPLE HAIRS OF ALGAE CAN SUSTAIN THEM

 

[j.w]

When I didn't feed my goldfish for the first several years they were in a small pond. This one:

 

[Jhn]

Agree, with @GBBUDD goldfish in even smaller ponds can sustain themselves on natural foods. Now qualifying what is a small pond, is another question, after a certain point to me it is no longer a pond but an outdoor aquarium,( ie like a couple hundred gallons or less) in which case even goldfish will need supplemental feeding. Koi on the other hand even in large ponds are going to need some supplemental feeding, especially as the get larger.

It is truly understanding the needs of the animals we keep, not what is easy for us, but what is best for the living being we are caring for. Coming from the world of reef keeping years ago, there are so many nuances and understanding what fish get along with others, what they eat ( some can be sustained by foods produced by refugiums) the space they need to swim, how sensitive they are to water quality, how these fish are collected and shipped are all of the utmost importance and will lead to your ultimate success or failure. However knowing even then when you think you are doing everything right, things still can go wrong that are just beyond your control and crash your system.

 

[addy1]

Hubby bought a foreclosure, abandoned, overgrown front yard. Once he cleaned it up found a small preform under a piece of plywood.

In that pond were 6 goldfish fat and happy, no food, no sunlight, for who knows how long. They are tough fish.

 

[Lisak1]

Agreed - if you're talking koi, they're gonna need food. But goldfish man - they are tough cookies.

 

[GBBUDD]

Agree, with @GBBUDD goldfish in even smaller ponds can sustain themselves on natural foods. Now qualifying what is a small pond, is another question, after a certain point to me it is no longer a pond but an outdoor aquarium,( ie like a couple hundred gallons or less) in which case even goldfish will need supplemental feeding. Koi on the other hand even in large ponds are going to need some supplemental feeding, especially as the get larger.

It is truly understanding the needs of the animals we keep, not what is easy for us, but what is best for the living being we are caring for. Coming from the world of reef keeping years ago, there are so many nuances and understanding what fish get along with others, what they eat ( some can be sustained by foods produced by refugiums) the space they need to swim, how sensitive they are to water quality, how these fish are collected and shipped are all of the utmost importance and will lead to your ultimate success or failure. However knowing even then when you think you are doing everything right, things still can go wrong that are just beyond your control and crash your system.

The biggest risk to an aquarium especially an above average system is vacations. Asking others to watch the tank is often catastrophic.
ASK me how I know

 

[j.w]

The biggest risk to an aquarium especially an above average system is vacations. Asking others to watch the tank is often catastrophic.
ASK me how I know

So true, I lost my two large Clown Fish due to a neighbor thinking they were stuck in a vertical log that they loved to go in nose first and sleep or whatever they do. Anyways he stuck his hand in there and pulled them out by their tails. It' must have scraped something like slime protection off their tails and they got bad fungus looking stuff on the tails and both died! I told him to do nothing to the tank or fish except give them portioned out food! I was so sad for them.

 

[Jhn]

@GBBUDD and @j.w, yeah, vacations are usually a disaster for sensitive aquaria, I do the portioned food thing because I have had the well intentioned overfeeding mess.

I tell people to text me if something is going on with the tank that they aren’t sure what to do.

 

[GBBUDD]

i had a sister in-lawblow it with a reef I had @Jhn . All she had to do was go by the house and turn on the window air-conditioned. we only had 5 windows and a siding glass door in a townhouse condo. She couldn't find the air-conditioner. when i got home it smelled like low tide everything but two percula clows survived. all the corals anomies and fish died I was heart broken . TOOK YEARS FOR ME TO TALK TO HER AGAIN.

Thats sad @j.w aS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED turn on the heat or ac which ever is need make sure the tank heater is working. and unless you'll need water replacement . don't bother feedings or neighbors

 

[j.w]

i had a sister in-lawblow it with a reef I had @Jhn . All she had to do was go by the house and turn on the window air-conditioned. we only had 5 windows and a siding glass door in a townhouse condo. She couldn't find the air-conditioner. when i got home it smelled like low tide everything but two percula clows survived. all the corals anomies and fish died I was heart broken . TOOK YEARS FOR ME TO TALK TO HER AGAIN.

Thats sad @j.w aS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED turn on the heat or ac which ever is need make sure the tank heater is working. and unless you'll need water replacement . don't bother feedings or neighbors

I don't have inside fish anymore. One less thing to worry about when away. If we leave no one is messing w/my pond either!

 

[GBBUDD]

I HAVE GLASS already cut to make a 6 foot long 36 inch wide and 30 inch tall aquarium that i will probably never build. windows looking out to the pond will have to suffice. though I miss them both the reefs are amazing all the different types of life. BUT they are usually very strong in purple. While the planted tank may not have the divercity of life it sure had colors that complimented the interior of the house. and the birds above the tank made it more like bringing the outdoors in.

 

[SarahT]

I see that many people choose not to feed their fish and if the pond is large I can see that there is probably enough natural food but for the people that have small ponds like myself, I would question whether or not the fish would be able to sustain a healthy diet without supplementing....Thoughts?

I've found that more fish die of what I think is over feeding resulting in bad water quality, than underfeeding ("starve"). For the past few months, I've been feeding only the koi. The bravest of the goldfish snatch food from the jaws of the koi, and all the GF are eating whatever they can nibble: algae and in-water plants and roots, and they're all doing well.