Shadehouse "pond"
 

In order to get more humidity in the (dog kennel) shade-house this year, I am putting a 50 gallon horse water trough in it, and will put a submersible pump in the "pond."

Here is the pond ready to go in, and I have the pump, I just need to make a filter. I have a few goldfish that can hang out there during the summer, but they will have to come in for the winter.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...pswpvnujez.jpg

Goldfish may not eat mosquito larvae when it's hot outside. I have to have mosquito fish (Gambusia) in my pond because the goldfish are lazy.

This is true, I talked to the pet shop owner and she said that goldfish don't eat mosquito larvae. I was thinking killie fish maybe. I had one once that pretty much ate all my endlers guppies. 8 in one weekend. I got rid of that fish because it could not be kept in a friendly fish tank.

I had a 5-gal globe-shaped glass "water garden" on my deck one year, with a few Gambusia in it, captured from a local pond full of them. They kept the water garden clear of mosquito larvae and were also fun to watch. When cold weather came, I just returned them back to the pond where I got them, much larger than when I first got them.

I was very into the pond thing for around thirteen years before I gave away fish, lotuses and lilies. Now, I have a half-barrel tub with two goldfish and a miniature lily and a few underwater plants. It isn't a real pond but I have fun with it. :)

I have never heard that goldfish do not eat mosquitoes. We live in an area where mosquitoes are a terrible problem but I have never found larvae in my pond or tub. When my children were raising tadpoles and I found mosquito larvae, I put a few baby goldfish in with the tadpoles for a couple of hours and they quickly took care of the problem.

The only reason I can think that goldfish wouldn't be very active is if it gets too cold or if there isn't enough oxygen in the water. When water gets too warm, it can deplete the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. With goldfish, you might need to add some lilies or other floating plants to keep the water underneath cooler. There are some great underwater plants, too, that will help keep the levels of dissolved oxygen more normal. Goldfish can take some extra effort to keep happy.

Good luck with your pond! :)

Your county health department or mosquito control district might give you some mosquito fish free. They do that here in Maricopa County. I have those plus something sold as an American Flag Fish in my pond to eat mosquitos. They survive our winters.

When the water is warm I also put platies and mollies in for color. They're carnivores and breed in the pond. I overwinter a few dozen in an aquarium.

I have heard that some places do that. Not here, though. That is a great idea for fish, though, if your district does offer them. There are many types of fish that will eat mosquitoes. I actually love my goldfish and currently have a comet and a Shubunkin ruling my little tub. The 'pond' comes inside every winter so I can continue to spoil them year-round. :)

I found 8 little comet fry in a plant tank in a fish store and bought them for 10 cents each. I heard that those floating mosquito doughnuts are not toxic to fish. It is really strange but I would like to keep my fish (the comets I have). I was going to give them back to the fish store, but realized that they would be selling them as feeder fish. On the other hand, if I can keep them a few years, and give them back during pond stocking season they will be 5-6 inches long and less likely become feeder fish. I plan on buying a place in Misourii in a year or two, and would like to have a pond there, Just a small little 300 gallon thing would be nice, because I am addicted to iris and would love to have some water iris like Lousiana iris. (Monocots, swoon!) I know I will have a massive iris bed or planting of some kind and am now growing out quite a few, just to have a massive amount to start with. I am also growing out and doubling a lot of lillies.

I have goldfish in my horse trough the year round. They eat the algae and hang out near the tank heater in winter. I have done it for yrs.

I was thinking about a tank heater, thanks!