B) Just had a few questions. We have some trap door snails in our pond, several small frogs which we bought.(they recently morphed into frogs) and several tadpoles, two medium size goldfish and one medium size catfish. The pond is only 2 feet deep by appprox 4x5 feet. Hope we're not over stocking the pond. Do you think the frogs will stay and the tadpoles after they have morphed. do we need to feed the frogs and taddies anything. I have read some info on feeding the fish and have been feeding about 10-12 pellets twice a day. They still come up begging for more food everytime I wander near the pond. The catfish doesn"t seem to eat what they eat. Is it scavenging on the bottom enough to sustain it. Was wondering also if my pond will overwinter one or two butterfly koi, or is this too much. I was told at the local pond store contrary to what I had read, that Koi would survive overwinter in two feet. My zone is 6. They said as long as we have a heater they will be fine. Also What do I need on the bottom of the pond, no dirt please. I have been very carefully depositing some small river stone, since my husband had filled and started stocking after about 48 hours without giving me a chance to do the bottom of the pond.

Your pond is less than 300 gallons. It doesn't sound overstocked except for maybe the catfish when it grows up depending on the species. Some grow huge.

Frogs have a wanderlust. That means, they will leave but some will come back. At night, especially after rains, the frogs will travel around the neighborhood. If there are few other ponds around, and the frogs morphed from your pond, they are less likely to wander off.

You don't need to feed the frogs as they will eat insects and worms in the area. During droughts though, you might offer frogs something like a mealworm or earthworm to tide them over.

Goldfish will beg for food even when they're full. Just stick to a schedule which they should learn. My fish ignore me if I walk by at times in the day other than the two times I put in food. When it's feeding time, they splash me in their excitement.

The catfish will eat fish food that sinks as well as various plants and animals that he finds down there. You can buy some sinking carnivore pellets for him to eat as well.

Koi experts say to have 1000 gallons for the fish koi and 100 gallons for each additional koi. Your pond is too small for adult koi. If you added one or two koi, they would outgrow the pond in about 4 years.

I have two koi in 1800 gallons. My pond is 26" deep at the most. I'm in Zone 6/7, and my fish overwinter fine. Two feet deep in Zone 6 should be deep enough but, in really bad winters, it may be close to being a problem. Since the pond is smaller, a de-icer and some water movement should be enough to keep it open (hole in the ice). My page on winterizing is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/winter.htm

Yep, no dirt on the bottom sounds good to me! Some people add gravel. There are pros and cons (see http://fishpondinfo.com/setup.htm#rock ). I don't suggest it in your case. A few river stones should be fine. Put some clay flower pots, PVC tubes, etc. on the bottom for the fish to hide in.

Enjoy your pond!