Ideal winter low temps, feeding/winter fast etc?

[koiczar]

I also resemble what aquitori and koicop are doing. I was standing by my pond this morning around 9:00. The fish were all gathered close, looking at me as though to say, "feed me you jerk"!
I then turned on my thermometer receiver to find out the temps in both ponds. Keep in mind that on Sunday afternoon, they were both around 50.5-51.0F. Well, you could have knocked me over with a wet noodle! My 1200gal QT read 46.1 and my 40ton pond read 45.6!! Looked at the fish, said "sorry guys", finished my smoke and fled the scene.

Also, one thing I do notice, is that the fish are less enticed to eat just before and after a storm front moves through. Something to do with the barometric pressure during a low which affects their lateral line sensors and they just aren't comfortable. BTW, ever notice during this same period that you'll notice some minor flashing or jumping? I believe it's due to the same causes, because after things settle into a high pressure period, they become much more active and aggresive towards any food given them. Just my observations over many years of closely watching fish behaviors in outdoor ponds.

Mike

[MikeM]

Yes, the environment outside the pond impacts koi. The changes in behavior can be disturbing. I've learned to be alert, but if the whole population is acting similarly and water parameters show no problems, there is no need to panic. Hard to learn this when new at the hobby.

[vipldy]

What do you do if your fish are in for winter and the water stays at 65 or so? They had parasites so water is at 74 deg. They eat 1-2 times a day and seem starved. They are 14-20"..

Marie

[aquitori]

You got to think about the fishes condition coming out of winter...One thing is to feed too much and not have your bio ready to take on the extra load when spring hits.

We as hobbyist get the itch to feed even when the koi are not hungry, we feed at certain temps to give the fish the best temps to digest food.

Quote: Originally Posted by KoiCop the three you mentioned (Burt, Bob & Joan) constitute an impressive trinity of SoCal koi cognoscente! Best listen to 'em. You also might be interested in a current thread on NI's KoiMag.com: Re: No chance...he's far more koi knowledgeable than all of us together - James P 12/5/2005, 12:52 am It's located at: http://members4.boardhost.com/koimag/ wherein JR and Lee Aronfield bat that question around with great gusto. Personally, I'm with Antonio. I think that with our climate it's OK to feed several times a week, except during the coldest part of the winter -- and especially so when tosai are in the pond.

[Steve Nguyen]

Carl,

this link has good feeding at temp break down.

http://www.sfbakc.org/koienews/feedingtemps.html

I follow this recomendation and didn't have any problem feeding them with wheat germ food for winter.

Steve

Quote: Originally Posted by Carloskoi is there an ideal winter low temp to strive for if you could control the temp? i know people say you shouldn't feed your fish for a few weeks in the winter no matter what your winter low. why? my winter low last year was 59. i do have a heater that i did not use last winter to see what the temps were. i know part of the reason people say is so the females reabsorb eggs. why is that a good thing? it seems that is just a response to starvation and the starving males don't have eggs to resorb. if i have males and females in my pond, and i do, like most of us, won't they spawn if they are healthy and well fed and isn't that a good thing. as long as they eat all the eggs of course, i don't want any little shitagoi swimming around in the pond. do wild carp in their indiginous steams fast for a few weeks? or do they just eat less and maybe a different diet? what is the diet of carp anyway? i was at a koi club party last night and the topic turned to fasting. no one could give me a real good reason except that i didn't want food rotting in their gut. our temps don't get that low. someone else said feeding will lead to ulcers but i never got a mechanism for why that would be so. maybe poor filter leading to increased aeromonas bacterial counts in the water. anyway, main questions are why fast if temps are higher and what is the IDEAL winter low? Carl

[111whalen]

Carl,

I was at that party. I think I even know the address. Here's the deal. Where we live, you do not need to stop feeding. However, in late December my pond (which is 15 miles from yours) gets close to 50 degrees. At that point I give the fish a "rest". The gains are (I believe): the reds seem to get tighter, the whites get way stronger, the bellies firm, and the water quality becomes "like a sparkling dream". I have tried both ways and agree with many here who stop feelding for 4 to 6 weeks.
Mark
See you at the nest party?

[Carloskoi]

thanks Mark et al. i will stop feeding by the end of december or mostly stop. i just gave the ravenous little pigs another handful. not much, but they were all up to eat.

water temp 59 today.

it will be fun to watch the reds contract, and the sumi darken in the cold water. just in time for the March ZNA SO Cal show.

thanks for the hospitality Mark. we had great time.

Carl