I just wanted to tell y'all about MY new "pond". It's in my back yard. God built it with all the rain we've been having. It even has ducks in it! I have a low spot way in the back that is full of water. My neighbors ducks decided it was put there for them. My Black Lab loves it!

Rosebud, when the weather warms up and that cute little pond disappears you will be building a permanent pond out there just like all of us other suckers in here that have them. So when will you be starting your digging

What JW said Ha Ha Congratulations.. Welcome to the sucker club

Even though there is a lot of work involved....with out a doubt the pond is the best thing to happen to our yard.
I can't imagine the yard without it now

Rosebud,

Save your money and rent a backhoe.

Happy ponding,

Rich :[IMG]/rosey.gi

Oh and another arguement for a "real" pond... that swampy area will be mosquito breeding haven. If you build a pond, Design it so that it also addresses the drainage issue you obviously have back there. Then you won't have nearly the trouble with mosquito's. The fish will eat the larvae.

I'd have to agree with freddie. Up until a year and a half ago my pond consisted of a 80 gallon tub sitting up on cinder blocks with a wire cover to keep the coons out. To have a larger pond in the ground now is closer to my dream pond come true.

Happy ponding,

Rich

Lari,

You mentioned mosquitos. I have some barrowed, (if it's safe to say it that way) mosquito fish from the state of Oregon in my pond. They are quite prolific, and breed about thre to four times a year. We don't any standing water anywhere near here, but the mosquitos come out at night in the summer here real bad. So keep the mosquito fish handy to put in anything that could potentially harbor mosquito larvae.

Happy ponding,

Rich

Rich have you ever tried the mosquito dunks they sell at Lowes or Home Depot? They work good. Just drop them in anything filled w/ water. I don't think you can put them in with fish tho. But if you have lilies in a tub that would be good. The little fish you stick in there are prolly cheaper in the long run tho.

jw wrote:Rich have you ever tried the mosquito dunks they sell at Lowes or Home Depot? They work good. Just drop them in anything filled w/ water. I don't think you can put them in with fish tho. But if you have lilies in a tub that would be good. The little fish you stick in there are prolly cheaper in the long run tho.

Jw,

No I haven't, but with all of mosquito fish that I now have I won't need to. Thanks anyway.

Happy ponding,

Rich

I've heard they breed like rabbits. Are they hardy here or do you have them indoors for the winter?

JW,

Appearantly there are several varieties of mosquito fish around the states, but I don't know anything about them except that you are right about them breeding like bunnies. The mosquito fish that I have are from Oregon State and they breed about three to four times a year. I put four of them in my fifty gallon aquarium in my office and they haven't grown much. The ones in my pond are about three inches long when they start to breed, and are breeding like crazy. So far, they haven't been a problem. I recieved six of them early last spring, and now my wild guess would be that there are about two dozen of them. Rarely, but once in a while I will find one that jumped out the pond. They get along just fine with the rest of the shubunkins and sarasa.

Happy ponding,

Rich

If you end up w/ too many you will have to go into the selling business.Lots of people would prolly want some for their ponds and such. I bet your Shubbies eat the little ones for dessert so they don't over populate your pond

JW,

I think that some of the baby mosquito fish get eaten by the shubunkin's, obviously not all. Especially when there are periods when there are few places to hide for the new born mosquito fish.

Mosquito fish are not sold in Washington state, so I would imagine that mosquito fish are not legal here. They are supposed to be state regulated from state to state. I.E., each state of the union has it's own restrictions on certain fish and plants, and I think mosquito fish are one of them.

Happy ponding,

Rich

I found this information online, and thought I should share it with all.

Mosquito Fish



Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) are available free to residents of Washington County for use in their ornamental ponds and water troughs. Call the Environmental Health Program at 503-846-8722 for details.

Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) are small fish ranging in size from 1 to 2.5 inches. They have been known to feed on spiders, snails, algae, zooplankton, fish fry, and insect larvae.

Gambusia a. received their name “Mosquito fish” because of the large amounts of mosquito larvae they have been known to consume. One Mosquito fish can eat over 50 mosquito larvae in less than an hour.

Mosquito fish are non-native to Oregon and therefore state law restricts their use to self-contained water bodies which are not fed or drained by natural waterways.

Information regarding how to use Gambusia a. for mosquito control is available from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A West Nile Virus Fact Sheet is available from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Happy ponding,

Rich

P.S. Washington County is in Oregon State.