All my fish are gone...? Goldfish, minnows - 50+ fish completely gone. Fish rapture?

[rubyduby]

This morning I saw a handful of minnows sneaking around at the bottom, so it seems the Fish Rapture did not get a few sinners. There are some pretty decent sized folds in the liner that fish can hide in, so maybe it's hibernation time? We've been getting frost overnight these last few days.

They are probably all hiding since your weather turned cold....

 

[GBBUDD]

Our heron came just before dawn, when it was still nearly dark. I ran out to chase him away and he wasn't scared in the least. I got pretty close to him and he stared me down. At that point, I realized how big he was and I decided to leave him alone!

Herons will not attack. They will stand there ground untill you are right up on them if they know there's a meal there. Swans and geese however will attack and they can be very threatning

 

[GBBUDD]

You may have had a night heron or a green heron . Both are half the size of blues and are very stealthy

 

[SarahT]

@rubyduby No damage, thanks. Just 4" of Storm Nicole rain and Big Winds. No otters, yet, either.

 

[addy1]

The heron is taller than me when it stretches that neck up. But they fly as soon as they see me or very soon after. It has been back to my pond since I fixed the nets, but does not stay long. I think I have all the holes patched.

 

[nimrod]

Update: I spotted at least 3 of the big goldfish swimming in the bottom of the pond this morning!! By noon I couldn't see any. So despite the lack of hiding spots in my pond, they seem to have found some spots where I can't see them for long periods of time.

My assumption is that the sudden temp drop, and the extreme rainfall (3+ inches in 3 days) caused the pond to get cold too quickly, and maybe shocked the fish?

I am excited to know that they weren't taken in the great fish Rapture of 2022. At this point, I suspect they are all alive, but hiding. I guess I'll know more when the weather warms the water back up.

 

[Jhn]

Update: I spotted at least 3 of the big goldfish swimming in the bottom of the pond this morning!! By noon I couldn't see any. So despite the lack of hiding spots in my pond, they seem to have found some spots where I can't see them for long periods of time.

My assumption is that the sudden temp drop, and the extreme rainfall (3+ inches in 3 days) caused the pond to get cold too quickly, and maybe shocked the fish?

I am excited to know that they weren't taken in the great fish Rapture of 2022. At this point, I suspect they are all alive, but hiding. I guess I'll know more when the weather warms the water back up.

It could be as you surmised due to a water temp drop, most likely though a predator came by got one or two and the rest took that as their cue to hide or die. Fish as you found out are very good at finding and hiding in spots you wouldn’t think they can hide in and staying there for extended periods.

The behavior you are describing is typical when the fish feel threatened, more so than just water temp. drops.

 

[bagsmom]

I'm so glad to hear that some of your fish survived!

 

[Lisak1]

We had a fat fantail goldfish that used to disappear for weeks at a time - and then suddenly, there she was again! I still have no idea where she would hide out, if it was on purpose or if she got lost behind some boulders and had to find her way back out again. Moral of the story - fish can and will hide for long periods of time for reasons of their own that you may never understand!

 

[bagsmom]

We had a fat fantail goldfish that used to disappear for weeks at a time - and then suddenly, there she was again! I still have no idea where she would hide out, if it was on purpose or if she got lost behind some boulders and had to find her way back out again. Moral of the story - fish can and will hide for long periods of time for reasons of their own that you may never understand!

I used to have a 55 gallon aquarium. I had a cichlid that got sick and disappeared. We thought he died and was eaten by the rest of the tank residents. He was about 4" or 5", too, so you would think he would be easy to spot in a small space like that. We looked and looked. Even thought he might have jumped out and been eaten by the cat! MONTHS later, he turned up -- looking fine and healthy. It was bizarre. We named him The Lazarus Fish.

 

[Lisak1]

They are stealthy creatures when they want to be!

 

[Willragan]

Like the title says... I had 10 medium sized goldfish (common). Probably 6-7". Three of them were gold, 7 of them brown. Then I had a whole flock of minnows that have been reproducing over the summer. From fully grown, to small fry - I'd estimate 50-100 fish.

My pond is in Oregon, 8a/8b. It's roughly 1600 gallons. Filtered through a bog that is almost 80% the size of my pond. It's been up and running (clearest water I've ever seen!) since February.

The only thing I can think of that has changed is we got 3-4 inches of rain this weekend, and it was COLD. But if that killed the fish, I'd expect to at least see a few dead ones. I can't see ANYTHING in the pond. Just cold, clear water.

What happened?

Predators or theft.