What kind of baskets are you referring to? In other words, what are they made of? Generally if a container would be damaged by the moist potting soil then a liner with a hole for drainage is used. What to use is up to you, but functionally speaking it can be anything including the cheap Wal-Mart plastic bag. It need only be waterproof and non toxic to the plant. Still, if the container can't take a little moisture without damage then it is probably not well suited to the outdoors where rain will soak it. Use as a houseplant container would probably be more viable.

They do it all spring and summer long. Adding fresh water often encourages them too.

Read up on the dredded Columinar Bacteria. ... caused from the bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris. ... and an earlier post from me from long ago on this forum. *Although true fungus can set in after other forms, but usually FC) .................. Dirty water sorry, (and your high nitrites nitrates and amnonia (usually travel together) mean same. You need to do water changes to bring that down asap. This stresses the fish and allows disease. FB is bacterial and goes by many names (fungus is usually on dead tissue eggs so on and with experience you can tell the difference.) The tank is not stocked for best environment for the types of fish you have. I agree with above post. Mollies need some salt (please do research on all your fish types) and should be in a separate tank with proper ph, salt content and water hardness). They get sick fast without this as you've seen. Although the high n's will do any fish in fast! Then neons need softer water and much larger school, smaller school means stress mean disease. Adding salt will stress them (unless very controlled in sick hospital tank, ie dribbled very slowly then back again after treatment) read up on neons please. Fry need new homes baby tank meanwhile as tank is way overstocked. (forget that 1 inch rule - see how silly a ten inch pacu would be ok in ten gallon tank (NOT, lol). It has more to do with stocking, filtrating and needs of fish. Dianos need tons of swimming space and again a school. Why not get more tanks or exchange some of your fish and have a species or two for that one tank.. again, neons and mollies platys not good together but def not the mollies just will always get sick without their salt (please research that to amount (they are not marine but more brackish) as it's late for me to do it). (but really can't because they are in a tank with sick fish). You should also always take out sick fish and treat them in hospital tank (lowered lights to reduce stress, heater, filter floss only if using meds) and to not stress rest of fish with treatment. And, the pleco has to go, it gets huge and is dirty (poos a lot). If you don't do the set up right, eventually all fish will get sick. FC is fast spreading and deadly. You can use salt for mollies as it is hard to culture fc in salt (I do once daily changes (dribble slowly) to help treat it... but this will surely do your neons in. I would also advice to always do your own research on each species and not rely on sales staff. This is a great example of fish that should not be together. Best of luck Slm http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/aquarium/msg0122561828877.html http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=slv8-tyc7&p=columnar+bacteria&SpellState=n-2274024398_q-w5UvcPkbrv4lu2Y73Akv9AAAAA%40%40&fr2=sp-top

Jackie_o, thanks for posting your thoughts. I've missed your posting and pics of your garden. I remember pictures of your garden overlooking that lake of yours. I know that past problems with exactly this kind of thing are why you and some other people I really like stopped posting. I hate that you all have left. I hate that your feelings were hurt. I hate that we can't read each other's minds and always understand what to say so as not to offend. The point of this thread is to talk about how we treat each other. It is inevitable that we disagree. That's part of the fun of this whole place. But when we have an opposing viewpoint I think we need to be kind in how we phrase it. We also need to try to understand the other guy and why he responded how he did. My take is that Kim is a guy, has had a terrifying experience with coyotes, and is opinionated. That is how he's made. whatever he believes, he's passionate about. And I agree with Jackie above - I think Lyn and Kim's response was somewhat over the top in how they responded to what Ingrid actually said and posted. But I have read a lot of what Kim's written, not only here but on hmf and other places. I know he's passionate, opinionated and somewhat brusque. That's what he is. So what? I ignore it and try to figure out what he's really saying. Nothing I have ever read of lyn's has ever been anything but kind and courteous. For her to respond the way she did must indicate some kind of horrible experience. I didn't really understand why she posted exactly what she did, but based on what else I've seen of her, I thought there must be something I didn't know. I've never met Kim but I put him in the same category as other men I have met, kinda like Sammy shared about her husband. I liked ingrid's posting, but didn't say anything because I don't exactly like interacting with wildlife. But I don't think she and her gallant husband did anything out of the ordinary or wrong. A lot of us would try to rescue a baby squirrel, probably. So what? Is it wise? I don't know. One baby squirrel doesn't amount to much. A snack for my bear. I decided that it's Kim and Lyn's experiences of the dangers of what can happen that caused the over the top nature of their responses. Kind of like someone yelling "stop" if they think you're too close to the edge of a precipice. I've done exactly the same thing. A friend told me she wanted to keep chickens in her yard. all I could think of is the times when I was raising chickens that I came home to dead chickens because of wandering coyotes and dogs. I was really over the top in my response and had to apologize later for being so negative. It is true that some people are intentionally rude. I don't think that this is the case here. I do not think that either Kim or Lyn intentionally were trying to insult or flame Ingrid. I think that both of them have had some pretty extreme experiences with wild life and are passionate about their opinions. For Ingrid's part, I wish she hadn't taken offense, because I don't think any was intended. But as Ingrid has said, and Seil said above, Ingrid's response was more emotional than she wanted it to be, and she's upset right now, anyway. I do know that when I offend someone, even if I did not intend to, I apologize. It costs nothing other my pride, and I have screwed up enough in my life to realize that I am not perfect, that I do hurt others, even when I don't intend to. Life's too short to waste it on trivialities like my pride. I hope that helps, Jackie_O. As I said earlier, I hate that you and others don't post, and I am glad you posted now. Relationships anywhere are some of the toughest things to deal with in life. I've lost friendships over reasons that I can't even begin to understand why. I hate that too. Gean -------- hi, Zyp, lol - the description of the bear came from my neighbor. She said the bear climbed her fence to get to her bird feeders in her back yard. She was terrified and said it was "as big as a car." So I guess that's hearsay, huh? there is a salmon run down behind our home and tons of those blackberries, which is why the bear frequents this area. That and bird feeders and probably garbage. And rodents galore. Good eatin' around here. I keep telling my cat he's a snack for some wandering wildlife and to be happy inside, but he's a stubborn cuss and insists on sneaking out when given half a chance.