I love fish...and my fish (along with the destruction of my yard due to hurricanes last year) have led to a love of plants as well.

I thought I would share my forever-work-in-progress. I warn you in advance that I am not a neat and tidy landscaper...I tend to plant things I like without knowing much about them....so one never knows how my plans will turn out.

These pics are from the beginning of this month:







Here are some of the pics of my fishies: (They were scooped out in a collander during a major spring cleaning on the pond, so I was able to get a couple shots.)






A baby from this season:




The fishies in the pond:

And this is what it looks like this afternoon. It's amazing how fast the sweet potato vine grows...and how many mistakes in gardening it can hide. LOL




Also, someone had asked me to post a pic of my filter. This is the box, the tube is connected to the fountain pump. There is a tube on the other side that drains back into the pond...and it is filled with filter foam and bioballs.


Have I driven everyone nuts with too many pictures now? (I had to split the pics into two posts...sorry)

I was already crazy lol.

Seriously those are great pics. and your right the sweet potato vine really did take off.

Thank you for taking the time to post your pictures. I really enjoy seeing those things.

Nice!

That's exactly what I do! And I move my plants around the yard like most women re-arrange furniture!

Is that the only baby you have?
What did you do with all the hundreds more that came with it?
(I'm still trying to count mine. :rolleyes: I took pictures of the pond so I could count the babies...and there's just too many to count!)

Cindy

I have 7 or 8 surviving babies so far this season (3 surviving babies from two earlier spawns.) 1 white, 2 golds and the rest were that dark blackish-bronze color. The others were all eaten, by either the adults or our neighborhood cuban tree frogs.

The sweet potato vine was a planting from last year. It died back over the winter but has come back in full force this summer. I have to remove it from the actual pond almost daily...and I trim the outer areas with a weed eater at this point. LOL

I don't have a pond. I thought of Possible using the water drainpipe from my central air-conditioner to make one. The water dribbles out of there at a fast pace and is wearing a hole out in the splash zone below it. This water is very clear and I have seen birds bathing in the little pool below it. It might just work!

Cool!
The sweet potato is neat. It looks like it is very very happy.

Thornius, that is a GOOD idea!

I have a frog in my pond...and he is getting HUGE!
I mean, he is one big frog daddy!

You reckon he's making meals out of my babies?

Cindy-
Frogs sure will eat fish. I bet the big frog has been enjoying some sushi.

OMG!

I don't have the heart to take him down the road and just turn him loose. I don't know if he will be able to survive in the wild.

I was wondering what you all did with frogs that get in your pond, but I guess I need to start a topic about my pond/mental problems, and stop asking my questions in this one.

I didn't mean to hijack this topic.

But, let me ask one more question about the sweet potato vine...
Do you just plant a sweet potato to get it?

Yep. Frogs like protein...and will eat anything that fits into their mouths. So, as they grow large, they may even take off after some of your bigger fish.

However, nature has a way of balancing things out quite well...and most frogs are dumber than bricks. They don't have a predatory instinct as much as they have a "what was that? grab it!" instinct. They will grab anything that comes close to them and eat it if it fits in their mouths (and their mouths are a lot bigger than most people think)....but they aren't so good at stalking and hunting. Most frogs have relatively poor eyesight.

Frogs also eat a good many of the fish eggs.

The sweet potato vine is a plant I bought at home depot. They come in that bright chartreuse and in a beautiful varigated light green/white/lavendar. The leaves are the same at if you planted a sweet potato in a jar and got it rooted...but I've never seen a sweet potato grow vines these colors.

As far as the frog goes...unless the pond is quite large and the fish have plenty of room to avoid him and any friends he invites over...it's really an either or thing.

Perhaps you would be more comfortable viewing the fish as feeder fish and if he gets them, he gets them? (Not trying to sound heartless, it's just obvious you are attached to the frogger.)

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

I wish my therapist hadn't retired.
I'm sure she would be interested in my "problem" here.

LOL--Cindy, you'll have to tell us what happens with your froggie friend.....It's a shame to kick him out of his home, but if he's eating all of your fish then that isn't good either....

Giraffe, thanks for sharing your pictures.....really nice! Makes me want to go out and dig myself a pond.....That vine really filled in nice and makes it look very natural.