Winter food for gold fish

[MajorDan]

what water temperature indicates when to switch to a winter low protein food? It is getting cold here in northern Alabama.

 

[Lisak1]

I don't know that you'll get a real specific answer to that question @MajorDan - it's more about timing than it is about temperature. You know winter is coming by the calendar - go ahead and switch if you want.

And remember we're talking water temperature, not air temperature. Define "getting cold" - it's 37 degrees here this morning!

 

[CometKeith]

what water temperature indicates when to switch to a winter low protein food? It is getting cold here in northern Alabama.

Hi. I would suggest switching to fall/spring diet when the water temperature starts to go down to the low 60’s. Below 50-55 degree range I would stop feeding altogether. Also I would recommend to reduce the frequency of feeding also as temps go down so if you are feeding them two to three times a day in the summer then in the fall go down to once a day. If you feed them once a day in the summer then go down to every other day or just a few times a week. They need a lot less food as the water gets colder. Once you take them off food with protein they are not growing so much as storing fat to help them get through the winter.

 

[Tula]

I don't change food, but follow @CometKeith 's suggestion in reducing rate of frequency i feedings.

 

[CometKeith]

So our temps dipped here. It went from 72 degrees to 52 degrees in one day. I finally “braved” the weather this afternoon to see how my fish were doing. They were all lower down in the water and definitely not at the surface asking for food. No need to overthink the situation. It was time for me to stop feeding until things warm up!

 

[Jhn]

I feed the fish the same food year round and use fish behavior as an indicator of when to stop feeding instead of a predetermined temperature.

 

[MajorDan]

Thanks everyone for your experiences. Today the water temp was 59F. The fish were very sluggish. Not racing for food or fighting for each piece. I switched them to winter food yesterday and reduced the amount by half today. The babies were still zooming around so water temp didn’t seem to bother them much. Fed them flake food. Previously the big guys ate most of the flake food. Today they showed no interest.

Checking out titanium heaters and controllers. Might put two 300 Watt heaters in the skimmer with the temp control set to 60F. Hoping it keeps the pond from freezing. Plan on keeping everything running through the winter.

 

[addy1]

Mine nibble all winter on the plants even when the temps are down in the low 40's. At 33 or so they just sort of hang out, occasionally moving.

 

[KeeperOfThePond]

I used to feed my goldfish good quality warm water food duri g the summer then switch to cool water food in the fall and stop all together in the winter. I live in ME Arkansas. My fish kept multiplying and multiplying. I have a 12×25×3 ft pond with a skimmer and biofalls. I have pickerall, cattails, parrot feather, and hardy water lilies. I completely quit feeding my fish year round a year and a half ago in order to stop the reproduction. I have approximately 60 goldfish varying from 2 inches to 18 inches. I have had maybe 5 die. They were medium sized. My pond is clearer than it has been the previous 4 years. Not sure what they are eating, but they seem happy and healthy.

 

[MajorDan]

Great information. I only feed once a week now. Water is clear but string algae is everywhere. I harvest every weekend. Fill a 5 gallon bucket then quit. I just pull out the long strings that grow at my air stone and around my water lilies.