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Old 04-06-2004, 07:08 PM
Ka30P
 
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Default Losing fish!! Please help me find the Koi Killer!!

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