Pond & Water Garden Articles > Cool Weather Feeding Tips
Cool Weather Feeding Tips
Temperatures are cooling and it's time to start feeding your fish cool water food. The cool water food has a low protein, wheat germ base and is easier for your koi or goldfish to digest. An added benefit, the wheat germ base is excellent for the white color in our koi and goldfish.
Koi and goldfish do not have a stomach, just an intestinal tract. With the cooler water, they produce less digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients much slower. If your koi or goldfish eat too much or are eating a high protein diet, they may end up with food in their intestine over the winter and become sick.Generally, fish should not be fed at all in temperatures below 50 F, and only fed a wheat germ or low protein diet when the water temperature falls below 60 F. We will not only check the temperature of our pond water, but watch the weather forecast as well. If we see really low temperatures a few days out, we will stop feeding our fish. Don't let your koi and goldfish try and pull one over on you, they will still "ask" for food. Stay strong and have a great fall season.