| Hi mark, I use heat to create a winter floor temperature and heat no higher than that. I see the temperatures in Niigata right now are in the 35 F range. My current outdoor temperature is 43 F. Both their fish AND my fish are under cover!
I stopped feeding normally/daily in early Dec and went to a limited calorie intake diet at that point. Mostly fresh food and wheatgerm every other day. As of Dec 31 they were not being fed any thing at all. I will probably go to the end of this month and start limited feeding again. Saint Patrick's day it pond opening day and I will be feeding 2-3 times a week after that.
In the past I have fasted the mature adults for as long as 14-16 weeks. But those where the days when I kept them below 46 F. I now aim for 6- 8 weeks in the upper 40s, with a max low of 54, as conditions allow during warm up periods ( solar effect in sunny winters or for the gals indoors in the fish room off of the garage). JR |