Dormant Koi????

[Rip Fantom]

I'm in the Chicago area and the weather has recently gotten much warmer. I've noticed my Koi are much more active, but the water temp is only about 48-49 degrees. Has anyone ever fed their koi mid-winter? I'm sure this is a no-no since the temp could drop before they digest the food, but I'm a little worried since they have not been fed for 1 1/2 months.

Just curious.

-Ripley

[dskidmore]

Resist the temptation. There are bits of algae and plants they can munch on if they're really hungry. Don't feed them as long as the water is cold. (I think most people use 55 as the cutoff.) The fish may be hungry, but the nitrifying bacteria won't work as efficiently in the cold, and ammonia could build up. Hunger is much better than ammonia poisoning.

[piranha]

I might add that their metabolism slows to a point digestion will not occur causing the fish to be poisoned by the rotting undigested food that you might feed them.

[Rip Fantom]

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking the same but wanted to hear it from someone else.

Does anyone keep their pond aerated during the winter? I was told that koi don't need additional air, but could it hurt them?

-Rip

[Aquathumb]

I am in Upstate NY and do aerate in the winter via a pump and spray bar suspended in the center of the pond when I drain the filters and stop the waterfall around Thanksgiving. I Have been doing this for more than ten years with no problems. The pump is at surface only and does not pull water from the mid or lower depths of the pond. It is a supplement to a heater which I only plug in when the pond begins to freeze. So far that has not happened this year.

I slow feeding down in October - reducing quantities and adventually cutting back to only once a day. By November they are pretty dis-interested so I stop all together. No feeding at all until April.