my silvers first winter

pyro monkey

Couple of quick questions for the experienced APers running Silver Perch...I am facing my first winter in Perth and am not sure what to expect from my fish.

My fishtank is shaded during the day, has thick limestone walls with a concrete lining. The daytime water temp at the moment sits between 15 to 18 degrees C.
Silvers have gone right off their food...in fact they just hide most of the time and have no interest in coming out into the open, let alone eating. I figure their metabolism has slowed down due to cold water.

Is this normal activity?
What if they don't want to eat all winter?
Should I expect the nutrient o/p of the system to also drop off.. and run less plant load accordingly?

Just a little anxious as I quite miss watching the little buggers hoovering up their pellets!

Cheers :think:

RupertofOZ

Completely normal... below 18, they'll slow down.... below 15 they might only feed once or twice a week.... but will survive by grazing the algae/bio-film on the tank walls...

chillidude

Yep, as Rupe says. Mine would still eat a few pellets at 15°C each day. What I did do though is put a lettuce or spinach leaf or two on the water and they would pick away at that when the mood took them and usually consume it on the same day, along with the pellets. I had around 100 fish at that point.

The greens don't contribute much to their growth, but it helps keep the whole system ticking over.

pyro monkey

Thanks guys, plenty of biofilm and stringy algae in the tank so they should be right!
Cheers for that.

earthbound

Mine are still eating pretty well, feeding them twice a day but they have slowed down noticeably from a few weeks back when it was a lot warmer. Now it's almost like you have to talk them into eating somedays...

pyro monkey

I only have 15 silvers in a 1400 litre pond...and they tend to hide under the pump and piping.. if I drop a couple of pellets right next to them they will maybe eat a couple that fall next to them but that is about it..certainly wont come to the surface to eat.

ivansng

Mine are still eating too, although they don't eat as much and don't hit the pellets as hard as when the temperature are warmer...

Although I do have some goldfishes in the tank with the silvers, and usually it is goldfishes that start eating and then the silvers come along... maybe the silvers need some motivation when it is colder...