At first I started with a small, plastic "Whiskey Barrel", a Little Giant pump and filter and my husband fixed an old, antique water pump with tubing to return water to the tub. We had three, 6" Comets and a myriad of gambusia to start out with. I planted the barrel with "miniature" cat-tails, a water lilly and a pickeral weed . We realized within the week that we needed something bigger for my adoptees. My brother solved the problem by bringing me a 150 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank and I was thrilled. We began to plan how to best get it set-up: which pump/filter, which plants, fish, etc. We decided on a Beckett Pump/Filter with a three-tier fountain head especially designed for the smaller pond and it has worked very nicely, keeping the water crystal clear and the fish very happy this past year. The little adoptees (Titanic, Olympic and Lusitania) now had a lovely home. Shortly afterwards we lost the Lusitania but added several more fish. I purchased two tiny Koi, (Yoko and Sushi), four Shubunkins (Forest, Pickles, Pinwheel and Calico) and several Comets. I lost many of the Comets and have two remaining, Mulder and Sculley. Three of the Shubunkins are in the new 30 gallon pond we installed in the spring of 2000 and all the rest reside happily in the big pond. But, sadly, the fish have thrived and the Koi are getting too large. We are thinking about a 600 gallon, above ground pond or finding a new home for Sushi and Yoko.
