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Cold Weather Advice

November 23, 2011

During the next few days, temperatures will drop. Looking at the weather forecast, they are due to plummet further over the next few weeks. The experts say that there will be snow in some parts of the UK tomorrow as I write.

For the majority of you with unheated ponds, it may surprise you that the water temperature is about 5 deg.C. at present This is likely to drop further. Now is the time to take a few simple precautions like:

North Denmark – early March 2011 - Waiting for his ‘Full English’
North Denmark
– early March 2011
– Waiting for his ‘Full English’
  1. Stop feeding completely if the water temperature is below 5 deg.C. (feed sparingly from 5 deg.C.- 7deg.C.
  2. If you have a winter protective cover, it should now be on to reduce chilling – the cover will help to prevent heat loss and keep the water 1- 2 deg.C. warmer.
  3. Bypass any waterfalls, turn down the air (but leave some going). Do not stop the filter.
  4. If the pond water surface freezes, melt the ice to form a small hole to let the gases escape. Do not mechanically break the ice as the noise and vibrations can injure your fish.
  5. Drain the garden hose and put it in the garage to make sure it’s kept operational – hoses will freeze and block if left out. You made need to fill the pond in a hurry if you have a burst pipe etc.
  6. Keep a look out for Herons – you are more likely to get problems from predators like Herons during the winter when their natural food source is in short supply. We had our only attack last January.

HealthyKoi - Winter Advice

  1. This is one time in the year that a thermometer is most useful and it need to be part of your kit. Try not to let the pond water drop below 5 deg.C. The Koi will survive at lower temperatures but the risk of losses are far higher. The weaker Koi will go on their sides at about 2 deg.C. and swim bladders can be damaged.
  2. A large aquarium heater which has a low energy consumption will give a little bit of ‘background’ warmth. Our many other heaters will provide more sustainable warmth.

If you have any worries about your pond or the behaviour of the fish, give our team a call on 01243 698284 or 01243 572762.

Have a good winter season

The HealthyKoi Team – Rod, Gerry & Dave