GO FISH: BACKYARD PONDS MOVE FISH HOBBY OUTDOORS

A goldfish came up close to the hand that feeds it.

Anniversary gifts come in all shapes and sizes. Dennis Clark knew what his wife had in mind. Between the two there had been plenty of discussion and research.

"My husband dug that out for my anniversary four years ago," said Beverly Clark, gesturing toward the 16-foot-long, figure-eight goldfish pond gracing the immediate front lawn of their Cape Girardeau home. "In 100-degree weather, he dug it with a tiller and a shovel."

Seven truckloads of dirt and 3,000 gallons of water later, along with a good dose of ingenuity in between, the Clarks had a custom-made goldfish pond.

Such ponds show enjoying colorful water creatures as a hobby isn't relegated to the family room.

Goldfish ponds are an excellent way to move the fish hobby outdoors, said Gary Stovall of A & S Tropical Fish. Ponds also offer the opportunity to work with varied plant life, he added.

For Clark, the goldfish pond is an extension of her aquarium hobby. It's also a landscaping feature enjoyed by friends and family. "We sit out here and enjoy it all the time," she said, seated in the shaded breezeway of her Spanish-style home.

There are two types of ponds, explained Bill Brinkopf of Sunny Hill Pet Center. "There are the ones with liners, where you dig a hole out like you want it to be shaped," and there are preformed ponds made from heavy plastic and placed inside a prepared hole.

Preformed configurations vary in size and pattern, and pond designs that use the liner technique are limited only by the imagination. There are advantages to both types of ponds, Brinkopf said.

While sizes are wide-ranging, Brinkopf advises goldfish ponds have a water depth of at least 18 inches. "We suggest 24 inches," he said.

The greater depth betters the survival rate, particularly helping the fish during the winter months when their metabolism practically comes to a halt.

"After the temperature gets below 50 degrees, you stop feeding them," Clark explained. "They get real docile, they don't swim much. Sometimes when the sun comes out in winter, they'll come toward the surface."

When the weather cools, Clark cuts the plant life back and covers the pond with a net to keep out blowing leaves.

Surprisingly, cold weather does little to change the appearance of the pond inhabitants. "They're just as fat and chubby in the spring as in late fall," Clark said. "It's just like you pull the shades on them in the winter and then pull it up in the spring."

Come springtime, Clark drains and cleans the pond, which measures more than 3 1/2 feet deep in one end and about 2 1/2 feet deep in the shallow end. Nevertheless, she said, "There's a lot more enjoyment than there is maintenance."

Just as sizes vary for goldfish ponds -- they may have capacities of less than 100 gallons -- so do the accessories. Whether pumps or filters are needed largely depends on what features, such as fountains and the like, that the pond owner desires, Brinkopf explained.

The Clarks fashioned their own liner and filtering system, using a tarp made for an 18-wheeler truck for the liner and a 5-gallon bucket fitted with janitorial floor scrubbers as filters. Discarded brick was reincarnated as the walkway and Beverly Clark even gathered the rock she used in the landscaping.

"We've got about $250 in it completely," she estimated. "There's a lot of sweat and toil in it but not a lot of expense."

About 40 goldfish, some of them of the fantail variety, and two koi live in the Clark pond. The fresh water brings out the striking colors of the fish. "They're not that colorful when you see them in a store because they're not in their natural habitat," Clark explained.

Many of the fish in her pond have been there since she first stocked it. "They've grown from about two inches to the size they are now, about six to eight inches," she estimated.

White, pink, yellow and red water lilies, along with parrot feather and yellow water iris not only add color but help with the natural balance of the pond. "If you don't have plant life in your pool to pull the algae out, you're going to have green water," Clark said.

She advises against using chemicals to clear the water. "I don't use chemicals, unless my fish get what they call ick, and I'll use a medicine in my water to cure that," she said.

Brinkopf said pond plant life generally needs six to seven hours of sunlight a day. If no plants are desired, then a shaded pool might be an option to consider. Chemicals are generally not needed, Brinkopf agreed, and chlorine should be removed from the water.

Regardless of what style of pond is selected, planning is imperative to a successful pond project. "Talk with someone, plan it out before you dig the hole," Brinkopf said. Clark offers that same advice, noting that free brochures and trips to the library proved invaluable to her and her husband's fish pond project.

Clark feeds her fish but a couple of times a week. They obtain most of their food from natural sources in the living pond. "A lot of people overfeed their fish and then they have green, sludgy looking water," she said.

But fish and humans aren't the only living beings that enjoy the pond year-round. "It attracts wild birds in the wintertime," Clark said. Frogs and tadpoles are among other occasional inhabitants.

"If people enjoy their outdoors, and wildlife, they'll certainly enjoy a pond," she said.