How can you tell whether your Goldfish is male or female? You might want to know because you want to breed them, or give them right name before Jack turns out to be mother Goldfish! Here are some clues that might help you sort out Goldfish boys from Goldfish girls:

* The female Goldfish are slightly bigger than males and look even heavier in abdomen when they are full of eggs.

* Male Goldfish develop white spots on their gills and pectoral called “breeding tubercles” during spawning time.

* Males have midline ridges on their undersides beginning from back of their pelvic fins and ending at their vent opening. This feature can be absent or smaller in females.

* Males have firm abdomen while in females; area between pelvic fins and anal fins is more pliable.

The tools you will need are a shovel, pond liner and underlayment, a long enough rope, coping stones and decorations, plants, a pump (you will need a pump to run a filter, fountain, or waterfall and it will keep water circulating and plants healthy), a filter system and some cooperative friends or family members. Now you can get started.

Time to choose Several options are available and you could actually build a goldfish pond in a day, depending on size you want it to be. Begin by deciding where in garden you would like a goldfish pond.

* It should be near your house, as that would make it more accessible to power supply sockets.

* It should not be at end of a sloping garden because when it rains all water along with chemicals from garden would run into pond.

* It should not be under too much of shade, as a pond needs at least four hours of sunlight.

* It shouldn’t be very near trees as falling leaves and debris would fall in and clog pond. You would be cleaning up all time.

Time to dig

* Decide on shape and size of pond. Use rope to outline shape you want and then begin digging. That’s why you need a couple of helping hands so that work gets done faster!

* Do not go for a small pond for goldfish because they need space. Also try and keep different levels of depth, as in a swimming pool. Mark out shallow areas and deeper areas. This would give pool a natural variety.

* Usually ponds in moderate climates should be at least 2 feet deep while in more colder climates, you would need to make sure that pond is deep enough to allow for at least 12" to 16" of water below freeze zone.

* Dig according to shape you want and dig a shelf-like level around perimeter of pond, which is about one foot deep and one foot wide. Also make provisions for a waterfall by digging a slight slope to one end.

* Time now to position external pond filters. If you have pond skimmers as well, then you would need to place and level these in proper places. Also dig a ditch to external pond pump from skimmer and from pump to external pond filter or waterfall.

Time to line