Winterizing fish and plants...

[c2c7390]

should i bring my fish in for the winter...i live in SoCal near disneyland and the coldest my pond gets is mid 40F

 

[Chef Dave]

Pond fish should be fine throughout the winter. At this point you should be feeding your fish food that's high in carbohydrates and lower in protein. Since fish metabolisms slow down as the water gets colder, high carb foods will fatten the fish and give them the energy they need to survive through the winter.

 

[pondlady]

As soon as your water cools to 50 degrees you should stop feeding them. Feed them wheatgerm sticks until then. They can die from impacted bowels feeding them in cold water.

 

[c2c7390]

what about my plants

 

[pondlady]

If your plants are hardy just cut off the dead and leave them till spring. Tropical stuff needs to come in for winter. You can sink you pots to the bottom if you like.

 

[c2c7390]

theyre just floating plants water lettuce and water hyacinth and some duckweed (i think thats what it is???)

 

[pondlady]

Hummmmmm they would come under the tropical part. Most people just replace them every year. If you want you could put them inside under good lights and see how they winter over. Use a container big enough to handle what you want to try too try to save.

 

[c2c7390]

that can get expensive every year...buying new ones...ill try bringing them in...the water is around 62 right now and theyre doing fine...would T5s work??? and are theyre any chemicals that i should/could add to increase the survival rate if i brought them in

 

[pondlady]

You would need to make sore the water does not stagnate on you. Pond flurish would help feed them along with good light. T5s ?????? good water , good light and neutriants give it a shot. Learning cure!!!!!

 

[c2c7390]

T5 is a type of florescent lighting that i used on my pond when it was saltwater...what kind of lighting do you recomend

 

[pondlady]

Those would work as well as lights that are used in hydrafonics.

 

[c2c7390]

do i have to use T5s or will regular lights from my fish store work as well

 

[c2c7390]

cause the T5s are a bit long for my tank