i am hoping that someone in the SLC area might be an devotee who keeps and breeds these rare breeds. i will settle for some friends who have similar interest in keeping pond fish, breeding ornamental goldfish or water gardening.

if you are said person, or know someone or group, please drop me a note. if you want start, that's good too. i am pretty into it and would love to teach/learn/share anything on the subject.

PS
for those who do not have a water feature, get one. i know we live in a desert, but let's be honest, we use more water washing our cars (not much if you have ever seen my car) then topping off the pond. sorry for the rant. my point is this. when was the last time you passed an hour watching a bush? the water features i have had at various houses have brought more than their share of beauty and pleasure. i highly recommend one, especially if you like birds. happy to share advice learned from my mistakes and successes on the subject. then get into goldfish and we can have a support group ;)

I have water gardened since I was 14 years old. I will always have some sort of water feature!

Ryan

My pond is 1,000 gallons, with steams and waterfalls, and I never dreamed aquatic gardening could be so much fun. It's enriched my outdoor enjoyment immensely. And, created quite the ecosystem in my back yard. The birds love the pond, and flock to it year round. I run the pump and waterall 24/7, and the pond is beautiful in all four seasons.

So, I recommend ponding as another way to enrich one's enjoyment of what Utah has to offer. Here's a very helpful website on ponding. Lots of resources here, and very knowledgeable and helpful people from across the U.S. So, you can "talk" with other ponders in the intermountain west, as well as folks in our Zone who are on the east coast.

found my fish finally. had to ship them from Oahu, but even with shipping the price was about the same as what petsmart charges for their sick mutant fish. granted i bought the cheapest grade available, but they put the so called "Japanese" fish i saw at an unnamed local store to shame and at a tenth of the price.

they are all currently residing in a horse trough in my basement (too cold to go straight to the pond). with any luck i should be able to breed this year. should i succeed i will have many fish and little space and will need to share any i don't want to raise, but don't have the heart to cull. so check for fish needing ponds posts in the future.

I have heard that there is nothing better to water/fertilize your garden with than fish water. The micro nutrients in ponds and tanks are great for plants and soil. That alone gives me a good reason to look into putting in a water feature---besides the aesthetics of one.

How do you keep small chinldren away/out of them though? That is my dilema.

Tyffanie

my pond is raised out of the ground and so for small kids it is low chest high. the walls are thick enough that the most comfortable way for them to play with the fish is to hang over the edge like they would if they were kneeling next to a tall bathtub. it would be impossible for them to fall in without them climbing over the edge. i designed it this way to make the easiest way for kids to get close to the water also be the safest. they know the rule that they cannot climb or sit on the edge until they are bigger. they don't try since it puts them farther away from the water.

my mother has a natural style pond and my kids have fallen into it on multiple occasions. with mine, they have never got wet past the elbows. so design is one way to make it safer.

another thing you can do is have a shallow edged pond with a deep sump that has a grate. you need the depth for temperature control. i have also seem grates placed across the entire top of a pond. if they are open enough for a child's limbs to pass through it need to be above the surface of the water. if you put it below it need to be tight and sturdy enough for them walk on or push themselves up without getting trapped.

another option is a large bowed fountain. keep the fish in the bowl. or fill the sump with rocks and forgo the fish.

pods can be dangerous. less dangerous than a bike, driveway, swingset or trampoline, but dangerous never the less.

they do add a lot to the yard though