Cold Weather Fish Food is a Must for Healthy Pond Life

They're just fish. They can eat the same thing all year long. It's just those little flakes or pellets, right?

Wrong! Fish are actually a lot like humans in that their digestive systems require different kinds of nutrition throughout the year. Their fish bodies are hardwired to respond to the environment around them, and those responses directly dictate what kind of food they need to stay healthy and happy.

As the proud owner of backyard pond koi and goldfish, it is up to you to make sure your fish get the proper nutrition. This requires you to know how their bodies are going to change throughout the year, and what they need to stay healthy during those times.

During winter, this balance becomes especially important. Fish's bodies have an interesting reaction when the weather begins turning cold: their metabolisms start dramatically slowing down. That's right. As the temperature decreases, so does the activity going on in their digestive system. So how does this impact what food they need to be fed?

Well, in order to provide them with the nutrition their slowed-down systems can digest, you need to switch from regular fish food to cold weather fish food. Instead of being made primarily with protein (which can be difficult to digest), cold weather fish food is comprised mostly of:

• Wheat germ
• Fats
• Probiotics that produce enzymes to help break down food

Wheat germ and fats are already easier for their systems to digest, and the added probiotics simply help things to go more smoothly.

Ok, so now that you know what goes into cold weather fish food, you may be wondering: Why is feeding your fish this type of food so important? Does it really keep them that much healthier?

The answer is absolutely and unequivocally, YES. If you feed your fish high-protein food their metabolisms can't process during winter, they are going to start producing excess amounts of ammonia. This ammonia will then build up in the water they are living in and could eventually poison them.

If the temperatures are starting to drop, it's time to think about switching to a food that's better for your fish. As soon as nighttime temperatures go below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, break out the cold weather fish food. Your fish will thank you for it, and they'll be around in the springtime to prove it to you.

Have any additional questions about cold weather fish food? Contact one of our pond supplies professionals today.