Brian,

I had no luck finding anything helpful for you when I googled the same
topics that Jammer did, sigh.. (And yes, Moon, goldfish seem to be illegal
in Maine, from what I read.)

OTOH, Brian, I think that you could legally put sunfish in your pond, if I
read the Maine statutes correctly. Of course, they might be somewhat
stunted in a half-barrel pond!

Have you ever thought about moving to New Hampshire? :

Sorry, but I lived in northern VT for 8 years and the best thing we could
say about New Hampshire was that it had such a great view of Vermont! (not
my words, just a quote from the *most excellent book* "Real Vermonters Don't
Milk Goats"

Anne Lurie
[finally escaped from the snow belt & moved to] Raleigh, NC



"Brian" wrote in message
et...
Hi there,
I have two new half-barrel ponds. I put a water lily and two
marginals
in each of them. I'd like to get some more plants, particularly something
that can provide oxygen and prevent algae. In my research, I've heard
glowing reviews of anacharis for this purpose. However, I just learned
that
anacharis is illegal in the state of Maine so I can't buy it anywhere.
(It's also illegal to put goldfish into any outdoor pond, even a barrel!)
I'm wondering if anyone has other suggestions for floating or submerged
plants that can help me round out my ecosystem. Does anyone else keep
ponds
in Maine, or are the laws too restrictive? It's a real shame, given that
there are so many natural bogs and other wetlands, that we are so
restricted
in terms of recreating one in our own yards. I growing discouraged about
the possibility of putting a more ambitious water feature in my yard with
all of these regulations.

Thanks for any tips.
Brian