heron attack hopefully stopped in time?

[nc0gnet0]

Mine have been outside for about 6 weeks now, darn things outgrew even my 200 gallon aquarium, I swear, I never expected soo much growth in an indoor aquarium. I got desperate and and soon as the thaw hit I put a heater on the pond (one of those small electric trailor/Rv heaters).

Question for you Koiguy, we live in the same zone, about what time of the year do your Koi Spawn?

 

[koiguy1969]

the frenzy of spawn started in June , i think it was mid June. I sold most of my fish on craigslist.. i have 6 koi and all the 40 little goldies that were left from a late goldy spawn last year... i think i am going to oreder a breeding pair this fall they can start theyre lives here in the basement pond...i'll sell the rest of what i have this fall. i hoping to go straight japanese stock.

 

[nc0gnet0]

So your selling all your koi or just the ones you currently have outdoors? What about all the fish you had in the basment? Looking to upgrade your stock across the board?

 

[koiguy1969]

yep...i only have 6 koi left...and 40 or 50 gold fish...gonna sell em this fall and order a pair of breeders...japanese if i can swing it. i could have easily sold out of fish in one day.. i was limiting numbers to customers so there would be some left for others i got rid of 40 fish in about 3 hours. all my shubunkins, comets,sarrassas, and 8 koi...oh and 25 or so goldfish 2" range.

 

[nc0gnet0]

Wow, what brought that on, after your basement pond project I thought you were in it for life?

 

[koiguy1969]

I want to breed some quality fish to sell locally...no pond spawns! One nice pair doing all the funky fish sex, this leads to quality control.......if things go right ..i will be putting in a 8' round mud pond for the spawn & fry.

 

[jethro13]

i went outside to have a smoke, and caught a heron in my pond.. my fish are so spooked they wont sit still long enough for me to count them.. if i so much as move my head they scramble...@#$% i am pissed off!

I can't tell you what to do but somehow there's a pumped and loaded B.B. gun sitting next to my back door

 

[Stouty109]

like he said hes got Ms.Daisy sittin right their

 

[koiguy1969]

thats right Stouty...he must not have read the thread.....i gots my miz daizy sittin by, sho nuff!

 

[D&RW]

For Herons you can string fish line, since they land away from the pond and walk up to it.Since their legs bend forward it hits the line and they can not cross.

That is a misconception. The heron that came yesterday dropped right out of the sky onto the edge of the pond. Literally.

 

[D&RW]

i had 38 fish in my 10 days ago... they wont sit still and are frantic at the slightest sight of anything... but im guessing theres about 2 dozen in there now.. maybe a few more but definately less than 30. its real sad to watch them slam into pots, walls, and each other trying to hide under anything..anything at all!!!i wish i lived somewhere i could get away with popping off a shot.....

Beeman makes an outstanding pellet gun. I have one with an $80 scope I use to dispatch house sparrows. However, I got the lower powered one, 750 ft./sec. If I were to get another one I'd get the 1000 ft/sec because mine is too low powered for bigger birds like starlings.

 

[D&RW]

i really dont want to ugly up the pond area with nets and string and stakes or whatever but i guess i have to. anyone know if hawks swoop down and snag fish as eagles do? i saw a bunch of robins chasing one off this morning, from a neighbors yard. and i guess i have to remove the solar lights around the pond and shining on my waterfall.

Don't know about hawks, but Osprey can and do dive for fish. However they don't come into town here. The guy you have to worry about is the Green Heron. Much smaller bird than the blue, but it's a diver too. We saw one a couple years ago, but none recently. What I plan to do when it gets hotter is string a sunscreen/net at about 6 ft. over the pond. IF you thought you had Green Herons, that'd be one thing to do.

 

[D&RW]

you know what kills is.. i havent lost a fish to disease, parasites,ulcers or whatnot, but to make up for it. Ive lost a dozen fish (in 2 incidences) in less than 2 weeks. i provide my fish with an extremely hospitable enviroment, and consider them family. i am assuming that its the heron because theres no mess just missing fish. i understand that racoons let you know they were there,by a big mess.

I'm finding that the scarecrow does work for herons. i've heard that coons figure it out.

 

[D&RW]

decoys do help, but not now its still mating season. you may just draw one in. put them out at the end of june early july. after mating season they are territorial.

Another forum, something with Garden in it I think, had a long thread on herons. One guy had a video of a heron walking into a pond right past a decoy heron!! Don't know the time of year.

 

[D&RW]

Just when you think it is safe, he will be back. It is in his nature to fish. Once they know where they are, they never forget.

Exactly. Plus, hunger is a very powerful motivator. Finally, he ain't the only heron around, probably. You might consider a scarecrow. I've watched it work. Probably isn't foolproof, but I'm leaving the house without all the hassle of putting in the screens and not worrying too much.