Ways to Keep Predators Away From Your Koi

[neptunesgardener]

I have a big Blue and Yellow Macaw as an alarm clock! Actually she's a Blue Throat Macaw named Bella, 3 yrs old. I was hand feeding her when the dog was a puppy and I don't know if you know anything about feeding a baby parrot but it's not a clean process! You feed a mush warmed to body temp to simulate the parents' regurgitating food into their mouths. Well I guess real parrots are better at it because for people it's a messy process with food everywhere and on everything! The puppy was very helpful at cleaning the furniture, my clothes and the bird, so they became good friends. When I brought in my rescue Caique, Buddy, he took right to the new guy, who turned out to be a little Napoleon! I'll get some better pics up later!

 

[j.w]

I've never had a real one just the photo of the one on my computer. You have a very pretty bird! My sister had a Cockatoo but had to re-home him as she wasn't home enough to give him the attention that he needed. I would love to see more pix of your bird.

 

[msgsfc1006]

Is anyone having any trouble with finding snapping turtles in their ponds? I just had to evict a small one and another one close by. I think its due to the lack of rain this year. Our creeks are completely dry here in Hocking County Ohio. I'm keeping my eyes open as I'm told where there is one, there are more.

 

[multifasited]

AH corn dodgers cooked in coon grease ,roosters ,chinese reseipt .yum yum!

 

[multifasited]

Here's my problem as an attachment:

Slip up ,play dunk the cat w/ your foot ,problem and a very wet cat ,will stay away ! Try it it's a HOOT! For 20 minutes the cats licking itself wondering what the hay ,other cat says not me brother!

 

[multifasited]

O-Boy TURTLE SOUP!

 

[Dave 54]

We have a tight 6mm hexagonal net on the pond the 6mm netting doesnt allow any preditors to get through it to discourage any thing like a heron I have a large high power catapult not to br aimed a the bird itself but near enough to spook it.
The 6mm net though tightly meshed still alows you to veiw the koi quite well and they are snug as bugs in a rug under it safe in the knowledge they are safe .
Our cats also see off any birds of prey that may think to land near the pond, the cats have all grown up with the koi so they arent tempted by them

rgrds

Dae

 

[springfield1952]

I have read every post on this topic, including all the ones that went WAAAAY off subject but fin to read anyway.

Last Saturday I came home in the afternoon to see a heron standing on the edge of my pond with one of my fish in its mouth! I threw open the door, yelling and running at it. It flew around the side of the house where I ran after it. The second time I scared it the fish was dropped and it flew away. I scooped up the fish and plopped it back into the pond where it quickly swam under the protective rock on the far end.

I already have a plastic pipe/net contraption I made several years ago over the pond which I frankly hate because of the look. Obviously it does not cover enough of the pond to keep the heron out. This morning my wife spooked the same bird walking across our patio so I need to do something or I will have no fish at all.

I could redo the pipe/net thing I made to cover over the area where the heron is getting to the pond. That is pretty easy, low cost and would be effective but pretty unsightly. It kills me to spend all the money and effort to make the pond and waterfall then cover them up just for some frickin' bird. I'm not a fan of the decoy or the spraying thing you hook up to the hose. Nor do I want to criss-cross the pond with fishing line or piano wire. I've read about the triangular mirror thing that floats, that seems interesting. I see shiny things strung on wires in the central valley farm land that is there to deter birds. Anyone with experience with those? Any other ideas that are not too intrusive on the look of the pond.

Thanks for the help.

Curt.

 

[Dave 54]

We have a net made with 6mm hexagonal netting with a bungy strap across the middle and around the edges , the heron if it should pick on us would find it simply impossible to get its beak through such a small mesh but the hexagonal met though of a small mesh still allows a veiw of our fish as you can see from the photo
When you tighten the bungy straps up the net is then tought across the pond and as such nothing can get through it beak wise
rgrds

Dave

 

[addy1]

I bought fishing net, holes around 5 inches, the heron could stick its head through, but I have it 4 feet or so over the pond. Being black, a large weave it is not real noticeable. I had deer fencing right over the pond, but the lilies always got caught in it. A pain to remove to work on the pond, always in the way. The new netting hung high makes it easy to get to the pond. I have it come down to the edge, an easy flip up onto the net over the pond and it is out of the way. So far successful. I dislike the look of anything over the pond, but this stuff you don't even really see it.

 

[springfield1952]

I bought fishing net, holes around 5 inches, the heron could stick its head through, but I have it 4 feet or so over the pond. Being black, a large weave it is not real noticeable. I had deer fencing right over the pond, but the lilies always got caught in it. A pain to remove to work on the pond, always in the way. The new netting hung high makes it easy to get to the pond. I have it come down to the edge, an easy flip up onto the net over the pond and it is out of the way. So far successful. I dislike the look of anything over the pond, but this stuff you don't even really see it.

So do you have it on poles to hold it 4' above the pond?

 

[addy1]

I put a metal fence post, one in each corner, attached the netting via those clip things. If I need to remove, just un clip. The heron has been darn aggressive here, so far (as far as I know) only two fish became sushi. Once it starts coming it is here every day. I have hours of the bird on film so I could figure out the best way to fight it. (without using a shot gun) One way to have goldfish population control!
My pond is deep, the only way the heron wins is if it stands on the bank and the dumb fish come close to the edge. The other dangerous ..........to the fish ......area is my walk out. There the heron could land in the water and fish.
It is this netting, but black

We look down on our pond from the house, so I have tried to keep the netting very non obvious.

 

[Dave 54]

The problem being that once a heron sees a pond as easy pickings they will come back again and again, you must remember that our fish be they goldfish or koi stick out a mile they didnt start out the colour they are its through years of selective breeding by us that they are what they are nowadays .
Also as fish go you could say that we bred into them a sort of innocence when it comes to preditors. So as fish keepers its our duty to them that we find a way to protect them in foiling their attempts to turn them into a snack.
There is a book called The Pond Doctor by Maartin Lemanns DVM, that shows a heron where the koi struck back in that the heron got greedy and snacked on a koi that was too large for it and it choked to death sadly however they both died .
A case of rough justice if ever there was one sadly there are all manner of decoys that quite frankly are a waste of the money people pay for them..
About the best I've ever seen that at least give the fish a chance are mock koi and goldfish that you anchor in the pond in the hope that the heron will see these as food and strike out at them .
It works like this oh look thinks the heron a nice juicy fish basking on the surface I'll have that for lunch "strike" oh no think the fish head to the deep just giving them the edge they need to get out of striking range of that horrificly sharp beak.
I think they go under the name of De-koi.

rgrds

Dave

 

[addy1]

The floating gator heads I use seem to help too. I have them anchored so with the wind they are constantly moving. I have watched the heron watching the heads then leave the pond and snack on crickets. I also watched another heron, either not see it, or ignore it and go for a fish.
The netting I am using now, works the best for the way our pond is, bottom of a slope no sheds, houses to hang twine from. I tried fishing line, the bird flew through it, got tangled, did a header into the pond then took off. End of summer I converted to this netting, watched the bird come and leave a few times without trying for the fish, so maybe, for me it will work. Next summer will see. We have a lot of water around in the form of lakes, rivers etc, nesting areas for the gbh and the green heron. I watch the gbh fly over our land every day in the summer, eventually they land and try.
I have some fake fish, was thinking of giving them a try, just need to see what box they are in, still packed from my arizona move.

 

[Aaron S]

I have normally lost a fish or two every year. This year i had to completely redo the entire pond to replace the liner. So I installed a fish cave in the pond. On a shelf, I cut back the dirt to create a nice 2X2 foot hole in the shelf. Then I installed the liner. Once the pond was full of water I placed a large flagstone over the top of the hole. This created a nice place to the fish to hide in. The waterfall comes down and hits the flagstone so that there is a pretty good current over the top of the fish cave. Then I installed a light just above the flagstone and that throws the entrance of the cave into a dark shadow. So far it has been working and you don't notice it unless you know where to look.