Thanks for all the useful advice. I shopped around and found a
filter, pump set up for a more reasonable price. So I got the set, a
few water plants and 4 goldfish. Now I'm a proud fish-keeper!

The fish don't seem too keen on eating the fish pellets that I bought
them (goldfish pellets for ponds). I'm wondering if they are filling
up on the worms at the bottom of the pond (there are 3 dead worms at
the bottom. I don't touch worms, so they will stay there until hubby
scoops them out.) Or maybe they are just adapting to their new
environment. But they are swimming around and seem to like there new
home.

Thanks again for all the good advice,
Mandy

(miss mandy) wrote in message . com...
Hello,

I recently inherited (with the new house) a 72 gallon garden pond. I
thought it may be fun to put in a few water plants and 2 or 3 of the
$0.50 gold fish that I used to have as a kid. So off to the fish
store I went. What a shock I got. The man at the fish store started
listing off the the equipment I would need. $80 filter, $115 pump,
hoses, special food, $30 fish .... My $0.50 fish idea is really
starting to get expensive. Which sounds strange to me because, when I
was a kid, I had goldfish that lived in a little bowl on the counter
for years.

Which brings me to my question for you folks. What is the minimum
that I need to safely have a few goldfish in my pond? Is there a good
on-line reference? I certainly don't want to be responsible for the
deaths of any innocent goldfish!

I live in southern Ontario, in case climate makes a difference.

... Mandy