I think most of the ERs here have anti-venom because of the amount poisonous snakes we have. We have a lot of rattle snakes here too...not sure if all of them are poisonous though. If you know they are there and you are cautious, you usually don't get bit. It is people who are not from around here and don't know to watch out for them who are in danger. I know to never go in water here, and never walk in high grass...and never reach under a storage shed or deck....the places to find either a mocassin or a rattler...I teach my kids that too. Of course when I was a kid, I used to purposefully go to those places just to find the snakes and get their eggs. It is amazing I am still alive. Honestly they do not scare me anymore, it's when you surprise them and yourself that you are in danger. The most common way to get bit is to step on one under a pile of leaves...the rattlers love to hide under leaves. LOL at the sucking venom! I have always heard that too....always wonder if it would work. From my understanding it is not recommended since you get the venom in you mouth that way. I know when I got bit by a spider once, they cut open the bite area and popped the venom pockets and suctioned it out...then they stuffed it with gauze to absorb any left over venom...spider venom makes honeycombs and spreads slowly. Snake venom travels much faster, so I do not think the sucking would work all that well. Amanda

midwest, you can tell if they are not getting enough. Slow growth rate is one sign....but that may not be such a bad thing for smaller ponds. When they are REALLY getting too little feed, you may notice the head seems larger in proportion to the rest of the fish. A healthy male koi body's will taper out a little from behind the skull, a female will taper out a lot. Healthy females are built just like a torpedo. In a fish that is starving, you will see the body dip in right behind the skull. I'll see if I can find some pictures on the web somewhere of what a starving fish looks like. But the big head is a pretty obvious sign.

have had the mosquito eating minnows in my small pond for several years (the city initially gave them away free). They are small (mine at least ... one inch) live bearers & multipy fast but so far have caused no problems with my goldfish nor their young. The minnows survive quite well here in zone 7 where last winter we got 2 ft. of snow in one week & temps. down to 20F a couple of nights. I'm sure when I clean the pond each Fall I pour out most of the minnows- though I try to seine them- but there always seem to be plenty survive. They tend to swim/stay at the top of the pond water whereas the goldies prefer the bottom during the day. Pond water does freeze here during the winter also. Don't think you'd have to worry & the minnows sure love the mosquito larvae ... the reason the city gives them away!

This is something I wish I could change about myself. I do not eat fish, or shellfish. I continue to try little bits of it when it is offered. It's not so disgusting to me that I can't eat a couple bites, but it's bad enough that I can't continue eating it. Like the first bite is OK, but it gets bad after 3 bites. LOL. But I don't cook it, so my kids don't eat it either. I know it's good for me, and I feel that I miss out on a lot of tasty and nutritious meals, and fun restaurants, because I don't eat it. If I could re-train my taste buds to eat it, I would. Every once in a while I get a bug in my head to search for mild fish recipes, but lose my nerve and don't commit to buying it at the grocery. DH is even pickier than me or the kids, so he is fine with me never cooking fish. My dad is the perfect eater. I wish I learned/inherited my tastes from him rather than my mom. My dad will eat ANYTHING. I know there are a couple foods he doesn't favor, but nothing he refuses to eat. I swear, this is the truth, I have seen him eat an entire meal at a restaurant and then announce it was delicious, but not at all what he ordered. Even when he gets the wrong meal at a restaurant, he just says "great, a surprise, let's try it." He is thin, strong and healthy and looks 15 years younger than his age.