Goldfish in an aquarium have a different diet than goldfish that live in a pond. Sadly, many pond goldfish owners attempt to feed their pond goldfish the same diet as an aquarium goldfish, which often results in disaster.
This article will cover everything that you need to know about what to feed pond goldfish. The basics are that pond goldfish require a very diverse diet that includes a healthy mix of plants found in ponds (algae, duckweed, water sprites) and a variety of small animals found in ponds (ie. insects, tadpoles, worms, etc.).
What To Feed Pond Goldfish?
The big question, what to feed pond goldfish?
First of all, this depends on whether you have the goldfish in a natural pond or an artificial pond. If the goldfish are in a large natural pond, then you really don’t have to feed them much of anything. They will do a good enough finding food on their own, but you can definitely treat them to worms or larvae if you would like.
If your pond goldfish are in an artificial pond, then things are a little different. A good diet for goldfish in an artificla pond
How Often To Feed Pond Goldfish?
How often you feed goldfish in a pond again depends on whether it’s a natural or artificial pond. You can feed goldfish in a natural pond about once a day and be perfectly fine. Just make sure to collect all the uneaten food after about 5 minutes.
We recommend sinking pellets in the case of a natural pond. The pellets will sink to the bottom of the pond and the goldfish will unbury them later if hungry. This also prevents birds or other predators from coming to the pond, which only adds to the pollution in the pond.
Artificial ponds are a little different. You will have to feed the goldfish much more often or a lot more when you do feed them (not recommended). We recommend feeding goldfish in an artificial pond two or three times per day with a large enough amount of food that there are leftovers after five minutes.
Again, sinking pellets are the better choice in an artificial pond, but floating pellets will also work. But make sure that you do not let floating pellets stay floating for too long or else it will attract birds.
Other food that you can feed goldfish in both artificial and natural ponds include worms, larvae, krill, bloodworms, tadpoles, duckweed, and even fish small enough to fit in the mouth of your goldfish (not recommended).
Remember, goldfish eat just about anything that fits in their mouth, so you don’t have to be too picky with what you feed them. Just make sure not to feed your goldfish human food like crackers.
Feeding Pond Goldfish In Winter
Goldfish in a winter pond do not require much food.
In fact, goldfish barely eat any food in water under 50F.
Do not feed your goldfish very much, if at all, when the water temperature drops below 50F. The goldfish will not eat the food. And the uneaten food will attract predators that may eat the goldfish and birds that will poop in the water.
Basically, do not feed the goldfish much food in the wintertime.
Closing Thoughts
That sums it up for what pond goldfish eat. The diet of a pond goldfish is similar to that of aquarium goldfish – a diet high in protein and fat combined with various insects, larvae, and worms is a perfect diet for goldfish that live in a pond.