Is it Time to Start Feeding Your Pond Fish?

The weather is slowly starting to warm up, maybe the ice has even melted from your pond, but is it time to start feeding your pond fish? That depends on the temperature of your pond.  Koi and goldfish should be fed only when the water temperature is above  9°C/48°F. Below this temperature, the beneficial bacteria in the fishes’ digestive system is dormant, so even if the fish eat, the food will not be digested properly.

Use a pond thermometer to check the water temperature in your pond. Once it warms up to 9°C/48°F, it is best to feed a wheat germ based food, often referred to as spring & fall / cold water fish food to your koi and goldfish. Why feed a wheat germ food you may ask? Wheat germ is easily digested by koi and goldfish. In colder water, koi and goldfish’s metabolisms are slow and they have a hard time digesting the rich proteins found in summer foods. As a result, they don’t absorb as many nutrients from the food and they produce more waste which can lead to water quality issues. Feeding a wheat germ based food allows fish to properly digest the food and in turn produce less waste. Once your water temperature reaches 18°C/65°F, then you can gradually switch over to your favourite summer food.

For more information check out our Feeding Koi at Different Temperatures page.