To Feed or not to Feed?

[Fish Lover]

I have a 10'x20' x 2.5' deep pond . There are 12 goldfish and water illies and other aquatic plants.
I keep the fish and plants in the pond for the winter. I do cut the plants back and have a heating unit to
keep the pond from completely freezing over.
I used to feed the fish, but in the last three years I have stop feeding the fish completely throughout the year. They seemed to be doing just fine.
I am just wondering if there are different opinoins and/or similar experiences out there?

 

[Mmathis]

Personal opinion……. I rarely feed my goldfish as there is plenty of algae for them to snack on. It also helps keep the baby fish population under control.

 

[Jhn]

I have gone a year without feeding my fish, depending what is going on. Goldfish will be fine in most ponds without being fed. Large koi would be a different story.

 

[rubyduby]

I feed sparingly..even less when they are spawning, but I do love the interaction of feeding them even if it's just a little bit

 

[WaterGardener]

I admit it. I'm a chronic over feeder and I have enough filtration to cover my fish feeding addiction. I like feeding them and they definitely enjoy eating.

 

[Lisak1]

We feed our fish almost every day in the warmer months, but just because we want to. We love sitting by the pond and checking in on them and it's just plain fun. We also have a passel of grandkids who love to feed the fish - after the kids have been around we lay off for a week or so because they get enough in a day to last them a week. We do have one big koi in the pond and I like to make sure she gets fed - I think the big fish would struggle long term in a pond without some supplementary feeding. But goldfish - they'll do fine either way.

 

[rubyduby]

I notice that my fish (shubunkins) do not come to the surface to feed. I see bugs floating but no takers..I attribute this to feeding sinking pellets and probably the fact that they are getting enough from what lurks below...I guess there is a lot at the bottom that I am not aware of...