Rat(s) steeling goldfish

[jabaris fernery]

I have a shalow pond 21ft(l) x 4ft(w) x 3ft(d).Lost 3 fish without a trace overnight while the pond lights were on. It is completely enclosed within a large fernery/pergola by 50% shadecloth. I am ruling out the herons or ibis etc because 1 they cant see the pond overhead and access for a bird that size is minimal. Could it be rats? Has anyone experienced this ?

 

[Catfishnut]

Jabaris,


I doubt rats. But I might suspect racoons. They are the ultimate demons of invasion of ponds and bait tanks etc. Rats would be more interested in grains and vegetation. But, to steal and eat fish, that sounds a lot like a racoon or a mink or a muskrat. Maybe even an opposum or a feral cat. Without positive proof, we would never know for certain. But my SWAG is a raccoon.

Gordy

 

[adavisus]

ssssssssssssssssssneaky snakes



https://www.google.com/search?q=sna...a=X&ei=z3vfUuSMBaaisQTl6ICwCg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ

Regards, andy
http://swglist.wordpress.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[Catfishnut]

Awh yeah!

Sneaky Snake!

 

[JohnHuff]

Does your neighbor look like this?

And has he offered you any of this lately?

 

[Catfishnut]

Whoa!

I wouldn't eat that if It came on my plate!

What the hell is that? Human fingers? YUCK!

I eat rattlesnake and that is not rattlesnake!


gORdY

 

[Mmathis]

Neat pic, Andy!

 

[Mmathis]

And I agree with the others. Rats will mostly go after grains & seeds. We are having a RAT problem right now, and when we do [sadly] we have to stop putting out seed for the birds for a while until the rats decide to go elsewhere.

I, too, have had fish disappear mysteriously [alien abduction?]. I totally eliminated herons as being the culprits until, last summer we had 2 separate GBH spottings at the pond! Never saw a GBH with a fish, and there didn't appear to be any fish missing at those times, but it just reinforced the fact that they CAN show up anywhere!

 

[shakaho]

I see you are in Australia, so I 'm sure it's not raccoons, mink, or muskrats. Kingfishers and similar birds of that size can clean out ponds as well. Unless your pergola has the sides all screened there is access to predators.

 

[j.w]

Yum I love Sushi :biggrin:

 

[Jason]

Owls my friend... OWLS! :squint:
My pond is much shallower than yours, Only 18" and I left my Lights on one night. In between commercial breaks of The Walking Dead, I went out to the pond and turn the lights on and fish were hitting the top ready to eat, came back out 10-15 minutes later during another commercial break and my 3 largest fish were gone! These Goldfish were of 9-10" long and there was no place in the pond at the time for them to hide as the smaller fish could hide in between rocks. I searched with anger every square inch around the pond pond instantly to find even a drop of water or remains of fish and nothing! 1 minute later after sitting there with an egg on my face... I heard the deepest "HOO" right above me :ugh:

I turned the lights off for the night and built an island in the middle of my pond that the fish can hide under that weekend. Have not had a problem since and even tested it with leaving the lights on allll night!

Sorry about your fish

 

[Dave 54]

I doubt very much its rates owls do you have any ferrel cats in the neighbourhood if not your knowledge oof Australias Preditors will have to come into bing to solve this .
We net ou pond against preditors and in the five years weve been keeping our koi outdoors non have been predated .
Invest in a net taking into concideration snakes so it has to be a very fine mesh , we use 6mm hexagonal netting from a company here in the UK called norfine nets .
They will make a net foor you even fitting a bungee strap around the circumference so you can pull it extra tight around your pond wall
Here's the link to them :-

http://www.norfinenets.co.uk/

They will make it to your specifications and better still the export round the world

Dave

 

[adavisus]

Kookabbura!

 

[HARO]

A saltie in the raupo?
John

 

[Dave 54]

Kookabbura!

Kookaburra3.jpg

My next thought basically a kingfisher on steriods and with attitude :cheerful:

Dave