Question
A week ago i set up my water garden.  4x6 i think it is around 100 gallons.  i have the measurements I am just not sure if I calculated them properly.  I was told that 1/2 of the fish that I buy will die.  i bought 24 fish.  4 of them are about 2-4 inches.  the rest are tiny goldfish.  I was told I have too many fish.  I have lost probably 5 of them.  my 4 big fish are the ones I really want.  I am scared if I take any of them back to the pet store that they will die, on the other hand I do not want my big ones to die because I have too many little ones in the water.  I am soo in love with my little black moor that I would be so heart broken if I allow him to die.  my ph was at 6.5 and I added a buffer to get it to 7.0.  i will test for that tonight.  my ammonia tests was in the ideal category.  I have a few oxygenating plants - i do not know what it is called and I have 1 water lilly.  i need to know what other plants do I need if any and how many of my fish do I really need to get rid of.  I checked on bio filter but I was told my pond was too small for anything like that.  the only filter and pump that I have is all built in to the water fall.  I also added the liquid live bacteria.  please lead me in the right direction, I need whatever advice I can get to keep my fish happy and healthy.  

Answer
That pond would be about 150 gallons if a foot deep, twice that if two feet deep if it had straight edges.  To be told half the fish you buy will die makes me mad!  There is no reason for any fish to die.  Now, if you buy "feeder fish," they are so sick to begin with that it takes a lot of work to make them healthy.  I don't suggest trying to rehabilitate sick fish for beginners.  A 100 gallon pond should start with no more than 10 goldfish.  Black moors aren't feeder fish so you must have bought some fancy goldfish as well.  If you return the fish, they most likely will die.  If you leave them in the pond, you will lose some more until things settle down.  Having many fish does make it harder on the others.  You might consider setting up another pond or an aquarium for some of them.  All ponds have biofilters whether you buy one or not.  Good bacteria grow on the liner, rocks, plants, etc.  I suggest getting a filter, maybe a PondMaster one like I have in my 153 gallon pond.  You can run such a filter into a waterfall.  What kind of filter do you have now?  Check out my web site for ideas.  I hope things work out!

Robyn
fishpondinfo.com