fish still active in winter

[yshurtleff]

I'm in Idaho and our weather has been so strange like cold then warm and cold again.My fish are sleeping then waking up.I feel I should feed them but the water is around 40 at best degrees and I know that you dont feed at that temp but if they are swimming around and useing up there energy should I feed them so if they really go dormant they'll have enough body mass to make it or just let them go and pray for the best?:confused:

[aquariumfishguy]

No, do not feed the fish unless the pond temperature is up near 55 degrees or above! IF you feed them when the water is below 50 degrees or so, the fish will die. Even in the dead of winter the fish move slightly. This does not mean you should feed them. ;)

[BigFishDude]

I would like to add, not to feed the fish until the temp is 55 or over for a steady period of time. God forbid the tem. drops to the 30s the next day, the fishies will have a belly full of food and no digestion. The food will then spoil and kill your fish :). HTH!

[yshurtleff]

thanks for the advise I just started getting worried cause there like all over the place almost like spring time....No food for the fish then.....

thanks again

[aquariumfishguy]

Hope it works out for you. I know when I first started my pond, I was worried they would starve to death. Little did I know feeding them when its winter would do more harm than good. I lost 5 fish because of the mistake you almost made. Good luck!