I agree Tim. I'm not sure anything in this thread could be construed as being a "traditionalist" or not. It has been claimed that fish at a lower temperature continue to digest food and uptake nutrient the same as they do in warm water, yet in the same sentence, that is contradicted by saying "Sure, the metabolism slows".
The enzymes, bacteria and digestive fluids needed to digest and utilize proteins, fats and micro-nutrients that are present in a given fish' digestive tract in waters over 50 degrees are simply not present in lower temperatures....that is not a traditional theory, it is an accepted and well established fact. Just because a fish eats food in cold water, in no way means it is digested and/or absorbed by that fish like it is in warmer water. Along with digestive juices and enzymes, bacteria also break down foods in the digestive tract...many of these essential bacteria can not and DO not live or function in the cooler temperatures. I believe some of what is being called "myth" is a simple misunderstanding of the digestive differences between fish that are cold-blooded species being mixed with the digestive processes of warm-blooded species.
If cold weather feeding helped fish grow, every commercial fish farm, every feed producer in the world, every professional pond manager, and most pondmeisters wanting big fish would jump all over it.
It is not myth, nor tradition, that causes fish farmers to stop feeding. It is not myth that causes commercial fish feed producers to suggest NOT feeding in cold waters...it would be against their best interests to do that. It is the fact that it less profitable, and often problematic, to feed many fish in cold waters.
Last edited by Rainman; 12/14/14 02:53 PM.
