Black snakes
 

Do red-bellied blacks get into fishponds and eat goldfish?

Black snakes
 

tathraman wrote:
Do red-bellied blacks get into fishponds and eat goldfish?

I've seen them hanging around in creeks and they swim pretty
efficiently. The fish'd have to be pretty unlucky, though, not to be
quick enough to outwit a reptile.

It's more likely kookaburras or egrets/herons eating your fish. A good
solution is to get a bit of bird mesh and sink it just below the surface
of the pond. This works very well, so long as the fish aren't small
enough to swim above the mesh.

Years ago, I had some goldfish in a backyard swimming pool. A Pacific
Heron took to strafing the pool and managed to gobble up a couple of the
fish before I put the bird mesh in. That fixed the problem for good,
although I bet Mr Heron was spitting chips (well, fish at least) at the
loss of his smorgasbord!

--
Trish Brown {|:-}

Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Black snakes
 

On Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:21:39 -0800 (PST), tathraman wrote:

Do red-bellied blacks get into fishponds and eat goldfish?

Never seen that happen. Do you have any kookaburras around?

Black snakes
 

tathraman wrote:
Do red-bellied blacks get into fishponds and eat goldfish?

I cannot say for sure but I really doubt it. They do hang around water as
they prey on small land animals that come to drink.

As others have said birds are more likely.

David

Black snakes
 

Hi tathraman,
I take it you have seen the odd red-bellied black snake hanging around your
fish pond. It's more likely to be after frogs.
As a child I lived on a dairy farm. There were many red-bellied black snakes
along the creek. It was an uncommon day to bring the cattle across the creek
without seeing at least one.
Then the cane toads came through. It very soon became a very uncommon event
to see a snake of any kind.
It might have been an ecological disaster, but Mum was a lot happier sending
me off to round up the cattle in the afternoons.
Cheers,
Dan

"tathraman" wrote in message
...
Do red-bellied blacks get into fishponds and eat goldfish?

Black snakes
 

I actually posted on behalf of an elderly neighbour who has (or had)
several ponds. They were netted, so he reckoned that
birds weren't the culprits. And yes, there are lots of kookas down
here on the far South Coast. But he has seen lots of snakes,
sometimes actually in the ponds, so he's convinced they are taking
his fish. Wonder if prowling cats could be to blame?

Black snakes
 

On Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:28:41 -0800 (PST), tathraman wrote:


I actually posted on behalf of an elderly neighbour who has (or had)
several ponds. They were netted, so he reckoned that
birds weren't the culprits. And yes, there are lots of kookas down
here on the far South Coast. But he has seen lots of snakes,
sometimes actually in the ponds, so he's convinced they are taking
his fish. Wonder if prowling cats could be to blame?

What is the gap between the net and the water?

My ponds were netted and I was still losing fish. One day I observed a bloody kookaburra bouncing on the net like a
trampoline, catching a fish through the net, chopping it up with his beak and pulling the pieces through the net.

My solution was to put a second net over the pond to make it more rigid, and lowering the water level by a few inches.
Since then no more losses.

If that hadn't worked, my next solution involved a shotgun.

Black snakes
 

Black snakes
 

That's been very interesting. I'll pass it all on to my neighbour.
Thanks everyone for your contributions!
And may the rain continue to fall

Black snakes
 

The fish'd have to be pretty unlucky, though, not to be
quick enough to outwit a reptile.

I dunno, there's a difference between outwitting a reptile and being faster
than the speed of a snake strike ... I don't think goldfish can do either!

Black snakes
 

Animals, fish and humans blunder onto a snake, and that's their main
objective.
To not be seen. Lunch comes their way...

"Dave -Turner" wrote in message
...
The fish'd have to be pretty unlucky, though, not to be
quick enough to outwit a reptile.

I dunno, there's a difference between outwitting a reptile and being
faster
than the speed of a snake strike ... I don't think goldfish can do either!

Black snakes
 

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:37:05 +0000, Jonno wrote:

Animals, fish and humans blunder onto a snake, and that's their main
objective.
To not be seen. Lunch comes their way...

Er which snakes have humans as part of their natural diet?
Even large mamals (small macropods) would be an exception.

Black snakes
 

terryc wrote:
On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:37:05 +0000, Jonno wrote:

Animals, fish and humans blunder onto a snake, and that's their main
objective.
To not be seen. Lunch comes their way...

Er which snakes have humans as part of their natural diet?
Even large mamals (small macropods) would be an exception.

FWIW, brown snakes take great pleasure in biting cows and their calves
in the paddock. We lost at least three or four a year to snakebite. I
don't know about black snake bite, but assume a RBB snake would bite a
large mammal if disturbed or trodden upon. That's not to say the snakes
*eat* large mammals, but they do bite them... ;-D

--
Trish Brown {|:-}

Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Black snakes
 

That what I mean. Snakes are opportunists, and bite anything that resembles
a threat. Which of course is mother natures way of keeping the snake fed,
without being picked up by some nasty human, and of course it can defend
itself if it happens.
Mind you once a long time ago, in the Amazon jungle I nearly stood on one
about nine meters long and twelve inches across.
Err actually, if you go to the Melbourne Museum, you'll see it there. We
stuffed it and got quite a tidy sum for it...
Believe it or not....
Err I don't either....

"Robb Scott" none.no-one@invalid wrote in message
...
On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:38:07 +1100, Trish Brown

wrote:

terryc wrote:
On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:37:05 +0000, Jonno wrote:

Animals, fish and humans blunder onto a snake, and that's their main
objective.
To not be seen. Lunch comes their way...

Er which snakes have humans as part of their natural diet?
Even large mamals (small macropods) would be an exception.

FWIW, brown snakes take great pleasure in biting cows and their calves
in the paddock. We lost at least three or four a year to snakebite. I
don't know about black snake bite, but assume a RBB snake would bite a
large mammal if disturbed or trodden upon. That's not to say the snakes
*eat* large mammals, but they do bite them... ;-D

Many years ago I was walking in the Lederderg Gorge in Victoria and I sat
on a rock and had a smoke while I was resting. My Labrador also had a rest
and sat beside me. After I put out my cigarette and started to stand up I
viewed an enormous brown snake lying on the rock behind us.

I gently grabbed the Labrador by the collar and guided her away and from a
distance I viewed the snake still there and apparently unperturbed by our
visit. Had we been bitten we were probably 4 hours away from medical
support.
--

/\ Regards,
\/ Robb.

Black snakes
 

Robb Scott wrote:

Many years ago I was walking in the Lederderg Gorge in Victoria and I sat
on a rock and had a smoke while I was resting. My Labrador also had a rest
and sat beside me. After I put out my cigarette and started to stand up I
viewed an enormous brown snake lying on the rock behind us.

I gently grabbed the Labrador by the collar and guided her away and from a
distance I viewed the snake still there and apparently unperturbed by our
visit. Had we been bitten we were probably 4 hours away from medical
support.

Geez! You did well to have the presence of mind to walk quietly away!
Most people would've jumped up and run away like a madman.

I had a sort of similiar experience at, of all places, a Pony Club
jamboree. My then-fiancé and I had gone for a romantic walk along the
(almost dry) riverbank. I was birdwatching with binoculars glued to my
eyes and the fiancé was patiently listening to my monologue as we walked
along.

I stopped at one point to observe that I was suddenly alone with nothing
but a small puff of dust beside me to indicate where the White Knight
had abruptly disappeared from! Across the river bed, not twenty feet
away, a pair of very long brown snakes was heavily involved in - ah -
coitus! Rather than pausing to watch the amazing display, White Knight
(who is a snake-o-phobe of the first water) nicked off to leave me to my
fate! So I got to look on in awe as Mr and Mrs Snake did It. Wow!

I realised somewhat later that we had walked on the path not eighteen
inches away from the snakes on our way up the river!

As an end-note, later that weekend, a kid from one of the Zone Pony
Clubs was actually bitten by a black snake as he watered his pony along
the creek. The rescue helicopter was sent for and (LOLOLOLOL! It's not
funny! I know I shouldn't laugh!) no one thought to empty the centre
ring of ponies and their riders. Can you imagine the fracas as a
*helicopter* descended in the midst of three hundred ponies? It was
mayhem! No accidents, fortunately, but the snake-bitten kid was very
lucky to get medical treatment in time. He was a pretty sick little bloke!

--
Trish Brown {|:-}

Newcastle, NSW, Australia