I am a newbie in ponds. Just build my own and put some fish there to see how they react. 1 week later, most fish are gone. I thinkits an animal. I heard of teh scarecrow but its hard because I do nto have a hose around there. I also heard of teh animal away (the one that sends sounds out). HAs anybody had any sucecss with it??
Protect my fish
- Thread starter pja
- Start date
It would help to know what your pond is, where you are, what fish are you talking about, how big they were, day or night intruders. No one here is Psychic.
Hi there and welcome! Sounds like maybe your pond was not yet cycled and perhaps that is what caused the fish death.... there is a ton of information about pond cycling and what you need to do to set one up correctly. You definately need a water test kit and to learn how to use it in order know your water parameters. A water test would show for instance, if high ammonia could have killed the fish, or high nitrites, and if indeed your pond was cycled properly. Your assumption that a predator killed your fish may or may not be true and you can waste a bunch of money not having the tools and knowledge in order to make an educated guess. The forum members also need more info as Dr. Dave requested.
Oops, didn't correctly read the part about the fish being GONE... so maybe indeed it was a predator. How deep is your pond and did you find any evidence at all?
There are a number of possibilities.
If you are buying small fish, they may just be hiding. I had a small pond and 25 small goldfish had no problem hiding. As they get used to the pond and grow a bit, they hide less. Had the same thing happen with my koi.
If it is indeed an animal getting at them, there are a number of possibilities. It could be some type of a bird, wild animal, or neighbors cat. There are a few things you can do, but as stated before, a little more information would be helpful.
If you are buying small fish, they may just be hiding. I had a small pond and 25 small goldfish had no problem hiding. As they get used to the pond and grow a bit, they hide less. Had the same thing happen with my koi.
If it is indeed an animal getting at them, there are a number of possibilities. It could be some type of a bird, wild animal, or neighbors cat. There are a few things you can do, but as stated before, a little more information would be helpful.
The pond is about 9x6 and I have 3 levels. The deepest about 30" and I have some hideout caves. I am in NJ, and I just put goldfish (feeders) and 3 smal KOIs(about 1.5"). I only see 2 KOIs in there now. I am not sure what happen to them. The only hint I have is that I had a dead fish floating and teh next day it was gone. So I am assuming that someone took it
Get some thinwall 3/4" PVC and the plastic fencing material they sell at Home Depot and with tie wraps, make a set of nets to cover your pond when you cannot be home and at night when you are sleeping. Unless you have a snake attacking them, this should resolve any missing fish issues.
You might find them hiding. I thought I lost 11 Koi thet were all 7" or more only to discover that one jumped the cascade into my lower pond and the others were hiding.
You might find them hiding. I thought I lost 11 Koi thet were all 7" or more only to discover that one jumped the cascade into my lower pond and the others were hiding.
In my experience, if you add new fish to a pond with hiding places, such as caves, they will stay in there for up to 2 weeks. Try sneaking up on them after dark to see if they are swimming about. My shy ones like to come out after dark.
Also, you may have 4 legged predators. I also have a 3 level pond. I am in NY. I have raccoon issues. They like to walk right in on that first level. If I knew that before I had it put in, I would of NEVER made the first level only 8" deep. But that is another story. Is your pond near water or have a lot of open air space? You may have hawks or herons fedding on them. If you think it is raccoon, tell me, I may be able to give you advice.
The other issue here is the fact that you mentioned you had a dead fish. 1) Something did walk on over and snatched it. Did it leave you a thank you note for the easy meal?
2) You have to find out why it died. Did you experience any more deaths like it? Did you quarantine them before adding them to the pond?
Also, you may have 4 legged predators. I also have a 3 level pond. I am in NY. I have raccoon issues. They like to walk right in on that first level. If I knew that before I had it put in, I would of NEVER made the first level only 8" deep. But that is another story. Is your pond near water or have a lot of open air space? You may have hawks or herons fedding on them. If you think it is raccoon, tell me, I may be able to give you advice.
The other issue here is the fact that you mentioned you had a dead fish. 1) Something did walk on over and snatched it. Did it leave you a thank you note for the easy meal?
2) You have to find out why it died. Did you experience any more deaths like it? Did you quarantine them before adding them to the pond?