Rita...the plastic plants look better once algea grows on them...at least in my aquarium they do ;) But, all in all, I agree, there is nothing realistic about them. The racoons will most likely take the plant as a chew toy if they find it....Amanda

Waaaaaaay too many fish for such a small pond(s). Plastic plants will do nothing for the fish or pond system. Too bad you only see the potential loss of a "whooping $3.00" rather than the wasted lives of the fish you purchased.

You can try to make the pond systems better so your fish and pond thrive. Do you have any form of filtration in your set-up? Do you have test kits for your water?

Chick....a bit aggressive hey? I would imagine Rita only said that since they are feeders she bought. I feed those to my aquarium fish with very little remorse. I agree with your questions on the filtration and test kit, but from what I have read recently on here from Rita, she is new to this forum but has had ponds in the past...so I am sure she has a plan in place. If not, then Rita, you do need some sort of filtration. Is this for your new stock tank pond you jut got?

Last spring my daughter tossed 12 rosy red minnows in my pond without asking me. I now have at least 1,000 :( Good luck!

They are going to die sooner or later here anyway. The pond freezes overwinter and they go then. Their only purpose is to provide mosquito and algae control on those ponds which were put in to provide water for the local wildlife, especially the backyard birds.

In the meantime, I did buy the extra dozen feeder goldfish instead of sticking to my usual dozen Rosey Red minnows so I do have more than usual. That is why I bought Goldfish that are barely bigger than the Rosey Reds. Although the Goldfish have the potental to grow large, the Rosey Reds barely get bigger than they are now. However, I have found that the racoons here soon solve any population problem as they love to help themselves to dinner. Those ponds are too small and shallow to stop them. They don't notice anything really small however.

ok....now it makes sense....I figured you know what you are doing.

None of this is about the new stocktank that I just bought. This is for the two small preformed ponds that I already had here.

The small 35 gallon in ground I only did last fall (3 feet round by 12 inches deep). I had hoped it might attract frogs as my above ground never has. It is also the local watering spot for the backyard birds here that love it.

The above ground 35 gallon patio pond I have had for years. The first year I go it I tried setting it up with plants on the plant shelves and underwater oxigenators plus 3 small but nice pond goldfish. It didn't last a week as the racoons had fish dinner, pulled out the underwater plants and tossed them and overturned the pots on plant shelves.

I quickly switched to feeder fish and no plants and its been that way ever since. By adding fresh water the feeder fish have enough oxigen for the summer. And I do not get upset if they die or the racoons eat them nor do I feel guilty.

When I started my garden redo in 2001, I had a typical suburban landscape. I changed it by adding lots of backyard songbird attracting fruiting shrubs, flowers that attract both butterflies and hummingbirds and made it very attractive to wildlife. I have been working on my yard ever since. Racoons come here at night and there is nothing I can do about it. Those two ponds were put in for any of the animals that come here to use so they will never be watergardens. Too small, plus on the shady side of the house anyway and in the woodey section of the yard (all created by me thru the years).

However I had a pond years ago were I could have fish and plants and have missed it for all these years. That is why I bought the stocktank. In my old pond at the old house, the racoons did not get the fish because the pond was much bigger and deeper with straght sides than those small ones I have now. The stocktank is wide enough and deep enough that the fish can keep away from any racoon paws and I intend to put my plants towards the middle of the stocktank pond instead of at the edges.

Sounds like a Plan to me. Wish you lots of luck and enjoyment. Glenda

Well, so far so good on my whooping $3.00 investment. All the fish in both small ponds look good today. Nothing died.

Hey Rita, you could over-winter some minnows in your stocktank, too. Mine did just fine. They even swim around under the ice when the goldfish were just sitting there. I'm hoping mine breed but, from what I read, they're kind of picky. Still, if yours did, you could just put the overflow in the preforms. Raccoons have a right to eat, too.
Vanessa

The water in the in ground 35 gallon is cold but the water in the above ground 35 gallon is colder. I noticed that although all the fish seem fine, the goldfish are not doing much while the Rosey Red Minnows are swimming around like its no big deal.

I really would like to add some Rosey Red Minnows to the Stocktack permantly when I get it set up. I am just concerned about parasites because I intend to get some "real" pond fish, maybe Shubunkins.

Rita....if you are adding the minnows for mosquito control and such, try Rainbow Dace. They are about 2 times the size of the minnows, and they are bit more hardy. Their sole purpose is to control larvae...they work great, and they are kinda pretty too...dual purpose.

Amanda

I buy the Rosey Reds because they are cheap and easy to get at our local PetCo here in town. I never heard of Rainbow Dace. Will check them out but really I can't put anything in those two ponds except really cheap fish because of the racoons.

Speaking of racoons, I know they visted the above ground pond last night as the plastic plant has been relocated from one side of the pond that it was yesterday to the other side were I saw it this morning.

Rainbow Dace are cheap, but could be ahrd to find. I have a local water garden store that carries them in the spring and summer. I think Petco has them some times...I have seen them there before. They are inexpensive. Better investment than minnows for me.

I did a search and found that Rainbow dace are also called red shiners. Very pretty and native, too. If I find some, I might try them as well (but I still love my rosy reds).
Vanessa

ummmm.....chickadeedeedee..... do you understand the typical purpose of "FEEDER" fish??? I think their lives are typically 'wasted' upon purchase anyway. LOL

Well, in case anyone is interested here is an update and typical of how it goes for the feeder fish.

In the above ground 35 gallon the racoons moved the plastic plant around afew times until they finially tore it apart completely. I took it out of the pond and threw it away. It wasn't a very good idea anyway.

I have not added any fish to that pond but there is certainly no overload left. Even though the feeder goldfish were really SMALL, they must not have been small enough. Only one left as the others slowely dissapeared. I suspect them to have been racoon dinner. Of the rosey red minnows, they have dwindled in number also. The ones showing color are almost gone. However, I did put some of the dark "rosey reds" in there that were mixed when I bought them that were black, no color. They all seem to be still there. All this leads me to believe that the fish dissapear as the result of becomming racoon dinner.

The water is quite clear as I can see all the way to the bottom. Pond in heavy shade with no plants and no filtration. I do partial water changes about weekly by putting the hose on bottom and letting floating gunk spill over.

Yep. Congrats Rita. You fed some racoons.

Yipee! Lol! .....NOT!

You know, I don't know what your problem is. I see you on the birding forums as a lover of nature and animals. The racoons have to eat too and it makes little difference if the feeder fish bought from the pet shop tanks goes to feed a racoon helping themselves to those fish that are just there as mosquito control, or if those same fish were used for thier intended purpose which is as LIVE FOOD for other bigger fish or aquarium life.

That pond I had put in as a water source for the backyard birds here and water for the wildlife which comes around here which includes racoons. In the summer (as my windows are open at night) I can often hear them when they come around and actually go in that pond. (Plant shelves bad idea although they are built in).