So over the last 4-5 days I haven't seen my adult FHM coming to the surface to feed. I see fry everywhere, but I haven't seen the action from the adults like I usually do. The nights have been cooling down recently, is this normal for them to not come up and feed. I usually only feed 2-3 days per week and usually near dusk. I have tried feeding midday, but no luck seeing the adults. How often should I be feeding and is this normal behavior not to see them?
Your pond is looking real nice...congrats on a great start! The water color is insane.
Adult FHM's in my pond were rarely seen even during feeding time once breeding started. It seems the fry are more likely to surface for food. My guess is that the adults are/were busy spawning and/or staying hidden.
IIRC, all you have right now are the FHM...either way, feeding a few times a week is fine. I would feed them enough food that it gets eaten within 10 to 20 minutes and no more, even if you feed daily...this is a good rule of thumb. This applies if you are feeding small pellets that can be eaten rather easily/quickly. If your pellets are so big that they have to push them around for a while until they soften to get bites...you could feed for another 10 minutes or so. Certainly stop feeding if the pellets are being left alone and adjust your time back from there.
THanks QA! I appreciate the feed back and your great insight. Yes, only FHM for now When I first received the FHM I was advised to not feed them for at least a week. So after a week I had a very little activity feeding with the 28% protein pellets I purchased form Anderson fish farm. When I switched to what my local feed store carries(32% protein) catfish pellets; the amount of FHM coming to the surface was ridiculous. It looked like all 4# of FHM were eating. They were very aggressive. So when I did not see the aggressive feeding pattern for at least a week now, I got a little worried to say the least. And I'm only talking about FHM. I can't imagine how some of these guys feel when they walk out and see a mass winter kill.
So hopefully they are just busy like you suggested. I truly appreciate all the insight and help this forum provides.
When I first received the FHM I was advised to not feed them for at least a week. So after a week I had a very little activity feeding with the 28% protein pellets I purchased form Anderson fish farm. When I switched to what my local feed store carries(32% protein) catfish pellets; the amount of FHM coming to the surface was ridiculous. It looked like all 4# of FHM were eating. They were very aggressive. So when I did not see the aggressive feeding pattern for at least a week now, I got a little worried to say the least. And I'm only talking about FHM. I can't imagine how some of these guys feel when they walk out and see a mass winter kill.
