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Fish in a garden pond live from plant substances like plankton, floating pond plants or tiny roots of
pond plants floating in the water. Also larva of insects, worms and other small animals as eaten by some
species. Overall most pond fish enjoy getting fed with commercial fish food.
Feeding fish in the pond, is a great event each day, when the whole swarm of your pond fish snap
for their catch. Fish feeding in a pond gives pleasure to young and old and offers interesting studies of
your aquatic animals from a very close distance.
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Even those pond fish, that live in deeper zones of your garden pond will come to the water surface
as soon as you start feeding fish with granulate food or dry fish food. Many pond fish enjoy the more easy way of
getting fed than searching the natural resources on a long voyage through their artificial water world.
There are various kind of taste and digestibility for different species of pond fish. You will
find special food for summer and easily digestible winter food at your fish dealer. Koi
fish food is offered to support and strengthen your Asian Koi Fish in a Garden Pond.
You can install an automatic fish feeder and set it up to provide a fixed amount of food for your
pond fish each day at the same time.
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Correct fish feeding in a pond means to provide your fish at more or less the same area of the
pond, once or twice a day, at quite constant hours, just so much food as your fish can eat within a few
minutes. Do not overfeed your animals and even a day of fasting from time to time will not hurt your
animals. Do not throw so much food in your garden pond that many leftover float a long time on the water
and sink down to the ground at last. This will produce unnecessary and unwanted nutrients in the water an
increase algae to spread rapidly.
Try to keep the menu interesting for your animals in the water. You will find fish food rich in
vitamins, food products rich in minerals and fish feeding products, that also contain
those trace elements, that your garden pond needs to develop a healthy pond fauna. Fish food with
minerals and vitamins strengthen the immune system of your fish and their resistance against fish diseases.
Commercial fish food can be mixed with pieces of bread, pearl barley or rolled oats. Such a menu change is
well appreciated by Koi and goldfish.
Most popular kinds of fish food, that can be fed as single or mixed fish products:
- granulate food: available as summer food and as easily digestible winter fish food
- dried fish food: small, dried animals, very nutritious and providing good health
- live food: small animals like larva and worms, still alive
- frost food: no loss of quality and not perishable for a long time
(useful for small backyard pond)
- fish food Sticks: float long time on the pond surface without disintegrating or sinking
- flake food: sinks slowly and is designed for fish in middle pond zones
- fish food pills: (only for small pond shells useful)
Most pond fish are quite undemanding about their food. With correct feeding your water animals will
become friendly and trusting. May be after continuous fish feeding - e.g. your goldfish and Koi with crumbs
or little pieces of bread - your fish may even eat out of your hand after some time. During pond season in
summer you can feed your fish once or twice a day. In winter you should reduce feeding not more than once a
day and only with easily digestible winter products.
If ever you pond pump stops functioning in your Koi Pond, stop feeing your Koi fish.
Koi need much more oxygen after eating than before. The fact that Koi can easily survive about 2 weeks
without eating, gives you enough time to adjust the lack of oxygen and fix the non functioning pond pump.
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When fish hibernate in a garden pond, breathing slows down to save energy and to survive cold
winter temperatures. Some species stop eating completely, others reduce eating enormously. For
Goldfish and Koi you will find in pet shops and garden center easily digestible wheat germ food.
As soon as the bacteria in the digestive tract of your fish become less active in winter, it becomes
harder for your aquatic animals to digest high-protein food. Feed once a day and only as much as
your fish can eat within a few minutes. Make sure that no leftover will float uneaten and sink to
the bottom. The disintegration would create unwanted gases in your garden pond during wintertime.
Stop feeding your freshwater fish completely after temperatures have dropped below 50°F, even
if your fish might eat. You may even harm some fish or cause problems to their digestive tract, if
you continue providing their regular diet or undigested food.
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