What food to feed your fish and when

Knowing what to feed your fish and when can prevent a lot of pond problems and will help keep your garden pond healthy and clean. Here at Garden Craft Ponds & Landscapes we are pond specialists and can give you some helpful info and tips to keep your pond ticking over just right!

Fish in general will eat a variety of food such as wheat germ, plankton, peas, spinach, shrimp and algae. The temperature of the water will somewhat effect your fishes diet.

In the summertime when your pond water temperature could hit 15 degrees c or even higher, your fishes metabolism will be at its peak and should be fed with food that's high in protein. In the colder months your fish wont be as active and need as much protein and should be fed food lower in protein but higher in carbohydrates, if you wanted to keep check on your water temperature you could use a floating pond thermometer.

A major thing to remember is to not overfeed your fish, as food that is not eaten will break down and effect the balance in your pond water, and in some cases cause a build up of sludge and algae. A feeding ring may help.

Your fish will need less food in the colder months as fish are cold blooded and there food intake is linked to there energy used and activity.

A good tip is to feed them on milder days in the autumn to build them up for there winter down time, and feeding them in the warmer days of the spring to help them recover from the winter. In temperatures below 8-10 degrees c or when ice is on your pond it's best to not feed them, and when spring arrives only feed them lightly until the weather is warmer.

When the temperature rises your fishes appetite will rise, your filter system will need to start doing its job, so best to increase the feeding of your fish gradually to help the filter and pond bacteria adapt to increasing fish waste.

Different types of fish food

Flake Food

Flake food is best for small and medium ponds, it is great a treat mixed with other foods, its not suitable for koi, but the flakes will take on water so good for mid and bottom feeding fish.

Pellet Food

Pellets are denser than stick or flake food, which in turn makes them a good choice for medium to large fish, also a great choice for bottom feeders but be careful as any left over food will break down and effect the natural balance of your pond water.

Pellets come in two types, pellets that float on the surface or pellets that sink to the bottom, they can be high in protein and will offer your fish a balanced diet.

Stick Food

Stick food is a very popular food to use, ideal for a mixed fish garden pond. As they will quickly soften in pond water making it easy for small and large fish to eat, and suitable for a range of different fish.

So to sum up, slow feeding to a stop in the winter and gradually increase feeding as the weather gets warmer, the type of food depends on the type of fish pond you keep, if you only take one thing away from this let it be do not over feed your fish and never provide extra food to make up for missed days of feeding. I hope we helped with your understanding on feeding your fish. #gcplandscapes #blagden