Novice

Question
Hi:
This is my first time ever. We are going to get a 8'x6' pond with a waterfall installed. I want to go simple the first year. We are in NJ (Zone 6), can I put Gold fish and turtles in there? How many fish are good? Will turtle and fish last through the winter? I am not sure how deep the pond will be. Which plants are good starter plants? Do I need to put the Algae eating fish too. We have those in our fish tank and they keep it so clean.

Answer
Yes, you can add goldfish and turtles.  Turtles will eat smaller goldfish and may nip the larger goldfish and tear their fins.  If you keep turtles, you'll need to fence it in or make a cliff edge.  See http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/turpond.htm for details on turtle ponds.  Assuming that your pond is about two feet deep, it is around 700 gallons.  You'll want to keep at most 20 to 30 goldfish.  Since they breed so easily, I suggest starting with no more than a dozen to start off slowly.  If the pond is deep enough, the animals can over winter.  See http://www.fishpondinfo.com/winter.htm for winter information and how to keep them alive over the winter.  There are a ton of pond plants out there!  See http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/plant.htm for my pond plant information.  I started with a little of everything!  I suggest a few water lilies, iris, some marginals, floating plants, anacharis (submerged plants), etc.  If by algae eaters, you mean plecostomus, those catfish die below 55 degrees F.  So, if you put one in the pond, you'd have to catch it in the fall to keep it alive.  My page on plecos is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pleco.htm
Good luck!

Robyn