Any pond critters that racoons WON'T eat?

[Fishie Mom]

Hello. I Have a hard liner goldfish pond which is netted due to a heron having a feast many years ago. Last year I built a natural wildlife pond with a flexible liner to house minnows. No problems with birds but racoons discovered it and kept moving my stacked rocks around, put several holes in the pump tubing (almost draining the whole pond once) and, sadly, ate all the fish. So I built a 3rd pond for the minnows, hard liner & netted. My question is does anyone know of any pond critters that the racoons won't mess with? I love the wildlife visits and my plants but would like something besides dragonfly larvae which is the only thing I don't think the racoons have noticed.

 

[Mgessert]

Raccoons are pretty easy to exclude using electric fence.

 

[Fishie Mom]

Raccoons are pretty easy to exclude using electric fence.

Thank you but the way this pond is there's really no way to add an electric fence. I have a shallow pool with a bubbler rock at the top which enters into a @2ft stream that then drops into the pond. The top corner is very near my concrete pathway to my house. The coons enter the top pool or the stream & go to the lower pond. (They also enter the pond itself). I didn't know we had coons when I built it as I live in the middle of a city and had never seen any here before. And I've lived here 15 years!

 

[JRS]

Not really. I have successfully kept goldfish in shallow ponds by building a bunker, a large flat rock on top of others or bricks. This allows enough room for the fish to hide underneath but keeps the raccoon from getting at them. The coons still get in and disturb the plants digging around but the fish survived.

 

[Fishie Mom]

Glad that worked for you. I intentionally built many hiding spots in the stacked rock walls so they could hid from birds but the rocks are loose set and the coons just move them to get to the fish. I've gone out and found several "wall" rocks on the bottom of the pond I've pretty much decided this is just a wildlife pond but I miss being able to have any full time living creatures in it.

 

[GBBUDD]

Having a steep drop of 30" down to the water level will deter them then on the viewing side of your pond you can place the net or electric fence sacramento Koi has a pond in the video of the prez and it will give you and idea of what im talking about

 

[Fishie Mom]

Having a steep drop of 30" down to the water level will deter them then on the viewing side of your pond you can place the net or electric fence sacramento Koi has a pond in the video of the prez and it will give you and idea of what im talking about

Thank you but there is no option for a 30" drop as this pond is in my front yard and only 13-14" deep to begin with and building it up would look ridiculous and you wouldn't be able to see the pond from the street. There is a front edge that we go to the most but no true "viewing side" as it is viewed from all sides when in the yard and from the back, bubbler side, when in the house. I have tried attaching a picture to my post but for some reason it won't attach.

 

[Jhn]

13-14” deep is going to make it tough to keep the raccoons from getting your fish as the now recognize your pond as a source of food. Either trap and relocate them, although not sure where you live and all but many places it is illegal to do so.

Or as @GBBUDD suggested make the pond deeper, this would be done by digging it deeper not raising the sides.

 

[Mgessert]

I know you said that electric fence won’t work, but just take a look at this Electronet. Once the rascals are trained, you can roll it up and put it away. We’ve used it off and on for nearly 30 yrs., first to pasture our sheep, most recently to teach our dogs to stay out of the raised vegetable beds.

https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/raccoonnet-4-18-12-electric-netting?cat_id=53&species_id[0]=8

 

[rubyduby]

An pics? At 13-14 inches deep you have a wildlife pond rather than a goldfish pond....It will be impossible at that depth to keep out any predator that visits your pond...Even if you put a fence around it a hawk or heron can still dine there...My pond is 30" deep with a fish cave so my fish hide out. I have steep sides to mine so I have not had any predator able to take any of my goldfish and I live in Florida, predator heaven! I do have a watersnake that visits but he only has taken frogs... If you are going to have goldfish I would recommend grabbing a shovel and turning it into a pond that is safe for them, otherwise just enjoy it for what it is and let nature fill it....