"kathy" wrote in message
...
Don't panic!
Carol's problem, if I'm reading this right, is having to protect her
fish and dealing with lots of baby fish.

That's only one of the problems Kathy. The increasing snake population is
another concern.

Most folks don't see the predators that Carol sees. In Arizona you
won't have water snakes and bullfrogs and snapping turtles.
Also you may not see as many herons and kingfishers that Carol
sees as she is out in the a more rural area. I see them in my
suburb but only a couple times a year. And mileage will always
vary.

I'm also near a huge man-made lake where these water birds live and probably
breed.

I am the original lazy ponder. I don't filter, I don't mind predators.
I have a large volume of water to a small amt of fish and let
plants do their job. Basically the way a natural pond works.

That's what we'll most likely do and see how it works.

A natural pond *will* fill in over time so we backyard ponders
will have to scoop it out from time to time but we will let that
chore go for a while (as long as we keep a hole open in the
ice). Fish are only part of the whole pond thing for us. We
love the frogs, turtles, birds that visit, squirrels that stop by
for drinks. We like the sound of the water and the waterlilies
and dragonflies.

Ditto.

You can be a lazy ponder or you can fall for koi and get
really carried away - they are amazing and I can see how
people can really structure a pond for them.
All in what you want to do.
k :-)

I don't think it will be the same without fish but they're the cause of all
the work and need for nets.

--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
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