Hey everyone, its been awhile! I have just cleared a section of my backyard for digging and am planning a pond that is 2.5' deep and 6' by 6' at the minimum, maybe 7'x7'. My mom of course wants goldfish, so here is what I was thinking for my portion, which of course will be natives. I have a few ideas- one is a smallmouth bass or crappie, although crappie are hard to train on feed, and the bass in theory should not be able to eat full size goldfish, but I figure is not likely going to be a good option. Another is one or a few green sunfish as long as they wont harass the goldfish, or a group of redbreasts.
My third and most diverse option is the following:
5 banded killifish
5 common shiners
7 satinfin shiners
3 creek chubsuckers or maybe even white suckers although I understand they are difficult to maintain.
Each of these would be with a starting population of 5 goldfish which I'm sure will expand quickly.
Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated. I am trying to stay local, especially since this will be an outdoor pond.
Thanks!