Spring ponds - a feeding guide for your pond fish
Posted on February 09 2023,
Once the daffodils and snowdrops start to fill the hedgerows, gardeners everywhere start thinking about the workload in the garden once Spring is firmly established. But before you start oiling up the lawn mower, we suggest you deal with your pond first, the fish will thank you for it.
Here’s a short what to do guide to help feed your pond fish during Spring.
KOI AND CARP
With the average water temperature in February around 5-10 degrees, you’ll still be feeding your fish on a low protein meal diet but very soon, as it gets warmer, they will begin to come up to the surface in search of food; but before they do it’s a good idea to check whether your fish are feeding well on what they’re being given, which gives you a good idea of quantities required and a chance to remove any excess food to prevent it rotting in your pond.
This is vital in the early Spring as the temperature slowly begins to rise because your fish may take longer than you expect to get back to full feeding. It is best to monitor it, keep quantities low until they’re all breaking the surface and you can work your way up to a full feed for Summer.
OUR PRODUCT OF THE MONTH IS VARIETY SUPER MIX
Our Variety Super Mix is unique to the market as the only fish food to have pellets and sticks combined to suit all pond fish. This lightweight pond food that contains only the highest quality ingredients including Wheat Germ and Spirulina.
The ingredients produce a completely balanced nutritional profile, complementing your pond’s delicately balanced ecosystem. The bright colours and extra buoyancy make these lightweight pellets easy to remove to ensure any overfeed doesn’t affect water clarity and quality.
Carp are known for having eyes bigger than their bellies, so it is better to underfeed your fish than to risk contaminating your water. We always advise that if your fish do leave food after feeding at any time of year, to remove the excesses from the pond. The bigger Carp, Koi for example will eat, celery, bits of lettuce, salad leaves and soft fruit, especially raspberries.
BOTTOM FEEDERS AND STURGEON
We suggest a low plant protein diet as bottom feeders lack the enzyme in their stomachs to digest large quantities. They need specialist food that contains none of the plant-protein of most normal fish food.
Sturgeon and all bottom feeders should be fed all year round as, unlike koi, goldfish and other pond fish, sturgeon can withstand extreme cold temperatures and will continue to feed even in the winter.
Keep an eye on our website for when our new Sturgeon feed is launched!
We do recommend reducing their feed quantity and frequency in winter so as not to pollute your pond water. They should be fed separately from your other fish because they’re not as quick off the mark, and the other fish can polish it all off before the sturgeon can get there; we suggest that you feed them at different ends of the pool.
THE PERFECT FOOD FOR YOUR FISH
There are many varieties of fish but almost all will thrive on mixtures of fish meal, squid meal, shrimp meal, earthworms, spirulina and vitamins and minerals.
Walters Products stock many varieties of pond food for all species and seasons.
Over the years we have built up a large customer base (over 50,000!) who are confident that they will find exactly the mixture to ensure that their fish get all the nutrients they need.
We hope this guide has helped further your understanding of the fish that live in your pond and please click here to see our full range of our pond fish food.
A YEAR ROUND SOLUTION
Our All-Round 3mm & 6mm Nutri Mix contains the highest quality ingredients to produce a year-round, completely balanced, high nutrition fish food. With wheat germ, spirulina and added insect meal flavours, the nutritional profile maximises fish growth, health and vibrancy. While the relatively low crude fibre, combined with high ash content, ensures year-round gut health for your pond fish.
Reducing waste from your fish, especially in the cooler months, keeps ammonia to a minimum and maintains the pH balance of your pond. Excellent water quality also promotes plant well-being, so all in all, Walters Nutri Mix Pellets help to protect your pond’s delicately balanced eco-system.