Feeding your pond fish

What Do Fish Live on in the Wild?
Fish have many different adaptations and feeding habits that allow them to survive in a wide range of habitats.

The majority of the fish that we keep in our ponds are omnivorous, i.e. they eat a wide variety of foods, ranging from plant matter through to large invertebrates and crustaceans. Carp and goldfish are designed to forage for food over long periods of time, gaining nutrition from food material that can be of a very poor quality.They are well adapted to do this as they lack a stomach and instead have a very long intestine, which means that any food eaten remains in the digestive tract for a long time.This enables them to gain nutrition from material such as plant matter and detritus.This foraging behaviour, and the lack of a stomach, explains why your fish always seem to be hungry. However, the food we feed them is of a much higher quality, and therefore they do not need as much of it.

What is Fish Food?

Fish food is essentially composed of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Many different materials can be used to make up fish food, but a good quality diet will use ingredients that present these components in a form that is easily digested, and highly nutritious for the fish. Tetra’s range of high quality fish foods are well digested, very nutritious, correctly proportioned and balanced, and readily accepted.

Failure to use a good quality food can potentially have detrimental effects on the pond environment. Poor quality foods are not digested as well, meaning that more solid waste is produced. In addition to this, you have to feed more in order for the fish to gain the same level of nutrition that they would otherwise receive from a smaller amount of good quality food. The resulting excess of solid waste will clog the pump and filter more rapidly, break down and release pollutants into the water, use up oxygen, encourage the proliferation of disease causing organisms, release nutrients that encourage algal growth, and generally result in a deterioration of water quality.

Using Tetra’s high quality pond foods will promote better growth rates, faster maturation, and greater health and vigour, than poorer quality foods.

How Much to Feed and When?
The amount of food that a fish needs is directly related to the temperature of the water.As the temperature increases, so does their metabolism, and consequently they need more food.Therefore, in the summer your fish will need more food than they do in the winter. Fish should not be fed in the winter if they are inactive at the base of the pond.

As a general rule, pond fish do best when fed in a few discreet meals, spread out over the day.Three to four times a day is ample, feeding only as much as the fish will consume within a few minutes. Do not be tempted to feed more, even if the fish look hungry, remember that in most ponds there will be a certain amount of natural food that the fish will forage on. Remove any uneaten food from the pond so it does not have the chance to start breaking down.

What to Feed?
Tetra produce a range of high quality foods to suit the needs of all fish, under a variety of conditions.

Staple Foods
Tetra's staple foods provide a high quality everyday diet for ponds containing a mixture of fish. By using them as the main part of your feeding regime, you will ensure that your fish receive all the nutrition they need for good health, condition and colour.

• TetraPond Floating Food Sticks is the UK's best selling pond food, and offers a complete diet for all commonly kept pond fish (goldfish,shubunkins, comets, orfe, carp etc).Like all Tetra's pond foods, it is produced using an advanced extrusion process that results in a stick that softens quickly, making it easy for all sizes of fish to eat.

• TetraPond Floating Food Pellets offer the same complete, easy-to-eat formula as sticks, but in a pellet format.They are therefore ideal if you prefer to feed a pellet food to your fish.Available in two sizes; 'small' for fish under 20cm, and 'medium' for fish over 20cm.

• TetraPond Variety Sticks consist of a mixture of three different types of food stick (Koi Sticks, Wheatgerm Sticks, and Floating Food Sticks), thereby offering fish a more varied diet.This is beneficial, as fish like variety in their diet just as we do. In addition, they benefit from the specific properties of three different foods instead of one.

• TetraPond Flakes offer a complete diet for very small fish, with additional protein and energy to encourage rapid growth. In ponds with a mixture of small and larger fish, flakes can be fed alongside sticks or pellets.

Special Foods
In addition to staple foods,Tetra also produces a number of special diets for specific species or purposes. Using these diets will result in improved nutrition and performance for the species in question, as they have been formulated even more precisely to meet their specific nutritional needs.

• TetraPond Goldfish Mix is a premium diet specially formulated for goldfish and their varieties (shubunkins and comets) that are kept in outdoor ponds. It offers excellent variety and nutrition for growth, health and colour. It consists of four different sticks, Spirulina flakes for colour and health, and river shrimp for an extra treat. It is ideal as the main food for ponds that primarily contain goldfish and their varieties.

• TetraPond Sterlet Sticks are specially formulated for the very particular nutritional needs of sterlets and related sturgeons. Because of their more carnivorous natural diet, and the design of their digestive system, ordinary sinking and floating foods are not suitable for them (e.g. those intended for catfish, carp, and tench). TetraPond Sterlet Sticks have been rigorously tested on sterlets to ensure they deliver a complete diet that results in good health and condition.They are small, sinking sticks to accommodate the natural feeding behaviour of sterlets, and benefit from a more carnivorous formulation. If you have sterlets, TetraPond Sterlet Sticks should form the basis of their everyday diet.

• TetraPond Colour Sticks contain additional carotenoids - special ingredients that maximise the natural colour of fish. Colour Sticks can therefore be fed to rapidly improve the colour of your fish. It is an ideal diet to feed for a month or so at the start of the season after the winter period, or to new fish to develop their natural coloration. Once the fish's natural colours have been developed, feeding any of Tetra's other diets will maintain them.

Seasonal Foods
Because fish are 'cold blooded' their metabolism is influenced by the temperature of the water.At certain times of the year it can therefore be beneficial to feed a specially formulated diet, to help them remain healthy and in top condition.

• TetraPond Growth Sticks contain additional protein and energy to improve growth rates during the summer months. Fish are able to grow faster during the summer due to an increased metabolism, and they also require more energy because of their increased activity. Growth Sticks provide the additional energy and nutrients they need in an easily digestible, low-waste formula. Feed TetraPond Growth Sticks instead of your fish's staple food during the summer.

• TetraPond Wheatgerm Sticks are formulated for feeding to fish during the colder months, when water temperatures are below 10OC.They contain high levels of wheatgerm, essential fatty acids and vitamin E, for keeping fish healthy at low temperatures.This maintains their condition through to the spring, when they will be stronger and more able to cope with rising temperatures. Feed TetraPond Wheatgerm Sticks during the colder months whenever your fish are active and searching for food. Do not feed them if they are inactive at the base of the pond.

Koi Foods
If you have a number of koi in your pond it is beneficial to feed them a properly formulated diet.

• TetraPond Koi Sticks are formulated based on the specific nutritional needs of koi, and include additional levels of colour-enhancers to improve and maintain their natural coloration. They soften quickly, allowing koi to feed easily, and produce very little waste. If you only have koi in your pond, feed TetraPond koi Sticks as the main diet. If other fish are present, feed TetraPond Koi Sticks alongside TetraPond Floating Food Sticks or Pellets.

• TetraPond KoiExcellence is a premium range of pelleted koi foods from Tetra, formulated to offer serious koi keepers the very best diet for their fish. TetraPond KoiExcellence Complete offers a year-round premium staple diet, whilst KoiExcellence Performance maximises growth and colour and is therefore ideal for summer feeding. KoiExcellence Wheatgerm is a premium wheatgerm pellet for cool-weather feeding. For more information on KoiExcellence visit www.tetra.net.

Treat Foods
Just like all pets, fish enjoy the occasional treat. Traditional treat foods like lettuce and bread are popular, but contain the wrong nutrients for good health and condition. In addition they can result in a lot of waste being produced. TetraPond Treats are a fun way to offer your fish a treat, without creating additional waste or offering the wrong type of nutrients.They contain natural attractants to make them highly palatable to your fish, and are designed to allow you to handfeed your fish.They are therefore also ideal for getting your fish tame. Use TetraPond Treats 2-3 times a week in addition to your fish's normal food.

Feeding you fish on TetraPond foods will guarantee that they are receiving a well-balanced and nutritious diet.