A fish will absolutely NOT eat itself to death no matter the water temperature.
Not saying they will. Just saying eating dry feed in cold water or in water that experiences a rapid drop in temps after feeding could cause stress due to digestion issues.
Their digestive tracts did not evolve with dry feed but they still have the instinct to feed in cold water.
Of course they won't eat as much in cold water, but according to some experienced fish farmers I know, it doesn't take much dry food to cause issues if there is a rapid water temp drop after feeding.
I know a trout farmer in Harrisville, Michigan (Jerry Kahn Cedar Brook Trout Farm) that was freaking out because a guy that was rearing a few thousand trout for him in his pond, decided to feed them when the ice temporarily went out in the middle of winter. His head about exploded! According to Jerry he could have killed the trout.
That said I have fed my trout in open water caused by a diffuser and didn't have any issues. Normally however I feed them lightly only once a week if that. Any more would be a waste of feed. I've actually gone an entire winter without feeding the trout and they came out of winter just fine.
So... Just repeating what some experienced fish farmers have told me. Maybe they're wrong but...
