On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:34:47 +0000, RichToyBox wrote:

Size and number of fish are controlling factors here. A small number of
fish, or small fish, will find plenty of good bugs in the algae sweater of
the pond, snails, veggies, and the like. As you get more fish, and larger
fish, the pond gets smaller and the availability of the natural goodies is
not enough to go around and then the fish need to be fed supplemental foods.
I feed mine 3 or 4 times a day during the heat of the summer, and since I
heat to about 70 degrees all winter, I feed twice a day during the winter.
I have in my larger pond around 25 fish at any given time with an average
length of about 24 inches and a total weight of fish approaching 250 to 300
pounds. They would not survive without supplemental feeding.

Ok,

This all makes sense -- However, how do you know when the fish can
survive on just the pond and when they need to be feed. My pond for
example has 7 goldfish, 2 Koi, a couple mosquito eaters, and 6 guppies.
My pond is somewhere between 700 - 900 Gallons. It has a water lilly,
anachris, and hyacinth. And all the fish are under 5".

Nasa