Ponds in winter

[nic3c]

When should i stop feeding my pond fish for the winter? And when should i turn the pump off for the winter? Thanks.

[paddywak]

as the weather gets colder your fish will become less active, require less feeding and if it gets cold enough they will gradually disappear till the weather warms up. I check my pond every day and if the fish are swimming about I put a pinch of food in the pond, but it really comes down to experiance, you soon get to know when the fish aren't feeding. as to the pump, some people will say keep it running 24/7 through the winter to prevent freeze up I personally run mine for a couple of hours every day to make sure the water is circulated and leave it at that and I've never had any major problems in 15yrs

[nic3c]

Thanks for the info. Do you think it's cold enough now to start feeding them less and only having the pump on for a couple of hours?

[paddywak]

I've already started on my winter pogram. The cold weather we've had lately has really made the fish lethargic and some days I dont even see them, consequently theyre not feeding at all, though a warm spell might bring on a little activity I wouldn't expect too much action now till spring

[nic3c]

Ok, thanks.