On Sat, 8 Oct 2005 09:43:29 -0500, "Lisa" wrote:

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years. This
is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have water
hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the thought
of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to keep these
plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring? I googled both and
it sounds like they are not very winter hardy in our area. Has anyone ever
stored their plants inside in an aquarium or barrel and had success with
this?

Also, I have about 20, what I believe to be baby goldfish. They are about 2
inches in length. This spring I installed a new "upper" pond to my original
(they are not connected) and am afraid they won't survive the winter. I
never had fish even in this pond, just plants so the babies or eggs must
have been in the plants I purchased. I have one floating heater that I use
in the main pond every winter, but am afraid if I put the babies in the main
pond, they will become a meal for my bigger goldfish. The largest of which
is about 6 inches long. I am also afraid of over-crowding. The original
pond is only about 150 gallons and already houses about 11 large goldfish.
Should I bring the babies in for the winter?

I also must add I just purchased ANOTHER pond as I discovered I don't like
the raised look and am taking that one down to opt for the new one. This
one is 165 gallons. Should I buy another heater and leave the babies in
this one? (My husband and I still have to dig and install :)

Hi Lisa,

I see several options... If you plan to put the new pond in real soon, I'd
transfer everything over to it, including some to all of the water from the
old pond and get the heater. Or, if the plan was to wait till spring, you
could move (perhaps) the raised pond to the garage or house (assuming this
is possible). Or you could get a 30-40 gallon tote, or muck bucket some
call them. Install a bucket filter with a small pump and keep the babies in
that inside, again use water from the pond to fill. Cheaper than purchasing
an aquarium, unless you already have a large one.

Now if you already have an aquarium running, you might want to run the
babies through Solo's salt dip treatment, before putting them inside. Her
site is: http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html Click on Care of
Goldfish.

One thing I recommend when not transferring fish with their water is not
only get the temp the same, but check the pH also and adjust as needed.
~ jan