Well, I took pity on the frogs and released them back into the pond ..along
with the fingerlings. After taking a closer look at the froggies it seems
they are just so small and harmless to not pose much of a problem.
Afterall, they have been there for some time and what? ..wait for me to
leave before chawing on the skubunkins? Doesn't seem reasonable to me. But
what does seem interesting is that I started off with 3 skubunkins and 3
fancy goldies. I lost one skubunkin over winter (very mild) and now the
other 2 have vanished within the last week. Either some predators are very
selective or there is a dispute among the fish and the goldies won. If so,
is it common for skubunkins and goldies to have compatibility problems? And
if it is, I'll just get more goldies.

So I think I'm going to keep an eye on the remainder then restock in a
couple weeks or so (should I get more 6" or just get some 3" and lettem grow
like these guys?). If it looks like there's still trouble then I'll renet.
And on that topic of netting: should the net be suspended in the center
(like a pup tent) or just hovering on a lattice platform with no sides
(it'll keep the divers out). But then I have several tall plants and I
think the netting will interfere with them. I really don't want the plants
to grow through the netting as it will be then impossible to get at the pond
...for filter cleaning, etc.







"Reel McKoi" wrote in message
...

"Jack" wrote in message
news:0_dhe.38145$0X6.9215@edtnps90...
Thanks, Reel :*)

Howabout if I should start by getting rid of the frogs ..perhaps 1 at a
time?

* I would remove them to a nearby lake but more would show up in no time.
Only the fine black bird nets kept them out of my ponds.

They are currently being held in a large container.

* Please relocate them before they suffer from stress or
dehydration/starvation. Some frogs seem to be very delicate.

Eh, they seem
pretty docile although they can usually spot me as I approach the pond
and
I
see a splash. That's how I discovered them in the first place (last
summer). But if they were after the fish, I would have thought the
little
troutmeisters would have been the first to go as I understand the other
fish, fancy goldies, can be rather aggressive.

* I've never seen a GF or koi try and defend itself. They're such easy
prey
for all the predators out there.

As for birds/raptors, there
are hawks now in the neighbourhood but haven't really been bothered by
them.
I just hear them every once in a while. Again, they may have watched for
the yard to be quiet (while I was away).

* I never did see hawks bother my fish. The only birds we saw take them
were King Fishers and herons.

I hate like heck putting all this work into a pond build only to have to
cover it up with netting.

* I know exactly how you feel. In my case it was either have fishless
ponds
or net them. :-(

How about using a single fish line fence around
its perimeter?

* That;s useless against fish eating birds, frogs, snakes and mud turtles.

Would this work against most preditors ..especially herons?

* No, the herons hop right over it.... I tried all those tricks. Heavy
planting around the pond edge helped for awhile but encouraged more snakes
and bullfrogs.

I've now repositioned several water plants to more fully cover the
shelves
and built a rock and boulder fort on the pond bottom. As well I've got
some
overturned nursery pots on the bottom and cut openings in them for
refuge.

* That will not protect them against frogs, turtles and snakes who will
follow them! Herons will wait for them to emerge and KF are so fast the
fish wont have time to hide.

I placed water plant containers on them to both hold the pots down and to
help raise the water plants. Also, there is a water fall of sorts. It
consists of a huge boulder with a core drilled out of it. Water is
backrouted to the hole and voila! a wash down its face directly into the
pond. I feel this may camoflage the fish a bit by disturbing the water
surface.

* Let us know if any of these things work for you.

--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." :-)
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o