Jayinflorida: How do you prevent your goldfish from eating the snails? I was thinking about trying to find some snails for the pond that came with the house we just bought, but read pretty much everywhere that goldfish would eat them. I'm also having trouble finding snails that won't be invasive and will last the winters (I'm in New England). Any suggestions? The reason is because of the pond sludge problem that I'm hoping snails would help with. We do have a (mechanical) filter, and some water flow that we hope to turn back into a waterfall soon. We currently have 7 goldfish in about a 500 gal pond, and from reading this forum, some of the plants are apparently water lilies. Not sure what the others are, yet. :) Thanks! Suzanne, new to this forum, but not as new to GW

You have about 470 gallons of water in your pond, if I figured it right, for healthy fish you can have only a certain amount of fish because of ammonia and waste production. (I have just gone thru this quandry this spring and rehomed all of my koi because they grew out of their space in 2 years. They were butterfly koi and the most beautiful fish babies but they could not remain healthy in the pond I had.) See this article- http://splendorkoipond.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-many-fish-can-i-have-in-my-pond.html The koi will grow quickly and are big waste producers. You will need to buy a kit and test the water for their health. I installed a trickle filter to help with cleaning up their water but it was only adequate for 1 year and could not keep up with their size/waste production. I now have comets, shubunkins and 2 yellow gold fish. They are satisfying my need for color and are very friendly like the koi. I wish you luck with your fish and know how attached you can get to them and the sadness of having to rehome them. Many other fish lovers on this site will help you with information on caring for your new babies.

It's pretty much the color as shot. I'll put up some more, took a few today. I need some time though to get them ready to post. Thanks for looking. And these were 'live' from lowes. They have kinda gotten away from the plants in the water (at least by me), and don't have the selection. I think I got lucky.

Vinny, I'm in zone 6 and almost all of my clematis are up and are showing growth now. If you purchased tiny little plants from White Flower Farm, then yours may not have made it through the winter. Many nurseries sell babies that are much too small to survive our winters. I would suggest ordering from the nurseries that specialize in clematis, mainly because they sell older 2-3 year old plants that have good,strong roots. Chalk Hill, Silver Star Vinery and Brushwood Nursery are the best on-line clematis nurseries, in my experience. I'd contact White Flower Farms and get replacements. Then, pot these up for a year in 1/2 gallon containers. I bury the pots well in a sheltered place over winter and dig them out the following spring, planting them in their permanent spot. This method works well on these tiny, unfortunate babies that some nurseries sell. Good luck. Suzy