Koi Fish Feeding
Do your koi fish look sick or sad because they are just sitting at the bottom of the pond? They probably look lifeless, listless, and all the rest, but you would too if you were stuck out in the cold. Not to worry, they are okay, they are just reacting to the cold water. In the winter months when the water turns cold, in Southern California the water gets to be about 50 degrees or so, koi fish aren’t as active. In other states it tends to snow, so the water must get super cold and the pond freezes over! Unfortunately, I have never seen a frozen pond, so my experience comes from a cold water pond, not a frozen one.
So when the water starts to get colder you can tell because the koi start to move slower. They aren’t as active gliding back and forth from one end of the pond to the other, but rather they start hovering. This is a good sign to reduce the feeding significantly. Unless you have a responsible maintenance professional like Aquatic Federation to care for your pond on a weekly basis, the uneaten food will start to rot and begin throwing off the water chemistry. Even in cold water fungal clouds will begin growing around the leftover food. Your ammonia count will definitely start to rise (albeit at a slower rate), but it is not good for the fish nonetheless. I recommend watching your fish. If they don’t come up for food when you go out to feed them, then don’t feed them.
You also want to start feeding them a different type of food. Switch to a wheat germ food because it is easier for them to digest. The food with heavy protein is good for them when the water is warm. They are able to pass it through their systems a lot easier during the spring and summer months, but when it starts to get a little cold they could get backed up. It may even come to the point where the food is just rotting in their system. This is definitely bad and it even sounds gross! Even though the cost of wheat germ food is more expensive, a bag typically lasts longer just because you aren’t feeding as much or as often. It is well worth the investment.
If the fish are looking totally listless, stop feeding altogether. A good test is to throw in some food, and if there is no surface skimmer, watch the food and if it goes uneaten and expands like when cereal is left in milk for a while, then stop feeding the fish. All this will do is put a strain on your filter. Although if the weather starts to get a little warmer and the fish are starting to swim a bit, start feeding them a little. You want to build up their immune system, so when the water does start to get warmer you want the koi to be strong enough to fight off any sort of disease that’ll try to harm the fish.
All in all, observe your fish. Seeing how they behave will help build up your fish sense. You’ll start to get a feel for how they behave, how much they eat at certain times, and after going through a few seasons you’ll know your fish better than they know themselves. Love Your Fish.
