Swimmer, I'm sorry to hear about your father and it would be wonderful ifyou could keep some of his fish. Since comets grow to about a foot long (and I've seen bigger) a 20 inch tank is way too small for one let alone 4. It's a myth that fish grow to fit the size of the container. It's more like they'll get physically stressed and die before their time, also it would be very difficult to keep the water as clean and filtered as it should be. Is there a place you can put a 100 gal stock tank and create an indoor pond? You could dress it up with plants and such - some people on this forum have created some really cool indoor ponds.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Seems a consensus that Im probably only seing the tip of the iceberg. I looked into my deep part (3 feet) today with a flash-light, sun doesnt get all the way down there this time of year, and its all filled with hornwort. That one plant I bought in July has sure multiplied! So lots of space to hide down there too. Today I only located maybe 8 around the pond. And yes Mybusyfamily, you are so right... yesterday they all darted about when I touched a plant, but today there were just swimming happily along in the middle of the deep water with no cover! They sure looked like they were sure they were big guys now. They still only look like eyelashes, and Im really glad my garden is enclosed cuz I dont think I want my neighbours to see my on the edge, bottom up with a magnifying glass studying the water for hours :-D I have really considered the aquarium, but I dont want to push my luck, and I read everywhere that its so hard to raise them successfully in a different water. Its my first pond and first fish-litter. McDevitt, can I ask how big your pond is? 200 surviving babies!! Mary, how long did it take them to multiply that much? Im really amazed. I love little ones, but I have 4 females so Im also a little scared ;-) Just to explain what kind of pet-mum I am. Our oldest daughters bun had a litter of five several years ago, and we managed to give three away to family and friends, and kept two. Then our youngest daughter of course wanted babies too with her bun some years later. Nobody wanted the babies. We had 5 this time too. So we decided to keep all of them cuz we didnt want then to go strangers. We built a big insulated shed in the garden for all of them with in and outdoor cages and big runs... and neutered the males. We had 10 when we had most, now we only have 3 left. But they get to live nice and full lives till the end. So see why I worry a bit about having too many babies :-D And ... the boys in the pond are doing the chasing again out there this evening! I would love to see the little fishies grow up, and of course Id find them happy homes rather than being overstocked... or build a bigger pond ;-) Hanne

Wow Don, 23 Guacamole ?!?!?!? That’s dedication if I ever saw it. How does one come by 23 anyway ? If I’m not careful I’m going to end up with that many Andrew after the show he put on this year. Handsome Stud !!! But please share pics next year. Shame we can’t link fragrance, I’d love to be 3 feet from that bed in August when they are blooming. Esther - Thank you so much ! The endless attention I showed them really paid off until about the end of June, then it was all downhill from there. They look nothing like they do in those pics now. But with all the water we had it should really pay off next year when they come back double the size (hopefully). As for whether it was the squirrels or the 6 y.o. demon spawn . . . they have humane approaches to handling both. ::snickers:: Hi Phil ! You had actually mentioned to me earlier this year that I need to get them in the ground. I can assure you I have every intention. I will definitely have enough space for all of them when I am done, but getting there is another story. The ground I’m working in had not been touched in years and had really declined. So I am systematically amending and sifting one bed at a time. It is going to take me years before I have all the beds ready and everything in the ground, but until then they can live in their pots and grow up while they wait for their home in the ground. Being in Zone 7 I feel I have it a bit easier than some when overwintering in pots. We don’t have much freeze thaw and our winters get cold enough to let everything go dormant, but not too cold that I worry for their lives. Come 10 years from now it will be a whole different story. Thanks for stopping by to say hello. :) Dearest Mocc - yes I am back and happy to be sharing again. Your kind words warm my heart and I thank you. I saw your post the other day showing off your newest driveway bed and I smiled when I read it. I could picture you and DH out there just enjoying yourselves while creating something beautiful. I have to agree with Ken, palms and hostas is quite the juxtaposition, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. LOVE IT ! Jan - Ya’ know, I almost did get lost. There for a while all the rain and the sheer number of hostas to worry about got the better of me and I had to rethink some priorities. Having the new job on top of that didn’t help, but like you said it will certainly help fund the trip again next year and it was an opportunity I could not turn down. DD - Goodness Gracious really surprised me this year since I have a lot more shade than what I thought it preferred. But the colors pulled through regardless, so I am a happy camper. It is a tremendous hosta in both size and character. I have plans to give it a bit of a feature spot. Thanks again everyone, really glad to be able to post again. Ludi

whaas_5a: Here's what I've done: (1) Go to one or more local carpet/flooring stores (not big box stores) - they all seem to carry LVT wood flooring and have good displays. I really liked the Karndean brand, which was supposedly chosen by Walmart for its stores. (2) Karndean happens to be the only brand I've found who will send you TOTALLY FREE samples from their website, shipping free too! Web site: http://www.karndean.com/en/floors/request-free-brochures-and-samples Click: "request brochure", and then download the "residential brochure" - it's a really high quality marketing piece. As you look at the different "species" on their web site, you can add samples to your cart. They limit you to six selections. I've done this twice, and each time I received the samples about a week later. (3) Here's a photo of some of the samples I received: After receiving the samples, and staring at them next to each other in the privacy of our own home, we changed our mind about what "species" we like the best. We're now leaning toward something on the bottom row. These have names like "pale limed oak", "lime washed oak", and "classic limed oak". So by doing this, we figured out that we like that "white-washed/limed" look. (4) My builder has a preferred brand (Shaw, not Karndean). I asked if he could install other brands, and I sensed some significant push back there. But it was real easy to find a Shaw carpet dealer who also had the Shaw LVT flooring on display, and sure enough, Shaw has plenty of the "limed" options available as well. Anyway, that's how I got to where I am. Hope that helps! P.S. I was told that LVT demand is growing so much compared to carpet demand, that Shaw has converted six carpet factories to be 100% LVT instead.