Koi/goldfish Feeding When in Early Spring?

[KDubU]

My Mum lives up in Montreal where it’s quite a bit colder than here and they still have snow on the ground. She has a pond with a couple Koi and goldfish and I was having a bit of debate as to when she should start feeding them. I understood one should wait until water is warmer, e.g. 50’s, and not below this temp. Am I wrong or is it possible for her to give small amounts when the water is in the high 30’s or low 40’s? My thinking is while I am sure the fish would likely food, their systems have not got up to speed yet to digest properly? Tks.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Most wait until the water temperature (not the air temperature) is consistently 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 Celsius). Some start feeding when the water is slightly cooler than that but 55 is a good rule of thumb.

 

[KDubU]

Thank you! This hopefully will persuade my Mum to hold back from feeding a while.

 

[Jhn]

I pretty much use the fish as an indicator of when to feed. The fish still eat and digest food below 50 degrees (although minimally) you see them nibbling on plant matter in the pond during the winter early spring months. Water in my large pond is right around 50 degrees and the fish are all over the pond rooting around in the plants for food.

Now I don’t feed my fish as often anymore as I don’t want the koi to get huge as quick.

 

[Gemma]

48-50F (my fish won't eat if the water is colder than that) I start with very few wheat germs stick, once a day

 

[addy1]

My pond water is 50f now, the fish are nibbling on the plants in the pond.

 

[Summrbrz]

My Mum lives up in Montreal where it’s quite a bit colder than here and they still have snow on the ground. She has a pond with a couple Koi and goldfish and I was having a bit of debate as to when she should start feeding them. I understood one should wait until water is warmer, e.g. 50’s, and not below this temp. Am I wrong or is it possible for her to give small amounts when the water is in the high 30’s or low 40’s? My thinking is while I am sure the fish would likely food, their systems have not got up to speed yet to digest properly? Tks.

No need to feed at water temps that low. They probably will ignore the food anyway.