Spooked fish after heron attack

[Rbritt]

We had another heron visit this past Friday. My foster dog, a lab who thinks it's fun to wade up to his chest to get a drink, had knocked the fish cave over so they could only hide under the edges of it. Lost my largest koi (youngster when I got her last year and was 9" now) and several of my largest goldfish, not sure of how many of the babies. I immediately righted the cave and the fish haven't been seen or been out to eat since. The last/first time a heron struck us was late last fall and the fish didn't come out all winter. They had just started to settle down a bit and not dart away every time they saw a movement and were coming to me to be fed. How long can they stay in holed up in the cave in this warmer weather? And will they ever get "friendly" again? :frown:
Thanks,
Beth

 

[fishin4cars]

They will get used to you again, They are on high alert so if you want them to calm down to you faster sit low to the pond, Don't point your finger. A tall object makes them think a heron is coming, your fingers look like a beak. Best way is to sit quietly by the pond wait and look at things for a few minutes then sprinkle a little food, sit for three or four minutes then get up and walk away and watch from a distance. Each day wait longer to feed, and stay a little longer to see if they will come to you, In most cases this will take two to three weeks. sometimes less. In the meantime you need to figure out how to protect your fish, If a heron got one, he'll be back for more. Count on it! Wire or netting covering the pond is your best defense, Water jet scare crow has helped some folks, fishing line strung around the peremiter and above the pond has help some, heron decoys in my opinion have limited sucsess and I honestly feel like they attract more then scare away. dogs are good but herons are just as smart if not smarter than dogs, and they are very patient at waiting and watching. they are like Pond Private investigators. Bet it's seen you far more times than you have seen it! Good luck, your going to need it.

 

[koiguy1969]

atleast yours arent just about killing themselves frantically swimming and smashing into everything in the pond like mine were after the heron attacked.. they did this for a full 2 days after. i didnt go too near the pond the first day. they freaked out at a shadow.

 

[Rbritt]

Thanks so much for the feedback! None of them have even ventured out of the cave since Friday for me to even try approaching or feeding them. :lol: Hope they'll be okay during their fast and that they venture out soon so I can start getting them used to me again.
Beth

 

[Vita]

Thanks so much for the feedback! None of them have even ventured out of the cave since Friday for me to even try approaching or feeding them. :lol: Hope they'll be okay during their fast and that they venture out soon so I can start getting them used to me again.
Beth

How long did it take your fish to calm down? Mine have been sitting in the cave for over a week now. I wander how long it should lasts.

 

[Lisak1]

We met a man in a pond store who told us about his experience with a heron attack. Late one summer he was looking out the window and spotted a heron in his pond. He saw the bird stab his koi and flip it up in the air. The fish fell back in the pond and he assumed it was dead... until he saw it again the next spring! He thought it was strange that he never found the body, but he figured maybe the bird came back and finished it off.

So I guess the moral of the story is, if they are spooked badly enough they will stay hidden for a good long time! Hopefully that won't be the case with your fish!

 

[fishin4cars]

Very true, I have seen Koi that had apparent Heron attack marks that got away and in some cases they never came back up and fed like the rest. You'll notice in any group of Koi there will be some that are naturally more spooky than others. So being able to predict how long it would take to get them back up and hand feeding would be almost impossible to predict.

 

[Dave 54]

We had another heron visit this past Friday. My foster dog, a lab who thinks it's fun to wade up to his chest to get a drink, had knocked the fish cave over so they could only hide under the edges of it. Lost my largest koi (youngster when I got her last year and was 9" now) and several of my largest goldfish, not sure of how many of the babies. I immediately righted the cave and the fish haven't been seen or been out to eat since. The last/first time a heron struck us was late last fall and the fish didn't come out all winter. They had just started to settle down a bit and not dart away every time they saw a movement and were coming to me to be fed. How long can they stay in holed up in the cave in this warmer weather? And will they ever get "friendly" again? :frown:
Thanks,
Beth

I dont like the use of these hiding caves when it comes to koi carp , they are very powerdul fish and can damage themselves quite badly thrashing about in panic like that.
You can buy decoy koi and goldfish that you achor to the bottom of your pond , the heron strikes at these giving your koi and goldfish time to get deep and away from its beak
Your other option would be to net your pond but not with normal netting, we use 6mm hexagonal netting which is secured around the pond with bungy strapping , the net result no herons so far even though we do see them fly over from time to time.
So it may well be an idea to try different things or perhaps a mixture of them in your fight against these preditors

Dave

 

[MikeS]

Just scared one away..after getting maybe 2 gold fish and 2 shabunkins (sp?). I can see at least 2 gold fish hiding. I was so proud of "myself" for keeping the 6 fish alive over this past bad winter, and then getting my small pond up and running and clear this spring! Dang, I'm irritated...Glad I didn't have more expensive fish in there...

Mike S - St. Louis

 

[Tula]

Oh no! I'm really sorry, could you secure the pond with a net?

 

[Fiddlerlake]

Just had another heron attack, I had just removed my net a month ago thinking they were safe. I use large terracotta pipes on the bottom of pond for added winter protection and they have all retreated in there for three days Last time I had to just buy a couple of small goldfish and they came straight and started feeding again, I assume they think its safe again.

 

[addy1]

My net is on 24/7, the herons have even visited in the winter. I watched one stalk the pond in the snow.

 

[j.w]

Just had another heron attack, I had just removed my net a month ago thinking they were safe. I use large terracotta pipes on the bottom of pond for added winter protection and they have all retreated in there for three days Last time I had to just buy a couple of small goldfish and they came straight and started feeding again, I assume they think its safe again.

@Fiddlerlake
I never take my net off either. The bird will always come back for more. Mine is up on high posts and the net attaches to a short wire fence below that I can easily lift up if I need to enter.