Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,901
Posts557,103
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,417
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
12 members (Bill Cody, Dylanfrely, Boondoggle, FishinRod, esshup, PRCS, Layne, nvcdl, H20fwler, Bing, Fishingadventure, Angler8689), 705 guests, and 181 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 26
B
OP Offline
B
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 26
Hi all, I have an in ground ornamental pond that's about 100 gallons. I have a couple goldfish in it. I live in Western Washington and the temperatures here for the next ten days are low 50s as the high with some days being upper 50s. Every night it has been dropping into the 30s. I have not noticed any ice on the pond's surface at night before I go to bed and in the morning either. I'm wondering when would be a good time to start feeding my fish again? I don't want them to eat something they can't digest if they are still in winter mode.

Joined: May 2016
Posts: 26
B
OP Offline
B
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 26
bump

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
E
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
E
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
One a warm afternoon try a little feed and see if they eat. That will let you know how active they are.
















Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 534
Likes: 76
4
Offline
4
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 534
Likes: 76
If you can measure water temperature, you might be able to do a little less guessing.
My experience this past winter is as follows:

I have a 30 gallon aquarium in my garage with 4 goldfish that are 6" to 7" long, a green sunfish 4", two bluegills 3", and 3 bullfrog tadpoles. I've fed them Optimal BG, mealworms, and red wigglers through the winter. The water temp dropped to the low 50s for several weeks.

When the temp was that low, the goldfish continued to to feed voraciously and physically were quite active. They each gained an inch in length through the winter.

The bluegills and green sunfish looked at the food but would only mouth the red worms, not the pellets nor the mealworms. When the temps rose to 57 degrees, the bluegills started being interested in the feed and would actually swallow some of it. The green sunfish wasn't interested in feeding until the temp got above 60 degrees.

I'd feel ok about feeding goldfish when water temps were 50 degrees or more.

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
Ewest is right. Toss in a couple of pellets and see what happens.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 26
B
OP Offline
B
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 26
Thank you for the suggestions. I think I will pick up a thermometer to measure pond temp and try putting some flakes in this afternoon and go from there.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by Boondoggle - 03/28/24 06:45 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5