Fish
Goldfish are  a good choice to use in your pond because they are naturally hardy, compatable with plants and low maintenance.  The only piece of equipment needed is a small water pump to circulate the water when the weather gets hot.
    The best time to add your new fish would be in the early spring.  Let your fish become comfortable with their new home by keeping them in their bag and placing the bag in the pond.  This will let them take a look around without actually interacting with the other fish and plants yet.  Make sure your pond does not contain chlorine or ammonia because these are very toxic to fish.
    Be careful not to overfeed your fish.  Overfeeding could cause death of your fish.  If you have a good supply of plants in your pond you will not need to feed your fish.  They will feed on the algae and water insects.
    Raccoons, cats and herons are the most common predators of goldfish.  To protect your goldfish build an aboveground pond or cover the it with netting.
    In the wintertime you can either bring your fish inside and keep them in an aquarium or let them stay outside in the pond as long as it does not freeze solid.
 

Plants
Plants are a major part of water gardens and are also important if you are going to have fish in your pond.  The plants will shelter your fish, absorb nutrients in the water and reduce green alge from forming.  Plants will provide an ecological balance which will keep the pond clean and healthy will mean low maintenance for you.  This usually means that you have a water garden with some fish instead of a fish pond with some plants.  Some good plants to use include lilies, lotus, ornamental grasses and oxygenating grasses.  Check out Van Ness Water Gardens for good descriptions on these different plants.
 
 
 

Good links
http://www.prettyponds.com/index.html
http://thegardenhelper.com/plants.html
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4468/gf_plants.html
http://www.lilyblooms.com/
 

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