As for snails it really depends on what kind you get. Some will eat your plants and some won't.
Mine are not
plant eaters. They just eat algae off everything. That was the first thing I had in my pond. Andy had told a friend about my "pond adventure", and that it was starting to turn a little "green". His wife went out to their pond and got the snails to send home with him. They do a very good job. They just hang out on the rocks, sides of pots, etc. and suck down algae all day...like miniature wet/dry vacs!
I took 3 full buckets of salvinia out of the pond, and still have quite a bit in the pond. Now I can see my fishies again!
I swear, it's hard to believe that Gardencrazy sent me a little bit of salvinia in a ziplock bag, and it has turned into buckets now!
And all the other
plants she sent are beautiful, and all
growing so big!
Even though I've been so ignorant about the pond, I must be doing O.K. at this point, because everything is still alive!
How big do goldfish get?
Mine are getting so big it's kind of freaking me out. The original ones are about 6-7 inches long, and real fat. The babies are getting huge...some already about 3-4 inches long. I'm going to have to build a much bigger pond at Rachel's than the one I have here.
Cindy