Catfish dead. Koi nowhere in site

[Fishfinder]

We must be cursed.

After we had returned home my dad's funeral, husband found the big catfish dead in the pond and the koi are nowhere to be seen. The catfish was 8-9 years old. Husband said he could not really tell if the catfish had chunks missing.

Unless they are all crowded together in the fish tunnel, the koi are gone.

The last time they disappeared like that was years ago, after a heron had a feast and most of the koi were eaten. The remaining koi hid for weeks after that!
I don't know if we were home or not when the heron got the koi.

The pond is netted. I have not tested the water yet. The pumps are shut off and there is an aerator below the water surface, but not on the pond floor.

I sure hope those koi show up. If someone has stolen them, that's it for ponding. I'm done. No one around here has a pond, so I can't imagine koi are highly sought after by a non ponder. If the rotten kids in the neighborhood wanted to cause trouble again, they'd just throw the fish on the lawn - not fishnap them.

WHY does this stuff happen to us?! It's terrible! All we want is to the enjoy the pond in peace, with no leaks and healthy fish.

 

[sissy]

sad to hear and could it be a raccoon .Sometimes makes you wonder about people .You may need to invest in security cameras .You can get them as little as 59 dollars now .My neighbor got the 59 dollar ones and they are really good .Ebay

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Sorry to hear. Hope that the Koi ARE OK but if you can't find them that you are able to determine the infiltrator/perpetrator. Don't give up.

 

[Tula]

Have you had previous problems with the neighborhood kids ? Do you think it could be a mink....but I doubt he'd leave the cat fish. Any signs of disturbance around the pond, foot prints, animal prints, any fish scales?

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[Faebinder]

Is the netting disturbed? Is the pond frozen on top mostly? Maybe its an oxygen problem... big catfish would be the first to go...

 

[Lisak1]

Don't give up! Things happen in life. You evaluate. You learn. You adjust. You adapt. You go on. I'm sure this coming so soon after your dad's funeral is a big shock, but give yourself some time. That pond will be a tremendous joy and source of relaxation to you when you get it all settled out.

 

[Tula]

Last Spring, I thought of closing my pond, as my grief from losing Dad was so great. I didn't think I could summon the energy to maintain it, let alone, enjoy it.

I'm so glad I didn't . I didn't do as much as I normally would, but by the end of the summer, I was once again enjoying it. I'm really looking forward to this Spring. Heartfelt condolences on the loss of your father.

 

[Gemma]

Did you find your koi?

 

[sissy]

Been there mom died fathers day and dad died the next year on mothers day .They were my mother in law and dad in law that I loved dearly and we moved down here to be near them .It is never easy to loose a loved one .I still miss my mom and dad and sister and brother .No family left of mine but my in laws are my sisters and brothers

 

[Fishfinder]

The koi are no where to be seen.

There was no disturbance around the pond when husband found Bubba dead. Not a single suspicious thing. I looked for evidence. Nothing. The pond is netted and there are no holes in the net. It covers the whole pond.

The aerator has kept the water open.

I keep hoping to see even a fin flashing from within the fish tunnel, but nothing.

I am ready to just call it a day if the koi have somehow been gobbled up by something or have been mysteriously fishnapped. Husband thinks we will see the koi in the spring. Neighborhood brats have broken branches off our young trees. Chopped wood has been stolen, so I don't dismiss anything bad happening in this neighborhood.

I am ready to pull the plug. It's been nothing but a money pit. Given how much has been wasted on the pond, husband wants to get more fish if the koi don't reappear. I am ready to drain it, fill it in and plant a flower bed.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm not questioning that you have neighborhood hooligans, but catching koi is no easy task even for an experienced pond owner. Is it possible you had a visit from a mink? A mink will even go under the ice to get fish, so a net would be no trouble at all. We met a pond owner who had his pond cleared of 30+ koi over night by a hungry mink. Just a thought...

 

[Fishfinder]

Oh, I forgot to address the possibility of a mink - I've never seen one around here. I feel sorry for the person whose pond was attacked! I'm in Delaware. I don't even know if they are around these parts.

The landscape is pretty bare right now, just to show where things stand today, the net on the pond can be seen, the aerator and the de-icer also.

Except for that section of net bunched up in the foreground, the net is tight over the pond. There are coons around here and, of course, heron, but the net should foil their attempts. That net is very easily tangled, so anything that could make it past would have to be a shape shifter or something.

 

[Tula]

There are mink in DE, they're far more prevalent then we think. Given the stealth of the kill, I'm betting it was a mink

 

[Fishfinder]

Little monsters! I can only hope to see koi in the spring. Why bother anymore, I ask myself. Between the coons and the heron and the mink, do koi have a chance? This is enormously depressing. If the koi don't show themselves in the spring, I'm done.

What else can I do to protect what might still be there?

 

[j.w]

Electric wire?