Too much food – too little food
How much do you need to feed?
Only feed as much as can be completely eaten by the fish in about 2-3 minutes. Should uneaten food still be floating on the water surface or lying on the pond bottom after 5 minutes, you have been feeding too much!
Strangely most pond owners seem to be afraid that their fish will starve to death. As a result they often overfeed the animals. This is extremely unhealthy and causes extreme pollution in the pond (resulting in algae problems).
You can accurately dose the food quantity if you know the weight of your fish. 100 grammes body weight of a large koi requires about 1 - 2 grammes of food per day. But who wants to weigh their fish and the food all the time? The “eaten in a few minutes“ rule is absolutely sufficient and leads, when combined with the right food and feeding frequency, to perfectly healthy fish.
On the side of every ProPond® / NEO Index® pack you will find a table with precise feeding recommendations.
In addition pet shops sell JBL food dosing cups, similar to washing powder dosing cups, to help you to determine the right food amount per type of diet. This is a professional way to prevent under and overfeeding and thus to keep your pond fish healthy and well fed. Overfeeding (fish will always go on eating!) causes algae problems because of excessive nutrients in the water, but doesn’t result in strong and healthy fish! As with humans being overweight can lead to a weakening of the immune system and create an additional burden on the organism.
How often do you need to feed?
The basic rule applies: little and often is better than rarely and a lot. Here too the similarities with the human diet are obvious. Young animals need their food ration at least 5 times a day, whereas older animals can easily manage with one feed in the evening.
Let us not forget that most ponds of more than two years' standing contain comprehensive microfauna and flora which can serve as dietary supplements.