Devastated

[Kevjjwalsh]

Does anyone know what might do this ?
We have a four foot by ten foot pond. About two foot at its deepest. With a large net suspended over the top.

The fish are removed and left on the path with no sign of teeth or bite marks. No beak stabbing either.
This fish was traumatised from a previous heron attack which precipitated the large net over the pond.
We won’t restock until we have a satisfactory answer and solution to this problem.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[addy1]

Wow how sad!

Any kids around that might have netted them out?

 

[bagsmom]

During spawning time, I had one jump out and land on the gravel beach. It flopped even farther from the water. Luckily I was able to save it. But with a net, I guess this isn't a possibility. So sorry this happened. I would be tempted to add night cameras to solve the mystery.

 

[GBBUDD]

Could be a host of issues. Sorry can't help

 

[poconojoe]

Raccoons, cats, birds.... too many predators....
Setup a camera.
You can use a trail camera if you don't want anything permanent.
I have done that. Just strap it onto a nearby tree. They work real good, even at night. Stills or video, plus sound. They trigger with movement.

 

[G Massam]

Does anyone know what might do this ?
We have a four foot by ten foot pond. About two foot at its deepest. With a large net suspended over the top.

The fish are removed and left on the path with no sign of teeth or bite marks. No beak stabbing either.
This fish was traumatised from a previous heron attack which precipitated the large net over the pond.
We won’t restock until we have a satisfactory answer and solution to this problem.
Many thanks in advance.

Have you got an overflow setup for your pond so that when heavy rains come the water level does not breach the sides, allowing the fish to explore the expanded new but temporary new world

 

[Lisak1]

I agree - it could be just about any type of predator. While we would assume they take the fish to eat it, they might get startled or spooked in the process and run off and leave the fish to die.

I second the trail cam idea.

 

[Sisha]

I've had female fish pushed out of the pond by the males but have also found 2 male fish beached but I'm pretty sure that was a cat we had here for a week. When I've chased off the cat and put the fish back in that were alive I didn't always see any marks. I used a trail cam to find the culprit. Good luck