what do you guys feed your fish? house has a pond from previous owner apparently it sustains itself, just have to clean the filter once in a while, but just if I felt like feeding them what can I give? I bought this 99p store stuff Fish flake? they seem to eat it reading online about ingredients it seems to be okay. What do people on here feed their fish?
what can I feed pond fish?
I also inherited a fish pond when I bought my house - I knew nothing about fish at all. I know there are expert fish people who frequent this forum. I only feed my fish (they're goldfish) when the temperature is above 10 degrees (and has been for a while because it may take a while for the pond to warm up post a cold winter). In the warm weather I feed them up to 3 times a day though a fish expert told me 3 times a week is sufficient. I use pond fish food which you can buy in a pet store or in some larger garden centres and supermarkets - and you just need to feed them enough that they will eat over the course of about 5 minutes. Uneaten food can contaminate the water. The pond man told me that about 3 pellets each was sufficient but one of my larger fish eats a lot more than that (3-4 pellets in one mouthful 
).
I thought I was doing a good thing cleaning and changing the foam filters on a fortnightly basis but the fish need a certain amount of bacteria and can't cope with sudden changes in the water - several of my fish died and I didn't know why. I only clean the filter now when the waterfall slows down. The UV bulbs get changed at least once a year.
I try to keep some oxygenating plants in the pond, particularly during the summer. Water lilies provide shade and hiding spots for the fish.
I love watching them in the summer months when I'm in the garden. The sound of running water is very soothing. My present fish are about 3-4 years old. I had some taken by a heron in my first couple of years in this house so I now cover the pond with netting. I have 3 cats plus lots of cat visitors who also like to have a look at the fish but none of them have ever tried to take one from the pond, even before the netting.
Good luck. Some members may be round later with some good advice which I would also be interested in.
).I thought I was doing a good thing cleaning and changing the foam filters on a fortnightly basis but the fish need a certain amount of bacteria and can't cope with sudden changes in the water - several of my fish died and I didn't know why. I only clean the filter now when the waterfall slows down. The UV bulbs get changed at least once a year.
I try to keep some oxygenating plants in the pond, particularly during the summer. Water lilies provide shade and hiding spots for the fish.
I love watching them in the summer months when I'm in the garden. The sound of running water is very soothing. My present fish are about 3-4 years old. I had some taken by a heron in my first couple of years in this house so I now cover the pond with netting. I have 3 cats plus lots of cat visitors who also like to have a look at the fish but none of them have ever tried to take one from the pond, even before the netting.
Good luck. Some members may be round later with some good advice which I would also be interested in.
thanks for the reply sounds awesome I initially didn't care about the pond but having a look there are loads of fish in there when I put some flake in I start to notice them more, its quite interesting. I did read not to feed them during winter and cold temperatures, they do seem to be moving around a lot since I bothred having a look,. I presume when a fish has died they just float? the pond is roughly about 3mx3m and there are like i reckon 25 to 30fish im wondering if there are too many they must have reproduced at some point, the previous owners knew their stuff since they were able to build the pond its own ecosystem so it must be fine for the moment but surely the pond will become crowded at some point.
Also there is lots of plant life in the pond seems to take up about a third of the pond. I haven't really worked out what's actually going on in there more research needs to be done on my part, its just food concern I have for the moment I don't want to harm them by feeding them for fun, when kids want to feed them etc.
I initially didn't care about the pond but having a look there are loads of fish in there when I put some flake in I start to notice them more, its quite interesting. I did read not to feed them during winter and cold temperatures, they do seem to be moving around a lot since I bothred having a look,. I presume when a fish has died they just float? the pond is roughly about 3mx3m and there are like i reckon 25 to 30fish im wondering if there are too many they must have reproduced at some point, the previous owners knew their stuff since they were able to build the pond its own ecosystem so it must be fine for the moment but surely the pond will become crowded at some point.Also there is lots of plant life in the pond seems to take up about a third of the pond. I haven't really worked out what's actually going on in there more research needs to be done on my part, its just food concern I have for the moment I don't want to harm them by feeding them for fun, when kids want to feed them etc.
Pond fish don't need feeding at all when the temperature is under 10 degrees. They should have special feed for when the temperature goes over 10. Go to your local garden centre for pond fish pellets. it will tell you on the packet what to feed them and when. Over feeding is the most dangerous and fatal thing you can do to your fish.
25-30 fish does seem rather a lot but I think it depends on how big they're going to get. My gold fish are still fairly small after 3-4 years but I have one very big fish who I fear will outgrow my small pond in the next couple of years - he/she is still okay for the moment.
The garden centre near me also deal with aquatics, they're very helpful with advice. I also got a pond man (recommended by the garden centre) to come and look at my set up when several of my fish were dying but, as I said, I was cleaning the filter too frequently and my fish have been fine since I've been less zealous with the cleaning.
Not all my fish float when they die. A couple have died and stayed at the bottom of the pond. I believe it depends on the cause of their death, e.g. whether it's due to water pollution, lack of oxygen or disease. I haven't had any die for a few years now so I must have got something right - probably the fact that I actually do less now, feed the fish less, don't feed them in cold weather and interfere as little as possible with the filtration system (unless it obviously needs cleaning due to slowing down).
The garden centre near me also deal with aquatics, they're very helpful with advice. I also got a pond man (recommended by the garden centre) to come and look at my set up when several of my fish were dying but, as I said, I was cleaning the filter too frequently and my fish have been fine since I've been less zealous with the cleaning.
Not all my fish float when they die. A couple have died and stayed at the bottom of the pond. I believe it depends on the cause of their death, e.g. whether it's due to water pollution, lack of oxygen or disease. I haven't had any die for a few years now so I must have got something right - probably the fact that I actually do less now, feed the fish less, don't feed them in cold weather and interfere as little as possible with the filtration system (unless it obviously needs cleaning due to slowing down).
