| Winter Fasting
I'm looking for information on feeding habits and winter fasting.
It seems that a number of people who fast their koi notice that the koi continue to graze on the availible algea when they withhold food.
Questions: How do you determine the right temp for a fast?
Do you gradually reduce the amount feed or is it the frequency?
The basis of these questionsrelate to my observations.
My Koi have been inside 'some' for almost 4 yrs. ( it's that thing about wanting to build the final Koi pond outside, and the more I read, not only do I find out how much I don't know but also how much more costly it becomes. Hence no out door pond to date. Maybe this summer!
But I digress.
The temp in my indoor pond has slowly dropped to 58'f or 15'c over the last 3 months. Hey, it gets cold early here in Minnesota. anyway the fish have shown no signs that they do not want to eat!! They will beg for food when ever I'm around.
The question is, since my pond doesn't have algea for them to graze on, how do you know when to stop feeding?
Let's say you use the 5 min rule (what ever they don't eat in 5 min is removed) they do eat less at this temp then at 70, however they will want to eat again in a half hour. in fact I see no difference in the frequency in which they will take food, though the amount consumed in 5 min is less.
Any thoughts?
Jim |