Randy wrote:

>I placed a few "feeder" goldfish into the small lily pond that I have at
>home many years ago.  They quickly reproduce, and despite bird predation,
>maintain a healthy stable population.  They do fine in winter so long as
>the pond does not freeze to the bottom.

When I was 14 I built a concrete pond in my parent's back yard in New Jersey, complete with waterfall and small stream.  Believe it or not, it is still there 46 years later.  Anyway, in the beginning we paid something like 5 bucks a pair for 3-inch goldfish from the local pond supply place, where we also bought water lilies, marsh plants, etc.  About that time I also started keeping a pair of Oscars in a 75-gallon tank.  I would buy 100 feeder goldfish for 7 bucks from the local pet store to feed them (eventually converted Plato and Socrates to pellet food, and they grew to be 14-inches long).  It dawned on me that the feeder goldfish might be a cheap solution to replacing the relatively expensive goldfish sushi that the cats and raccoons dined on in the pond.  So, 100 feeder goldfish went into the pond.  About 1/3 died quickly, being weak, inbred, etc.  About 1/3 got picked off by the predators.  But, 1/3 grew into the most beautiful collection of predator-dodging goldfish of all shapes, sizes and patterns.  Eventually, I added guppies to supplement the mosquito larvae and other food sources.  The guppies bred like, well, guppies and maintained a stable population from May until late November (too cold for them to winter over).  A few times I threw in some shiners (minnows) I had leftover from fishing.  They would last most of the summer.  It was really cool to see the goldfish lazing about, the schools of guppies moving among the lily pads, and the silver blurs of the shiners darting past.  

Besides reminiscing (thanks for dredging up that memory, Randy), I guess my point is that, if the water vessel isn't large enough to support goldfish, guppies may do just fine, and they will control mosquitoes, too.

Bill
Claremont, NH US

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