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Hot Weather Fish Feeding Facts
by: Brett Fogle
Summertime provides the best time of the year to water garden and also to be on the alert for high-temperature problems.
To remain healthy and continue growing, fish need to get all the nutrients available from their food, so feed them food they can easily assimilate in their systems. If fish seem hungry, feed them once to three times daily.
Feeding small amounts guarantees all the food gets eaten, preventing leftover food from spoiling in high, summertime...
What to feed your fish during colder winter months
by: Brett Fogle
With air and water temperatures dropping in most parts of the country, now is the time to greatly reduce the amount of food you are feeding your fish.
When your water temperature starts falling below 65 degrees, you should consider switching your fish food to a more digestible wheat germ food. At lower temperatures, the good bacteria in your fish's digestive tract become less active, and have harder time digesting their normal high-protein diet.
In colder water...
Summer Pond Tips
by: Brett Fogle
Use an oxygen tester and air stones to keep your available oxygen level to at least 7.0 parts per million of dissolved oxygen in 90 degree F. water. Koi and goldfish start showing signs of stress at oxygen levels of 4.0 ppm and will start dying at 3.0 ppm. The higher the water temperature goes the less oxygen that's available. Water temperatures over 90 degrees will also affect fish health so keep the temperature under control by providing shade during the hottest parts of...
Wildlife in Winter Ponds
by: Brett Fogle
This may seem contradictory, but you want to leave a little bit of debris in the pond when preparing it for winter.
Some water gardeners net out the fish, completely drain the water and scrub out the pond, refilling it with fresh water. Frogs, tadpoles, snails and microscopic pond life need to burrow down into mud and leaves to survive the winter.
Fish also hibernate on the bottom, settling in around a bed of leaves and mud. I remove about 90% of the leaves and silt...
Overwintering Pond Fish
by: Brett Fogle
The metabolism of koi and goldfish is controlled primarily by water temperature. As the water cools, pond fish require less protein in their diet. When koi and goldfish are fed high-protein food in cool water, the excess protein is excreted as ammonia from the gills. The microscopic organisms that make up the biological filter (and consume ammonia) also slow down in cooler water.
Improper seasonal feeding can lead to a build-up of toxic ammonia, which stresses fish and...
General overview about Trout Senses
by: Brett Fogle
When fly fishing for trout, it is of crucial importance to understand their senses. Trout are fish, after all, and make different use of their senses than we do. Understanding these senses can greatly increase the prospects of a successful fly fishing trip. Many anglers make the common mistake of thinking trout are not very smart. As far as hatchery born fish are concerned, this is mostly correct.
However, in Montana and many other prime rivers in the world, most of the...
To Salt or Not to Salt Your Pond
by: Brett Fogle
The important question of whether or not to add salt to your pond is often confusing for beginners and forgotten by experienced pond-keepers. To newbies and pro's alike we have this to say:
Add Salt Today to Keep the Fish Doctor Away
True, there are some negative effects of higher salt levels on plants in the pond, but overall we think it is absolutely the very best thing you can add to your pond in terms of keeping your fish happy and healthy. Salt acts as a natural...
Hand Feeding your Koi
by: Brett Fogle
One of the most rewarding and entertaining things about having a Koi pond is when your fish finally start eating out of your hand. There is no better way to learn each fishes' personality and temperament than to have them nuzzle your fingers when they are hungry.
The key to training your Koi to eat from your hand is patience and conditioning. Like any wild animal Koi have a natural distrust for anything that they think can hurt them, and you're plenty big enough to do...
Winterizing Your Pond
by: Brett Fogle
For many parts of the country, it's getting to be that time of year again. Time to start thinking about getting your fish and plants ready for old man winter...
Every year, as the weather gets colder and we start heading into winter, many of our customers ask us how to prepare their ponds for winter. Pond owners should be aware of several simple things to do in preparing their ponds for colder months.
Fish and plants need very different things in the winter, but can be...
Maintaining Oxygen Levels in Fish and KOI Ponds
by: Brett Fogle
Severe environmental stressors are the most frequent causes of sudden fish death in garden ponds or other fish habitats, and the lack of oxygen in the water is the number 1 stressor of all.
Two major factors contributing to fish-pond oxygen loss concern blooming algae. During daylight hours, algae make oxygen; during the night,however, the plants take oxygen. If algae are profusely blooming, the plants deplete all the ponds oxygen during the night, which in turn, causes...
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