.......As I said, we had a few goldfish to
make the pond more exciting, and they seemed happy enough with the
naturally fluctuating water levels.

We started with 5 25 cent goldfish 2 years ago.. now we have over 50, some
being QUITE large!

Either make a decision to have fish or not, and you'll be happier. having a
lot of fish will mean you need more/better filtering then without, and
genrally a lot more work.

But we love to go out and watch the fish, when we can see them.

We get lots of frog spawn as well. to preserve them, but a small kiddie pool
for a few bucks, use Krylon Fusion black paint, paint it black, and dug a
shallow hole for it, and surround it with paving rocks just like the big
pond. Tghe frogs will love it just as much, and their eggs can easily be
netted and relocated to it for them to thrive if you decide to also have
fish.


--
Gareee©

We have a circular pond around 12' in diameter.The rim is paved, but
the slabs don't quite extend over the edge of the pond, leaving a
strip of pond liner exposed. Depending on how much/little rain we
have, this strip ranges from a couple of inches to about a foot above
the level of the water.
Hi Will - I have a what we call "water worn" rock that rings my pond all the
way around that sits on a shelf ~ 12" below the surface - the shelf was
supposed to be for plants, but most of it being used for rocks as I didn't
like the look of the liner showing above the water either. - Most of the
rock is standing on it's edge, tilted back against the sides and has never
moved. Ergo, I have only rock at the surface down to 10" - 12 " below the
water. The sides of your pond need to be fairly steep for this to work
Gale :~)

Toads will help your garden more than frogs. Do you get them in the
pond (singing like a drunken cricket when they call for females?

We get lots of toads and they have increased the # in the garden,
altho they seem to have reached critical density and others get driven
off.

Jim

water celery will do the same thing, but it will drape all the way over into the
pond. A few goldfish wont do it much damage. Not like my koi that grab the ends and
give it a good yank and haul chunks into the pond. Ingrid

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:35:18 CST, kathy wrote:

I am a fan of the frogs, too.
Also a fan of a natural looking pond, so we put slabs of turf
over parts of our liner and let it grow all shaggy. What falls over
into
the water provides home to all sorts of critters. The fish live to
nose
around in it for bugs.
k :-)

I dont make 10% water changes each week. I change out about 1/3 a couple times a
year. Altho I do have a veggie filter and the plants remove a lot of "stuff". Ingrid

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:35:36 CST, Joe wrote:
You will want to
make water changes of about 10% every few weeks (depending on fish load.) If
you don't remove water, impurities tend to stay - despite good filtration.

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:44:05 CST, wrote:

Regarding fish, I must admit that I don' t really want to have to
replace a lot of water every week.

And no need in your situation, nor need to change how you have done it. I'm
just suggesting you might want to do a chemistry check so you don't shock
the new fish, who might come from a more neutral or higher pH. :-) Course
if it is frogs you want.... well, goldies love frog eggs. I use to catch my
goldies out each spring so the frogs would have free rein. Unfortunately my
neighbor didn't like frog music and the goldies will stay and the frogs
will hopefully relocate to the other side of the house, or not. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:49:23 CST, Phyllis and Jim
wrote:

Toads will help your garden more than frogs. Do you get them in the
pond (singing like a drunken cricket when they call for females?

We get lots of toads and they have increased the # in the garden,
altho they seem to have reached critical density and others get driven
off.

Jim

And the fish won't eat their spawn. :-x icky tasting. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

"~ jan" wrote in message

And the fish won't eat their spawn. :-x icky tasting. ~ jan

You.. um know from personal experience?


--
Gareee©

"~ jan" wrote in message

And the fish won't eat their spawn. :-x icky tasting. ~ jan

You.. um know from personal experience?

No, a little fishie told me..... ;-)

Actually, just what I've read on the net, that fish spit out toad spawn.
~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us