Winter Care For Pond Fish

Gardening

oi-Staff

By Super

Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 14:22

Water gardens are a beautiful addition to the home landscape. The fish in the pond adds to the beauty, but as winter draws close, it's time to provide special care for your fish. Fish during winter needs specific diet and cleanliness to survive the toughest cold. Here are some simple guidelines for your help.

Preparing for winter

Start your winter maintenance program in the early fall itself because, after the fall the pond is covered with dried leaves from the nearby trees, bushes as well as leaves of your pond plants. If these leaves in the pond decay, it will affect the ecological balance of the water garden. Settling to the bottom, the decaying vegetation can increase levels of dissolved organic compounds and rob water of oxygen. So, try using a net to skim leaves off the surface of the pond as they fall. The easier method would be to install a leaf netting over the pond. It is important to remove as many materials from the bottom of your pond during late summer and early fall.

Other methods for cleaning the pond are pruning, vacuuming (like PondoVac 3 or Mini Vac) and dip net. The PondoVac 3 allows you to keep your floor clean and free of unsightly floor sediments, sludge and plant remains. Mini Vac works well for picking up gravel, small leave and other impurities.

Diet for fish

Feed your fish less as their metabolism slows down during winter. It is advisable to feed only once a day after the water temperature drops to the sixties. As you feed them only once a day during winter, you should make a point to feed them well with a high protein diet during summer. This will allow them to build up a reserve of fat.

Feed the fish with wheat germ based food as it is easily digested. When the water temperature falls below 60 degrees, feed them only two or three times a week as it takes two or three days to digest. When the temperature drops below 50 degrees stop feeding completely until spring. Food fed at this temperature can decay in their system, sending bacteria into the bloodstream and killing them. A great diet for this period would be to include a mild antibiotic soaked in the food. At the same time remember not to add antibiotics to the water as they can damage the natural balance in your pond.