hey im back. been out of town for a while. thanks for that advice guys. im glad it wasnt a crazy idea. i come up with some duzies some times. i probably am stuck with feeding them flake food. i have a filter/areator system that is pretty small so it should work. im not looking to stock a pond but i would like to throw a few out from year to year just to say i did it. my kids are nuts about growing stuff so its more of a kid project. thanks again for the encouragement.