Help me out here

There's a ton of information in the pond section, so I would browse through there and check out the options. Additionally, we actually just helped out a guy who bought a new house and discovered a pond with koi in it in the backyard! He basically had to start from the very beginning. So that thread might be very helpful for you. here's the link:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106281


As for the shade issue, probably a good idea would be to add some floating live, fast-growing pond plants or even fake lilypads to the pond. That would create a shaded area in the pond. Fast-growing plants are a good idea because goldfish like salad, so plants that reproduce quickly and often are essential. Or, you could try your hand at building a shade for the pond yourself.
 
sleeping on the couch? geez.

this might be a good time to teach your kids (and your wife, apparently) about taking care of other creatures. i mean, i don't know them or anything and i don't want to sound harsh, but they should want all the fish to be as healthy as possible, and maybe you could explain to them that the fish are NOT going to be happy and healthy in improper conditions - too cold for tropicals, too warm for temperates, too crowded for everyone.

also - no more pets without asking Dad about it first! i see so many stories posted here about people trying to do their tanks properly, or cycle the tanks fishlessly, then their Mom or brother or roommate decides just to throw fish into the tank without asking because it "looked empty" or "of course you can put 10 feeder goldfish into a 10g tank, they're only an inch long"
 
wataugachicken said:
sleeping on the couch? geez.

this might be a good time to teach your kids (and your wife, apparently) about taking care of other creatures. i mean, i don't know them or anything and i don't want to sound harsh, but they should want all the fish to be as healthy as possible, and maybe you could explain to them that the fish are NOT going to be happy and healthy in improper conditions - too cold for tropicals, too warm for temperates, too crowded for everyone.

also - no more pets without asking Dad about it first! i see so many stories posted here about people trying to do their tanks properly, or cycle the tanks fishlessly, then their Mom or brother or roommate decides just to throw fish into the tank without asking because it "looked empty" or "of course you can put 10 feeder goldfish into a 10g tank, they're only an inch long"
Click to expand...


definitely good advice. a good opportunity to get the kids involved and teach them about proper fishkeeping. definitely about the difference between different types of fish, about the different qualities of water and what fish need what conditions, about what happens in a cycle (who knew about all those bacteria?). maybe they can spread the word to their classmates/friends about the purgatory that is a goldfish bowl? :) kids who learn fishkeeping early on and get involved in it are the best fishkeepers when they get older. it's also a good way to keep accidents like "little jimmy fed the fish the WHOLE CANISTER of food all at once" or "little suzy tried to feed the fish birthday cake," etc, from happening. which could lead to: :thud: and nobody wants that. :)
 
lol :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
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