It was a LONG winter and now your fish are swimming around staring at you like they're starving.
-Is it 'okay' to feed them?
-Are you starving your fish by waiting?
-Will they die if I don't feed them?


The difference between regular house pets and the average fish is the type of interactions you have with them. When your dog greets you at the door when you come home, do you automatically assume he's wagging his tail because he's starving? He's probably just happy to see you. Chances are that so are your fish but because our interactions with them only extend to feeding time-- there is often confusion with their personality and their hunger signs. How much and how often you need to feed them, anyway? Right?

It's always most critical to check the fish food container for temperature sensitive information because it can be unsafe and even fatal to feed certain times of fish food at the wrong time of the year. Most outdoor fish foods have a COLD WEATHER variations to their regular season fish food and this is important because the fact that a fish digestive system works at a reduced rate when the water temperature drops below 55 degrees. In fact, you shouldn't feed your fish at ALL during some portions of the year.

Dreamscapes carries Microblithe Fish Food in Cold Weather, Summer Staple and High Growth and Energy varieties during regular retail hours from April-November. The temperature parameters for our food are as follows:
Cold Weather fish food should be fed when water temperatures range 50-65 degrees.
Summer Staple fish food should be fed when water temperatures range 66-85 degrees.
High Growth and Energy fish food should be fed when water temperatures range 66-85 degrees

In fact, fall feeding recommendations are that when water temperatures dip below 50 degrees in late October, you should stop feeding your fish entirely until spring. Historically in the zone 5-6 spring, fish feeding can begin as early as mid-April depending upon Mother Nature and if your pond is full sun or full shade.

In the Spring if your water temperature hasn't quite reached the parameters on the back of your fish food container but your fish look hungry, WAIT. They are okay-- I promise. Drop your thermometer into the pond periodically and check it out. Remember, they may look hungry, but it's dangerous to feed them earlier than their bodies can handle.

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA

While flowering waterlilies are the most popular, marginal plants play a crucial role in the function, balance and beauty of a properly-conceived water garden. Without marginal plants, the water garden will look out of place and unnatural as they provide many textures, colors, and blooms that soften the edges and help blend the pond into the surrounding landscape.

Located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Dreamscapes Watergardens installs koi fish ponds and pondless waterfalls (disappearing waterfalls) all over the Central Pennsylvania area. For more information on koi ponds and waterfeature installations, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA

How do you know if you should invest the money in a professional to do your spring maintenance on your pond or not? Should you do a spring maintenance on your pond yourself? Is it even necessary to spring cleaning on your waterfeature? Every spring (sometimes even as early as January and February) Dreamscapes gets a number of phone calls from new pond owners and old pond owners alike asking if it's necessary to clean out this pond when spring rolls around and what should they expect from their spring water feature as the temperatures begin to rise again. Even if you're familiar to the pond lifestyle, always remember that what worked for you ONE year, does not mean that it will work for you this year--especially if ANYTHING has changed in your pond.

• Have your fish grown?
  
• Did you add any aquatic plants last season?
• What kind of fall shutdown did you perform on the feature?
  
• Do you like to gamble? No, really--this is a serious question!

The best (or most obvious) indicator that you need to have a Spring Maintenance Service performed on your water feature is if the color of the pond water is anything but clear. Sometimes it's tea colored or muddy looking. Sometimes it's one of many different possible shades of green, indicating algae.

Even when the water is clear, we suggest to stick something (like the end of a broom) to the bottom of the pond and stir it up a bit. If you see the area around the broom get cloudy--- you NEED to do a spring cleaning! Debris and waste can settle pretty well in the long months since the pond was actively running and unless you stir up the settled muck, you may not notice it at all at first. But once the ecosystem is awake again, that left over debris will cause a whole other set of problems for you.

But SOMETIMES the ice thaws and all your fish are belly up and you're just not quite sure why because the water looks clear and the broom isn't stirring anything up.

Ammonia- the silent killer of the pond world. Ammonia does not always stick out like a sore thumb, unless of course all your fish went belly up before you realized it's presence. The visual clue of ammonia spikes barely exist---which is why it's always important to start each season with a clean slate. Gambling with your fishy friends life can be more frustrating than it's worth.

Ammonia exists from the decomposition of waste (fish still poop over the cold winter months), dead organic matter like leaves, and even frogs and fish that didn't make it through the winter. Any ammonia is absolutely toxic to fish and pretty much invisible. The easiest way to treat ammonia spikes is by removing it: i.e. drain and clean.

Aside of ammonia spikes, if your pH, phosphates or nitrites are out of balance, a drain and clean essentially resets your water feature so your ecosystem starts the pond season in good shape. You should also consider testing your pond water balance regularly during the season so that you can correct any issues before they become fatal for your fish! Click here to read more about keeping your pond water clean by reading this blog.

All the muck and build up left over on the bottom of your pond contributes to the growth of algae during the warmer temperatures. While algaecides are designed to kill algae, they are temperature sensitive which gives algae free reign to feed off of those excess nutrients until May. By that point, getting the pond in balance in order to ENJOY your water feature may be a losing battle.

Lastly, your fish are often curious and bored and if there is an abundance of muck and sludge, it is common to have it stirred up frequently during the summer as the fish root around.

You know your backyard pond better than anyone else and are the one that gets to enjoy it regularly. If you're able and willing to perform a spring maintenance on your own-- do it! If you're looking for a professional to handle the spring maintenance hassle for you, give Dreamscapes a call!

Located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Dreamscapes Watergardens installs koi fish ponds and pondless waterfalls (disappearing waterfalls) all over the Central Pennsylvania area. For more information on koi ponds and waterfeature installations, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA