Mixed pond fish

[Frankie61]

Hi all
I live in Ireland , the temp is under 10 % today so I won’t feed my fish which brings me to my question/query . I have a pond which is deep enough for koi this winter but what about my other fish ? will they go low when winter really sets in and more importantly how do I feed these fish with out my koi gobbling up their food? I have 2 young koi , several comets and several shubs as well as 5 two inch gold fish, or do I just stop feeding them all? One final query , what do I do when the water temperature hangs around 10 % for a few weeks ?

 

[JamieB]

Stop feeding them all. I’m American, and not sure about temp conversion, but you want water temp, not air, to be higher than 40s ( Fahrenheit) for longer than a few days to be feeding them. When they hide out for winter, undigested food can just sit in their guts, go bad, and cause problems. If they do digest it, it just adds to the waste, but for the most part, it’s recommend not to feed when the water will be cold.
For the winter, you can shut down most things in the pond. You do want some water flow, mostly for gas exchange, so a pond bubbler, large air stones, that kind of thing. You also need a way to keep a joke in any ice that forms unless it’s just a thin layer at night, if it melts during the day you’ll be ok. Otherwise, if you get ice for extended period of time, it can cause the water to lack oxygen and suffocate the fish. A pond warmer, livestock trough de- icer, they don’t heat the entire body of water, just keep an area above freezing, which is what is needed for gas exchange. Some folks will leave a waterfall going for this purpose, but if the weather will freeze it, don’t do that. I don’t know what your winter weather will be like, perhaps others who have a better idea can chime in

 

[Frankie61]

Stop feeding them all. I’m American, and not sure about temp conversion, but you want water temp, not air, to be higher than 40s ( Fahrenheit) for longer than a few days to be feeding them. When they hide out for winter, undigested food can just sit in their guts, go bad, and cause problems. If they do digest it, it just adds to the waste, but for the most part, it’s recommend not to feed when the water will be cold.
For the winter, you can shut down most things in the pond. You do want some water flow, mostly for gas exchange, so a pond bubbler, large air stones, that kind of thing. You also need a way to keep a joke in any ice that forms unless it’s just a thin layer at night, if it melts during the day you’ll be ok. Otherwise, if you get ice for extended period of time, it can cause the water to lack oxygen and suffocate the fish. A pond warmer, livestock trough de- icer, they don’t heat the entire body of water, just keep an area above freezing, which is what is needed for gas exchange. Some folks will leave a waterfall going for this purpose, but if the weather will freeze it, don’t do that. I don’t know what your winter weather will be like, perhaps others who have a better idea can chime in

Thank you for the advice Jamie