I have to look after a pond. Just normal cold water like gold fish.

I'm sure i would normally have started feeding them by now, but it's been so cold i haven't.

I wondering what other people are doing?

I've been wondering the same. I think it's been too cold to feed them but, on the other hand, I don't want them to be hungry if they are ready to be fed.

I put some food in the pond last Tuesday when I was outside doing some gardening and it seemed quite mild - they came up and ate it. The I tried again yesterday but they didn't budge.

I've been told that it takes a few days for the pond temperature to warm up once the weather improves so I'll probably try again this week. The main thing is to remove uneaten food after about 10-15 minutes to prevent it contaminating the water.

Yeah my feeling is that it's too cold, but equally they haven't been fed for a long time.

maybe this cold snap will break and next week it will be obvious.

mehhh, got to start cleaning the filters again.

I chucked a little of the winter feed in yesterday, but they weren't 'biting'. The pond is quite shaded though and probably still very cold - though I could hear a frog calling so they've woken up at least.

Like Shrike, we gave our fish some winter feed but they didn't bite either.

Bad winter for us - we've lost around 25 of our Koi, the hardiest fish we have is our sturgeon, he's over 2ft long and still going strong.

I've googled a bit and the information suggests to star thinking about it at 10 degrees.

my water temp about 6" under the surface is 6.8

so we will revisit next week.

They've started now

Mind you it was cold again this morning so I'll be going easy on the feed.

We have been feeding ours for the last few weeks. They were suddenly at the top of the pond watching us as we fed the chickens, so we started putting some food in and the odd slice of bread.

This is on my radar again with respect to stopping.

i reckon when we've had a week with the average of the day and night temperature below 10 degrees i'll check the water temp....

I was wondering this too, the two fish in our small raised pond were inside in a tank until late spring(both about 5 inches long), when we put them outside, they have always been fed all year round indoors, but now they are out I was wondering whether I need to stop feeding them as the pond is not that big and there isnt much in there for them to feed off if I do stop feeding them.
Worried!

I am by no means an expert.

but my understanding is that it's not about what they're used to. it's that as cold blooded animals, when the water is cold their body almost shuts down, they have no need for food. and further their immune systems are very much weaker in this state and they can't cope with food rotting.

i would have thought also that if you have a small above ground pond you might want to think about insulating it as we go in to winter proper.

They will also struggle to digest food as it gets colder - I use "winter feed" which is supposed to be easier for them to digest.
Best to closely watch them as it gets colder and so progressively reduce the food. They should live off their fat reserves when its really cold.

Yes I was thinking of lagging it or even installing a heater to take the chill off, the oldest one used to live outside in a pond, he is about 9 years old, but the younger one we inherited has always been in a tank until late spring this year, hopefully both will be fine outside this winter, I will monitor them closely.

chucked the food in this morning and the were not arsed. measured the temperature and it was 7.1 degrees.

looking at the weather forecast the average of the day and night is below 10 degrees for at least the next week. so that may be it.

Mine are still feeding, though I wouldn't be surprised if they stop soon as its got very cold this week. If it does warm up again it may be worth trying them with a little.

yeah i will keep an eye on it.

so three weeks later and they're still eating.

it was -3C last night. still there this morning waiting for me and looking at me as i went out.

Mine were still chomping away up till the beginning of the week, I've been away a few days so I'm not sure if they are still taking a little - I'll try them on a bit tomorrow. They did seem to slow right down when I took the pump/filter out which I suspect would've been keeping the water a little warmer.

i've left my pump and filter in. the water is so clear at the moment.

I keep my pump and filter on throughout the year. I think it helps to stop the top of the water freezing and most fish-keepers I know keep their pumps on too.

My fish were still coming up for food last week but I decided to stop feeding them. I think it's cold enough now and, even if they still eat what I give them, their digestive systems have slowed down and the food is not being digested properly. I think it's better for their health to just stop feeding now.