Not feeding your koi during winter.....

[Brutuscz]

Friggin freezing in connecticut all winter!! No feeding...top of pond frozen for months and tons of snow. The chore is to make sure there is a hole in the ice. I lost almost all my koi about 4 yrs ago. A mouse chewed through the electric wire to my heater (they are attracted as this is the only warm place outdoors.) By the time I realized the hole had closed...the ice was several inches thick and had about 2 feet of snow covering it. I finally melted through it with a hot water hose to find all my fish dead (lost 4 champions dammit). Now, I leave 3 heaters in the pond with thick plastic tubing around the wires. Only one heater is plugged in...but if it fails, I can simply plug in the next and it will melt a new hole. So far no mice have chewed through the plastic tubing...thank goodness. I also have a gfi..so nothing gets electrocuted. Ponding can be difficult in new england.

[111whalen]

It's my understanding that females reabsorb eggs if not feed. That stops pot bellies and sick fish. I live in So. Cal so not feeding is a challenbe but I try for at least 4 weeks starting at the end of December. It does help the water quality. It seems the fish are a bit weak in the spring but colors and the white especially seem stronger.

Mark

[MikeM]

With the end of Daylight Savings in late October, it is usually dark by the time I get home from work. At that point, the koi receive only one feeding per day... in the morning. I've done this for many years simply because it was convenient. In recent years I've learned that it was a good thing to do as an imitation of the 4 seasons. In January, a month-long fast is imposed. (This I copied from HenryC.) Since water temps are usually in the 60sF during our Florida winters, the fish could be fed year-round. They do well on a restricted diet for a few months. Besides, they have plenty of algae to consume. A vegetarian diet for a season is a good thing.