How often do I need to feed fish?

"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
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"Reel Mckoi" wrote in message
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"Sam" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yeah, I thought goldfish might be more high maintenance.

## A half dozen rosy reds may be a better choice. Even those need some
extra food to thrive.

I have Rosy reds in two of my "ponds", both
unfiltered but with lots of plants. They seem to
do fine. I do feed them on occasion but no more
than a few times per week. I use regular goldfish/
koi food and also give them whole wheat bread.

## I believe the size of the pond is what matters the most where the
question of feeding comes in. A huge pond with only a few small fish - the
fish would probably not need to be fed. But most of us have either a small
pond, or we have a good fish load in our bigger ponds. This means feeding
as you said, at least a few times a week. If there's turbulence in a pond
mosquitoes wouldn't be interested in laying their eggs there. And as for
feeding on their larvae; I believe the fish would eat the egg-raft before
they ever got to hatch.

## You may bypass fish altogether. You wouldn't need a filter to mess
with. Just to partial water changes or top-offs. It would be the least
work.

As I noted above, my minnow ponds have no filter
other than a bunch of plants. I live in southcentral
TX and find shade is critical, especially during the
afternoons. It helps keep down the algae.

## It also keeps the water from overheating. It's pretty darn sunny and hot
here in middle TN as well. Even with my small breeding pools I get algae
with half of the pool covered. The plants do fine nonetheless.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"John Bachman" wrote in message
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On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 16:44:26 -0500, "Reel Mckoi"
wrote:
## I think all fish love mosquito larvae but you would need abnormal
amounts to keep even one goldfish or a pair of rosy reds healthy. You
would
also need STILL water to attract the mosquitoes - which is bad for the
fish.
If I were you I would go with no fish and some mosquito dunks.

Cripes, I feed my fish every now and then, certainly not every day.
Maybe that is why they come to the surface when they see me and
scream, "Feed me, feed me."

## Even being fed twice a day they come to the surface and act like they're
starving to death. :-) I'm probably at maximum capacity so have to feed
them. They'd starve to death on the few bugs that fall in......

I figure that they are there to entertain me, not the other way
around.

## Some people, such as myself, get great pleasure out of feeding them.
That's part of the entertainment.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Thanks for all ther replies and info!
Maybe I don't need fish. Ironically, my raised pond will be suplied by
a big ceramic fish spout on the adjacent retaining wall. I'll start
out without fish but will add some evnetually.

As to the skippy filter, it would need to be hidden to keep the upscale
aesthetics of the courtyard it will be in. I may be able to conceal it
behind the stone retaining wall and have it supply the fish spout. Or
maybe hidden behind a waterfall up the hillside (which I want to add
eventually).
Sam