My problem with fancy fish is I have no idea what is out there trying to eat the fish. I went to PetSmart simply because they have a variety but in Goldfish they start around $5 EACH and work up form there. Koi (which I wasn't specifically looking for) were even more.

I can buy 40 feeder gold fish at 12c each for $5. If I buy 5 goldfish at $5 each and something eats them all.... that would get expensive FAST.

Bottom line, the pond is not a yard pond, it is out at the back of the property, under a slew of trees, and I know I have critters including Racoons - I have seen them. I am told is quite illegal to even trap and move them so...

As for my budget, I don't really have one. My son loves to play around the pond so I am willing to put a few bucks in it but I am not going to pay a thousand to set this thing up. I paid about $40 for a bunch of bricks and gravel to build the little dam to raise the water level - that worked great. If I could find one I would pay to rent a muck pump for a day to vacuum the muck out of the pond. IF I could get rid of the muck, I would then (eventually) pay for a load of pea gravel to fill the bottom with (and patch my road with as well). If it all works I will be buying a net this fall to keep the leaves out. I can imagine spending several hundred by the time it is all said and done. Or only a hundred, depending on how things play out. The vacuum (if available) will drive a bigger cost.

Again though, I don't know whether ANY fish will survive very long. For 12c each I just don't care if they die. I figure I will throw 30 at a time in there and if I have a 90% loss I will be quite happy. I would like to end up with perhaps 5 or 6 full grown gold fish by the end of the summer.