Mary Allen
In autumn and winter, the garden pond fish gradually retreat to the pond floor. Eating habits change with their behavior. Read which fish is better to feed and which is better not.
Fish are so-called cold-blooded animals and adapt their body temperature to external conditions. If the water temperature in the garden pond drops in autumn and winter, the body temperature and the behavior of the pond fish also change. Their agility decreases and they gradually retreat to the bottom of the pond, “snuggle up” in the mud on the bottom and spend their hibernation there. In doing so, their metabolism and heart rate regulate themselves to a minimum: the animals do not eat anything for months.
“The feeding of the pond fish is reduced in the fall and later stopped altogether. This applies to minnows, orfe, goldfish, mildew, bitterling, tench and also rudd,” explains Ulli Gerlach from the Fördergemeinschaft Leben mit Heimtiere e.V. (FLH). “You reduce the feed as the fish accept less. Too many introduced nutrients favor algae growth or fermentation gases.»
However, none of this applies to sturgeons. These fish will eat through the winter and starve if not cared for. It is important to note that the food intended for them sinks to the bottom of the pond. So-called floating feed is unsuitable for sturgeons.
Gerlach: “The mouth of the animals is not at the front end of the body but under the head. With this inferior mouth, the cartilaginous fish are dependent on picking up their food from the bottom as far as possible. The sensory barbels next to the mouth opening are used to find it on the bottom of the water.» The right sinking food for sturgeons is available in pet shops.