What Blackwater Wheat Germ Cool Season Koi Food Can Do For Your Fish This Winter

Last month we gave you a breakdown of one of our most popular kinds of cold weather fish food: Microbe Lift Legacy. This month we’re going to give a similar synopsis of another great brand we carry: Blackwater Wheat Germ Cool Season Koi Food.

As we’ve discussed before, your fish’s dietary needs change based on the weather. Once the temperatures start falling, their metabolism slows down, meaning they need to be given food that is easy to digest.

How does Blackwater's brand of cold weather fish food meet this need?

Blackwater Wheat Germ food provides a low fat diet that is highly digestible. Its primary ingredient, as you may have guessed, is wheat germ. This ingredient is great to see in cold weather fish food, because it is designed to take the place of protein and give fish nutrients in a form their systems can handle.

Some of the other key ingredients include: premium grade fish meal, wheat, dried yeast culture, soy protein concentrate and wheat flour. All of these things are easy on your fish’s digestive systems, which makes this food a great choice during the cold winter months.

Something you might not know: this cold weather fish food can also be used in the spring to aid in spawning. Because it’s low in fat, it helps reduce the buildup of fat in your fish’s ovaries, which may reduce the incidence of “egg bound” females. Pretty neat!

The weather is turning colder quickly, so make sure you make the switch to cold weather fish food. Your fish – and their digestive systems – will thank you.

Learn more about cold weather fish food and how it can help your fish stay healthy all winter long.

*Image provided by Cindy Funk on Flickr

Why Pond Pumps and Pond Heaters Cannot be Friends

Your pond pump and your pond heater. Both essential parts of your backyard water garden. Both incredibly important to you. Both necessary for your pond life’s health and happiness.

So why can’t they just get along?

Well, as it turns out, it’s not that pond heaters and pond pumps don’t want to be friends. It’s just that they are not designed to work together.

Pond heaters are thermostatically controlled. They pump out heat to keep an area of your ponds’ surface free of ice. This allows critical gas exchanges to occur, without which your pond life would suffer and possibly die.

So how does your pond pump get in the way? It’s by no fault of its own, but pond pumps are designed to keep water constantly moving in your pond, and this causes problems for pond heaters.

Think about it. If your pond pump is consistently moving cold water around, your pond heater is going to go crazy trying to heat that water. It will pump out tons and tons of electricity/energy, but there will always be more cold water coming at it. It will be a never-ending cycle, and you will not get the results you are really looking for.

Basically, you need to choose one or the other. If you live in an area that doesn’t get incredibly cold during winter, you can probably get away with leaving your pond pump running year-round, which will keep your pond water moving and eliminate the need for a heater. However, if you consistently get ice forming on the surface of your pond, using a pond heater during the coldest months is your best bet for keeping your pond life healthy.

Have questions about pond pumps and pond heaters? Wondering which one your pond needs more this winter? Contact one of our pond supplies representatives today.

Placing Your Floating Pond Heater: It's Easier Than You Think

Last month we talked a lot about why you need pond heaters for your water garden. The role they play in keeping your fish healthy throughout winter is second to none. Today we're going to talk in a little more detail about how to place your fish’s favorite cold weather device.

Placing a Floating Pond Heater in Your Water Garden:

1. Don't jump the gun. You don’t need a pond heater until your pond has frozen over, or at least started forming ice on its surface. Once you notice this happening, it’s time to take action.

2. Decide on a location. Your pond heater should be placed within easy reach of the edge of your pond. If there are any maintenance needs or functionality problems, you want to be able to access the heater immediately.

3. Insert the pond heater into your pond. It’s that simple. Once the location is chosen, you simply set your pond heater into the water. If it runs on electricity, it will obviously need to be plugged in. And if it runs on gas or oil, you’ll need to make sure this fuel source stays full all season long. *There are also some solar pond heaters that don’t require wiring and are very energy efficient. However, you need to live in an area that gets enough sun to keep them functioning properly.

4. Drill when necessary. Ideally, you want to insert the pond heater as soon as you notice ice beginning to form on the surface of the water. However, if your pond is already frozen over and the ice is more than two inches thick, you’ll need to carefully drill a hole where you want to place the heating device. Don’t just crack the ice, because this can cause shock waves that will harm your fish and other pond life.

Placing a floating pond heater in your water garden is easy, but it makes a huge difference to your fish and other pond life. Have any questions? Contact one of our pond supplies representatives today.