Question
I am putting in a small (60 gal) pond (pre-formed, hard plastic liner).  I live in suburban MD (DC area) and am wondering the following:
With the liner being 15.5" deep and given the climate in this area, what types of fish and how many can I add to me pond?  Will toads come to my pond or should I buy tadpoles? I always thought that moving water keeps mosquitos away but apparently not.  Perhaps I should focus on fish that eat mosquito larvae?  What are the best plants for a small pond and how many (how much of the surface should be convered)?  I will include a small waterfall.  Many thanks for your assistance!!


Answer
I live in Howard County.  My ponds with fish are 24 and 26 inches deep.  With de-icers and aeration/waterfall, the fish overwinter fine.  With a 15" deep pond, you will need a de-icer.  Since the pond is small, one de-icer should work.  My page on overwintering ponds is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/winter.htm

Due to the small size of your pond, I suggest one of the following.  Either put in rosy red minnows or put in small tropical fish in the summer (bringing them in for the winter).  Rosy reds are very hardy and only grow to a few inches long.  Stores sell them for a dollar a dozen as feeder fish.  They are often diseased and need to be rehabilitated.  My page on them is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/rosies.htm
They are my favorite fish!  Your pond isn't really large enough for goldfish (at least not more than one or two) and certainly not koi. As for tropical fish, you could put in guppies, platies, mollies, paradise fish, zebra danios, white cloud mountain minnows, or other semi-hardy fish but you'd have to bring them inside before winter each year.

If there are toads in your area in need of a place to breed, they will find the pond.  Toads and frogs prefer to breed in ponds without fish.  You won't be able to find toad tadpoles for sale.  

Moving water deters mosquitoes but may not stop them completely.  See http://www.fishpondinfo.com/mosquito.htm for more on mosquitoes.  I suggest using Bt (see the page) or adding small fish like the rosy red minnows.

Plants are another huge topic.  My page on pond plants is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/plant.htm
There are dozens of plants that could work in your pond.  My 50 gallon tub pond is completely covered in duckweed right now.  It has no fish just some green frog tadpoles, green frogs, and pots of iris and water lilies that the raccoons keep dumping.

Ideally, for your size pond, you'd want about 70% surface coverage at the end of summer.  It will be less in the spring when plants are just getting started.  There are just too many plants for me to pick ones for you.  You should pick the ones that you like.  If you want me to tell you more about a specific plant and if it would work in your pond, I can do that.  Even the larger pond plants can be potted in smaller pots and stunted to live in a 60 gallon pond.  A few smaller plants to try would be something like dwarf cattails, four-leaf clover, and well I could be here all night if I get into too many details (my animals need me).

My page on tub ponds is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/tubpond.htm

Good luck!

Robyn