Second question...I have brought in a few fry with my newly purchased plants. Although I know by next year I may not think as highly as the fry as I do "my first" ones, I was thinking about getting a few orfes. I had read they eat fry and didn't want to put them in with my newly discoverd additions. The fry are about 1 to 1 1/2 inches and the orfes are about 4-6 inches. Will everyone get along?

Thanks, Melissa

The fry will need some where they can hide. I use a lush underwater hedge of plastic plants. What species are the fry? At that size they sound more like minnows.

We are lucky enough to have a pretty nice aquatic store within a few miles of us. I noticed while shopping for plants and such, when you pulled up a pot there were numerous fish swimming amongst the plants. When I brought them home I found the jelly type stuff on some of the pots. Not knowing what they might be...frogs, fish or something else I might not have picked on my own, I wiped it off before putting in the pond.
With that said, from the pics of minnows I have looked up, they are not the same body shape. One is a longer, thinner body that is orange, white and a little black. The others are brown with a lighter underbelly and have the same body shape of...maybe a blue gill. In others words, I have no idea what they are :) I have pics, but have not figured how to add them to a post yet. Again, thanks for the help!