Fish are cold blooded, which means as the water temperature cools down, their metabolism slows down. They reach a point where they are no longer able to digest certain foods and at this stage it is potentially harmful to feed them the wrong kind of food. High protein foods such as growth and colour foods should only be fed in the warmer summer months.
As the temperature cools down you should gradually start to mix in some wheatgerm food.
Wheatgerm is a food low in protein and high in fats and carbohydrates, and as we all know these are easy to digest and often build up a layer of “insulation” over time. Whilst undesirable for us it is important for the fish and provides them with a source of energy throughout the winter.
Most good quality wheatgerm foods can be fed down to 6 °C which gives you a lot more time to keep feeding your fish than if you stuck with a high protein food.
For this reason it’s difficult to say when you should stop feeding your pond fish as it’s completely dependent on the weather.
The only sure fire way of getting it right is to buy a pond thermometer. This will give you an accurate indication of when to stop feeding and also when to recommence feeding in spring time. These are available in store and online for only £4.99.
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