Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Feeding Fish in Winter

Question: Does it harm fish to feed in colder water? I live in southern Tennessee and find that the coppernose bluegill feed quite aggressively even in cold water. I note that the schedule on the fish pellet bag calls for 65 degree but not sure if harm is done by feeding in cold water. Can the fish digest the food?. I feed primarily Purina fish food chow and Purina aquamax 400. Thanks for any feedback.

You should be fine, as a general guideline you should feed only the amount of feed that the fish can consume in a 15 minute time frame. If the water temps start getting below 55 degrees you may want to cut back the amount of feed or discontinue feeding all together until the water temps come back up.

How much colder than 65 degrees?

Digestion can be so slow at lower water temps that food may spoil before being digested, IIRC. But I hazard to guess that any water temp which coaxes CNBG to feed on pellets at the surface is probably OK.

Quantity and frequency of feeding should be lowered as the temperature drops.

I am not sure how much colder than 65 but I guess at mid to upper 40's. It ALWAYS surprises me when the fish rise so aggressively in this water but they do. I feed about every 4 to 5 days. Ofcouse in the summer I feed more. Thanks so much for the feedback.

If they will eat it in 15 mins you are not harming but helping the fish, go for it.

Not trying to disagree with anyone but Mike Robinson of Keystone Hatchery in Illinois tells me they stop feeding their warmwater fish at 50 F. He says one could stress the fish as they will still feed but digestion is poor.

Thanks Cecil and Greg...I think I will probably wait for slightly warmer water before resuming feeding, just to be safe. I have heard too often that digestion is extremely slow at current water temp. and that literally the food can rot inside the fish before digestion. Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I appreciate it.