Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

"D. T. Green" wrote ..

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish
can retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?
If the pond has a bottom of soft mud then they are already getting a varied
diet eating a lot of wildlife etc. If you want to give them a varied diet
then use Tetra Flakes for Tropical Fish (not goldfish) but it's not needed
especially in an established mud bottomed pond. If you have a water but that
grows midge larvae then net those out and feed them to the fish.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
"D. T. Green" wrote ..

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish
can retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?
If the pond has a bottom of soft mud then they are already getting a
varied diet eating a lot of wildlife etc. If you want to give them a
varied diet then use Tetra Flakes for Tropical Fish (not goldfish) but
it's not needed especially in an established mud bottomed pond. If you
have a water but that grows midge larvae then net those out and feed them
to the fish.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK
__________________________________________________ ______________________________

Thanks. What kind of wildlife would that be, that relates to the muddy
bottom ?

In article , lid says...

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
"D. T. Green" wrote ..

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot.

Also because peas are no part of the natural diet of fish. Petsmart will
provide ample stocks of commercial products that are.


Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?
If the pond has a bottom of soft mud then they are already getting a
varied diet eating a lot of wildlife etc. If you want to give them a
varied diet then use Tetra Flakes for Tropical Fish (not goldfish) but
it's not needed especially in an established mud bottomed pond. If you
have a water but that grows midge larvae then net those out and feed them
to the fish.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK
__________________________________________________ ______________________________

Thanks. What kind of wildlife would that be, that relates to the muddy
bottom ?

Scoop out some of that mud onto a plastic sheet, or into a clear
plasrtic bucket of water, and you'll be amazed what comes wriggling out
of it.

Janet

On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 15:48:07 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article , lid says...

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
"D. T. Green" wrote ..

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot.

Also because peas are no part of the natural diet of fish. Petsmart will
provide ample stocks of commercial products that are.

Do peas give goldfish wind?


Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?
If the pond has a bottom of soft mud then they are already getting a
varied diet eating a lot of wildlife etc. If you want to give them a
varied diet then use Tetra Flakes for Tropical Fish (not goldfish) but
it's not needed especially in an established mud bottomed pond. If you
have a water but that grows midge larvae then net those out and feed them
to the fish.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK
__________________________________________________ ______________________________

Thanks. What kind of wildlife would that be, that relates to the muddy
bottom ?

Scoop out some of that mud onto a plastic sheet, or into a clear
plasrtic bucket of water, and you'll be amazed what comes wriggling out
of it.

And children love it.

--
Mike.

On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02 +0100, "D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?


Fish never know when to stop eating so you have to assess how much to
give them. They will eat everything they find even if it's in mud.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software. http://www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme writes
On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02 +0100, "D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?


Fish never know when to stop eating so you have to assess how much to
give them. They will eat everything they find even if it's in mud.

Ours do,if you give too much food, it is just left floating about,until
eventually sinks. Ditto the tropical fish in the tanks (which is why
they tell you to sparing with feeding fish in tanks, as the breakdown of
uneaten food isn't good for the water quality.

--
Chris French

On Jul 11, 7:40*am, chris French
wrote:
In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme writesOn Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02 +0100, "D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. *The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

Fish never know when to stop eating so you have to assess how much to
give them. They will eat everything they find even if it's in mud.

Ours do,if you give too much food, it is just left floating about,until
eventually sinks. Ditto the tropical fish in the tanks (which is why
they tell you to sparing with feeding fish in tanks, as the breakdown of
uneaten food isn't good for the water quality.

I am confused. Have tried searching the internet for an answer but
with no luck. In most cases it says give fish food they can eat in a
few minutes but my fish hide when I go to feed them and take a while
to reappear to eat the food so its difficult to judge. OTOH if I leave
loads of food floating about they will usually eat it all within 24
hours. Now I am trying not feeding them at all for a day or two but
they still hide when I go to feed them and therefore do not appear to
be particularly hungry.

Probably the firms that supply fish food on the internet want us to
feed them regularly so its difficult to get impartial advice on
feeding. So, how long can I leave my fish without food in the summer?

Doug.

In message
,
Doug writes
On Jul 11, 7:40*am, chris French
wrote:
In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme writesOn Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02
+0100, "D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. *The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the
fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

Fish never know when to stop eating so you have to assess how much to
give them. They will eat everything they find even if it's in mud.

Ours do,if you give too much food, it is just left floating about,until
eventually sinks. Ditto the tropical fish in the tanks (which is why
they tell you to sparing with feeding fish in tanks, as the breakdown of
uneaten food isn't good for the water quality.

I am confused. Have tried searching the internet for an answer but
with no luck. In most cases it says give fish food they can eat in a
few minutes but my fish hide when I go to feed them and take a while
to reappear to eat the food so its difficult to judge. OTOH if I leave
loads of food floating about they will usually eat it all within 24
hours.

Or does it sink?

Leave it half an hour or an hour or so and see what is left, they will
have probably come and eaten all they want.

Probably the firms that supply fish food on the internet want us to
feed them regularly so its difficult to get impartial advice on
feeding. So, how long can I leave my fish without food in the summer?


We don't worry about feeding ours when we go away, they seem fine.
Tropical fish are fine left for a week with no feeding.(getting someone
to feed them is more of a problem, as they tend not to believe how
little food they need and so over feed, which isn't good for the tank
conditions).
--
Chris French

On Jul 16, 11:00*am, chris French
wrote:
In message
,
Doug writes









On Jul 11, 7:40*am, chris French
wrote:
In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme writesOn Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02
+0100, "D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. *The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the
fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

Fish never know when to stop eating so you have to assess how much to
give them. They will eat everything they find even if it's in mud.

Ours do,if you give too much food, it is just left floating about,until
eventually sinks. Ditto the tropical fish in the tanks (which is why
they tell you to sparing with feeding fish in tanks, as the breakdown of
uneaten food isn't good for the water quality.

I am confused. Have tried searching the internet for an answer but
with no luck. In most cases it says give fish food they can eat in a
few minutes but my fish hide when I go to feed them and take a while
to reappear to eat the food so its difficult to judge. OTOH if I leave
loads of food floating about they will usually eat it all within 24
hours.

Or does it sink?

Usually they float until the next morning if they are not all eaten
and then sink later. The fish seem to be able to eat vast amounts
though, or maybe they are helped by the newts and frogs.

Leave it half an hour or an hour or so and see what is left, they will
have probably come and eaten all they want.

They don't seem to want to eat the pellets dry but wait a while until
they have become a bit soggy.


Probably the firms that supply fish food on the internet want us to
feed them regularly so its difficult to get impartial advice on
feeding. So, how long can I leave my fish without food in the summer?

We don't worry about feeding ours when we go away, they seem fine.
Tropical fish are fine left for a week with no feeding.(getting someone
to feed them is more of a problem, as they tend not to believe how
little food they need and so over feed, which isn't good for the tank
conditions).

Thanks for the good advice. I am beginning to get a grasp on the
problem at long last.

Doug.

On Jul 14, 10:20*am, Sacha wrote:
On 2012-07-14 07:28:38 +0100, Doug said:









On Jul 11, 7:40*am, chris French
wrote:
In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme writesOn Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02 +0100,
"D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things li
ke
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish mis
s a
lot. *The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the f
ish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in,
and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

Fish never know when to stop eating so you have to assess how much to
give them. They will eat everything they find even if it's in mud.

Ours do,if you give too much food, it is just left floating about,until
eventually sinks. Ditto the tropical fish in the tanks (which is why
they tell you to sparing with feeding fish in tanks, as the breakdown of
uneaten food isn't good for the water quality.

I am confused. Have tried searching the internet for an answer but
with no luck. In most cases it says give fish food they can eat in a
few minutes but my fish hide when I go to feed them and take a while
to reappear to eat the food so its difficult to judge. OTOH if I leave
loads of food floating about they will usually eat it all within 24
hours. Now I am trying not feeding them at all for a day or two but
they still hide when I go to feed them and therefore do not appear to
be particularly hungry.

Probably the firms that supply fish food on the internet want us to
feed them regularly so its difficult to get impartial advice on
feeding. So, how long can I leave my fish without food in the summer?

Doug.

If you can approach your pond from all around it, go up to it where
your shadow falls behind it. *And if you feed them at regular times of
day, I find they come looking for you!

Been there tried that and it doesn't work. They sometimes come out
when I approach but quickly hide again and the question of how much to
feed if at all still remains unresolved.

Doug.

On 07/07/2012 12:37, D. T. Green wrote:
Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?



I believe fish are partial to lettuce leaves. Try floating a lettuce
leaf and see if they come up to nibble at it. It is relatively
inexpensive, healthy, and will float. Otherwise, try some of the
floating pond plants. Fish will generally nibble at plants in the pond
anyway, so are probably already getting enough 'greens' if you've got
plants in the pond. Do bear in mind that if you over-feed, the water
will become fouled with fishy waste matter.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 07/07/2012 13:45, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02 +0100, "D. T. Green"
wrote:

Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

Why feed them at all? We have about a dozen adult goldfish in our pond
and a similar number of fry. They never get fed, and they're thriving
and breeding. Goldfish don't need feeding if they're in a reasonable
sized pond in the open.


I think the OP is trying for fish and chips with built in mushy peas.

On Jul 7, 1:45*pm, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:37:02 +0100, "D. T. Green"

wrote:
Trying to give the pond goldfish a more varied diet and using things like
tinned peas is proving wasteful, because the peas sink and the fish miss a
lot. *The bottom of the pond is very soft mud and i don't think the fish can
retrieve them once they are in the mud.

Is there any crafty way to arrange something to float the peas etc in, and
yet enable the fish to get at the food ?

Why feed them at all? We have about a dozen adult goldfish in our pond
and a similar number of fry. They never get fed, and they're thriving
and breeding. Goldfish don't need feeding if they're in a reasonable
sized pond in the open.

How big is your pond? Mine is 2M x 1.5M and about 0.5M deep.

So howcome my four small fish eat loads of pellets every day and often
seem hungry for more? Also the newts seem to eat some too.

I was worried about the fish eating tadpoles and baby newts and that
is why I fed them a lot instead, which seems to have worked with the
newts but not the tadpoles. The latter have disappeared completely and
here is not even any young frogs, though several adults.

Doug.

The newts will be eating the frog tadpoles. I have to move my frogspawn to a different pond which doesn't have newts, otherwise I don't get any young frogs.