Sitting by a peaceful koi pond is a lovely stress reliever in the spring and summer; until it is time to feed and care for koi in the fall and winter. With a little bit of knowledge, understanding and a thermometer the stress of feeding outdoor koi is minimal.

Water temperature determines when and what to feed outdoor koi. During warm temperatures koi grow and build up reserves for winter. Koi need more protein during the summer months because so much of their growth takes place during the warm season. They devour their food voraciously and can be amusing to feed by hand since they are particularly social creatures. A seasonal feeding schedule needs to be followed in spring and fall which includes wheat germ and a lower protein diet.

Seasonal adaptations to their feeding schedules need to be made to account for varying feeding habits. In spring and fall, when temperatures begin to drop, their food needs change, as their growth patterns decrease. It is time to add wheat germ to their normal summer food.

Continue to monitor water temperature throughout the fall, and when the water temperature drops to 60 degrees, use the wheat germ based food only. Koi fish metabolism slows when the water temperature reaches 55 degrees and their feeding needs significantly drop. At 50 degrees and below, stop feeding your koi until spring. Sounds complicated? Keep the 70-60-50 rule in mind. At 70 degrees: low protein and wheat germ, 60 degrees: wheat germ only, 50 degrees: no food needed.

It is important to keep close watch on temperatures during weather changes. If the temperature will be dropping in the days immediately following a feed, stop feeding them earlier. Koi metabolism slows as the temperatures drop to the point that they are unable to digest food at all. Any leftover food will decay and cause illness in your koi. Adding a mild antibiotic to the last few feedings of the year will help keep illness at bay.

Though all this adjustment in feeding can be intimidating and rather high maintenance, automatic koi feeders will make the process easier. Though the feeders won't adjust the food balances, they will automatically dispense the food you load into them, making daily maintenance unnecessary. Just keep the food balance according to the temperatures. Koi do better because the automatic feeder will feed them as needed and prevent waste and overeating.

Though the automatic feeders are convenient, they can be expensive. They range in price from $50 to over $200. They range from some rather unattractive ones on the lower end of the price range to beautiful pagoda style ones at the higher end of the price range. The beautiful ones can both feed and enhance the look of your pond. However, the lower price range feeders will still serve the purpose and protect your fish when you are away on vacation, or just make maintaining them so much easier.

When spring arrives and the temperatures begin to rise, you need to reverse the feeding process. As temperatures rise, increase the feeding. First, add back the wheat germ, then go to the wheat germ and low protein feed, and finally, go to the full summer feeding as the temperatures get above 70 degrees. Follow a reverse rule, the 50-60-70 rule. Careful attendance to koi feeding will keep you fish healthy and happy. They will then give you many hours of enjoyment.