How to determine amount of food for small pond

[ralphjramirez]

My pond is about 540 gallons and is exceptionally clean, no algae problems. I have 4 Koi about 12-14 inches in size and 16 much smaller shubunkins. Here in California we are having another drought year and the weather is very warm, spring weather. The fish seem to gulp the food down within 8-10 minutes but still seem hungry. How do I determine how much I should feed them or how to recognize over-feeding. I am currently feeding them TetraPond Koi Vibrance floating sticks and the fish love them.

Regards..........Ralph

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I've heard many say to feed them what they can eat within 5 minutes.
Fish are never not hungry, so they'll eat and eat even if its way too much for them

 

[CeeJayH]

I agree with JB - give them what they can eat in 5 minutes.

 

[sissy]

I wonder about that as feeding that many fish and there sizes in that small of gallons of water if they will all get something to eat .4 koi 12 to 14 inch's and then on top of that 16 shubbies in 540 gallons .Clean water does not always mean healthy water so I hope you have a water test kit .My fish usually find stuff on the liner to eat and I also soak krill and give them that to help keep them healthy and then I found healthier food for them that has krill and garlic in it

 

[Meyer Jordan]

The feeding chart in this Forum article may help'
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/to-feed-or-not-to-feed.12/

Keep in mind, however, that you are literally feeding the pond when you feed your fish. With the fish load that you have in 540 gallons, proper feeding levels will likely cause water quality issues unless you have great water flow and copious biofiltration.

 

[j.w]

Fish are eating and pooping machines. I just have goldfish and they are always wanting food every minute of the day. They get fed when temps warm up to temps consistent of 55f and just what they can eat in a few minutes and not every day. Koi I think you have to feed each day tho. Is that right koi experts?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Fish are eating and pooping machines. I just have goldfish and they are always wanting food every minute of the day. They get fed when temps warm up to temps consistent of 55f and just what they can eat in a few minutes and not every day. Koi I think you have to feed each day tho. Is that right koi experts?

Ideally, Koi should be fed several times a day. This is why bio-conversion capacity is so very, very important on a pond that contains Koi.

 

[slick]

i found out the hard way with feeding my koi, i used to stand at the pond side with bag of food, throw a hand full in and watch them eat. then throw a bit more in and then a bit more in the koi loved it, but the water did not!
now first thing in the morning i feed a slack hand full and walk away at night time again a slack hand full and stand and watch,
if after 10 mins there is food left scoop it out, koi will eat as mush as they can but again the water will not like it, as meyer pointed out clear water is not always good water, i test my water once a week its the law it was a very shocking thing, to find out that my beautiful clear water was anything but,
thank you so much Meyer for making me open my eyes and admitting i had a problem think you saved my pond and fish

 

[slick]

J.W through the summer i do feed my koi every day small amounts but often a hungry fish is far safer than a pond full of poo,
the only reason i feed my koi every day through the summer is for winter conditioning but a healthy koi can go up to 200 days with out food, but a poor conditioned koi may not make it through a long cold winter so make hay while the sun shines

 

[DrCase]

I have never fed my koi what ever they can eat in 3 mins

I have my doubts about my wife ,grandkids or friends

 

[j.w]

When I first got my goldfish I never fed them for several yrs and they ate whatever bug, worms etc. fell or flew into the pond. They did fine and kept the pond from overpopulation. Now I have caved and love to see them come running to me w/their little round mouths opening and closing begging me for food. I have more fish now too and if it keeps up I will have to re-home some of them eventually.

@Meyer Jordan I had heard that koi needed to be fed more than goldfish and also that goldfish can eat during the winter when koi should not. I still don't feed mine during the winter. They do fine.

I agree @slick hungry is better than a big foul mess in the pond.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

@Meyer Jordan I had heard that koi needed to be fed more than goldfish and also that goldfish can eat during the winter when koi should not. I still don't feed mine during the winter. They do fine.

I agree @slick hungry is better than a big foul mess in the pond.

Koi require more food simply because they are capable of growing much larger than Goldfish. Goldfish and Koi can and DO eat during the winter whether someone feeds them or not if food is available.
I am really surprised that those members of this Forum who have read the article on feeding have not commented on the feeding chart which clearly shows 5C/41F as the lowest temp for feeding. This particular chart was published for use in the Aquaculture industry for Carp culture where survival and growth are all important to a profitable operation. If feeding Carp below 10C/50F is at all risky, do you think that a for-profit operation would advocate it?
A hungry (or even starved) fish is a stressed fish....a potential prime target for opportunistic pathogens.

 

[Dave 54]

Meyer its a fact that at the temperature of at 2c koi are that much nearer to being dead than alive than they would be at that of a temperature 5.c
Personally I think its the fact the rule for stopping feeding was that of temperature 10c for so long that many of us arent prepared to risk it , even though they say the food has been folumlated too 5c I dont know of any who do feed that low .
Personally if my koi wish to eat in the winter months they can crop algae from the ponds sides and bottom, they are quite healthy .
We've never had problems with pathogens as our scrapes results show and as soon as we can our koi go onto a wheatgerm and Garlic diet until mid summer when we change to a high protien diet
Our koi are not starved or lacking in any way
As Val pointed so rightly out in my ear a moment ago if you feed at 5c then get a cold snap then there is a danger of the food rotting in the koi's gut or are they claming to have gotten around that ?
I believe at some stage weve been through ths conversation with another poster or may even have brought it up before now ourselves
To the OP feed as much as they will condume in 5 minutes

Dave

 

[Meyer Jordan]

As Val pointed so rightly out in my ear a moment ago if you feed at 5c then get a cold snap then there is a danger of the food rotting in the koi's gut or are they claming to have gotten around that ?

Dave

This is a widely held belief that I have never been able to find supported by any scientific data.
It has been shown that as temperatures decrease, the frequency, duration and intensity of feeding also decreases. At temperatures of 5C/41F or lower, feeding will cease as Koi go into semi-hibernation. However, it has also been shown that in fish with depleted fat reserves, feeding can occur between 0C/32F and 5C/41F.
It is also a fact that water temperature is slow to respond to changes in air temperature. A sudden 'cold snap' would need to be of sufficient duration to noticeably affect water temperature and even then these temperature changes would be gradual.

 

[slick]

I have to feed all year round due to my sturgeon. even in the depths of winter, as i stand by the pond freezing to death i notice that even that there is food preasant the koi do not even look like they want to eat, i do feed wheat germ before i feed the sturgeon when the water temp is at 10*c when i said a hungry fish is better than a pond full of poop i dint mean that they are starving in case any one thought i didnt feed often in warmer months my koi do eat the green stuff on pond sides and pond bottom i try and feed the sturgeon every other day through colder condition in the dark and down a home made feeding tube but the koi do eat some but there is nothing i can do about it i take daily water temp readings and as Meyer pointed out the water temp (in my pond any way) dose not change massively over night or day to day may move 1*c at most