Losing fish!! Please help me find the Koi Killer!!

I have lost at least five Koi in two weeks!!! and they are gone
without a trace!!! no blood, no parts of body!!
and I am sure they are lost because I could see the bottom of the
pond, and every time I feed fishes, all of them would show up

My Pond is 5' deep (15'x22') & the fishes lost are about 6'' to 8 ''
long,

One strange thing is I have 4 bigger Koi, about 1' - 1 1/2 ' long,
they are OK
I do think it is bird or it would took the bigger fish, maybe the
bigger Koi is smarter?
The neighbor's cat is a constant visitor of the pond, I saw Racoon
twice
I just hat to net the pond

I suspect that because I have rock on the pond edge, the predictor may
caught the Koi when it was feeding the algae close to the rock.
I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)
Please advice
Thanks in advance
John

John wrote
One strange thing is I have 4 bigger Koi, about 1' - 1 1/2 ' long,
they are OK
I do think it is bird or it would took the bigger fish, maybe the
bigger Koi is smarter?

First off, sorry to hear about your missing fish.

Predators will take the fish easiest to catch. They aren't going to be picky
about size. A kingfisher can take a 6" to 8" fish, no problem (happens here
every winter).


The neighbor's cat is a constant visitor of the pond, I saw Racoon
twice

I would not suspect the cat. All the years I've been on rec.ponds I don't think
we've ever heard of a cat causing hardly any damage to ponds and fish.
I would suspect the raccoon.
Raccoons usually leave some record of their passing though.
They tend to pull out plants and knock over things (assuming you have plants in
your pond). Raccoons eat everything and anything so you can usually find
evidence of their gourmet taste testings.

I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)

This might work, if you are looking at raccoons or heron visits.
Netting the whole pond is very effective from many rec.ponders reports.

Other deterrents:
electric fido shock fence - works on raccoons but also shocks family pets,
visiting skunks in the middle of the night with resulting odors...
motion activated sprinkler - works on raccoons, some herons other mammals,
ponders who forget to turn it off. Some raccoons will get smart and knock it
over but you can always attempt to outsmart them and attach to a structure or
concrete block.
over the edge pond shock fence - this lays right down over the edge of the
pond. I've seen them advertised in pond magazines and you can find them with a
bit of searching on the web.
traps - you can borrow humane traps from your pest control board, local Humane
Society. Works well to relocate raccoons.

Note: there are all sorts of rules and regulations for dealing with pesky
wildlife. Your best bet is to track down the regs for your state. Also federal
law protects many species of birds with fines and jail time for those who
attempt to administer the ultimate penalty. Fines and jail time take away from
pond dollars and pond time ;-)









kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)

I think that's more trouble and more unsightly than netting the whole
thing. Just IMHO.

Did you watch the heron video? A heron can reach much farther than
one foot into the pond...

Andrew Burgess wrote:
I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)


I think that's more trouble and more unsightly than netting the whole
thing. Just IMHO.

Did you watch the heron video? A heron can reach much farther than
one foot into the pond...


Where can you watch this video?

http://www.tossehuset.dk/dam-nyt.htm#11-05-04
click on "her" in the text

Michael Shaffer wrote:

Andrew Burgess wrote:
I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)


I think that's more trouble and more unsightly than netting the whole
thing. Just IMHO.

Did you watch the heron video? A heron can reach much farther than
one foot into the pond...


Where can you watch this video?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Damn, poor fishy

wrote:
http://www.tossehuset.dk/dam-nyt.htm#11-05-04
click on "her" in the text

Michael Shaffer wrote:


Andrew Burgess wrote:

I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)


I think that's more trouble and more unsightly than netting the whole
thing. Just IMHO.

Did you watch the heron video? A heron can reach much farther than
one foot into the pond...


Where can you watch this video?




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Try the link before that. The link says "film" That segment actually shows
the heron landing! what a scary sight!

--
_______________________________________
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is
like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:
The chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

http://community.webshots.com/user/godwino

wrote in message
...
http://www.tossehuset.dk/dam-nyt.htm#11-05-04
click on "her" in the text

Michael Shaffer wrote:

Andrew Burgess wrote:
I am thinking about net the edge of the pond (1' from the edge to the
water (4 sides), and leave the center open)


I think that's more trouble and more unsightly than netting the whole
thing. Just IMHO.

Did you watch the heron video? A heron can reach much farther than
one foot into the pond...


Where can you watch this video?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.