Well add me to the list

[marla]

Well you can add me to the list I never wanted to belong to. We lost our first fish to an unknow as yet predetor :mad:. Of course this was my favorite blue shubunkin :( , I only got him this year but he was the largest fish in the pond at the time, the 2 koi had recently caught up. He also was the friendliest, I'd wiggle my fingers in the pond and he'd be the first one there. This makes me partialy responsible I suppose, I should have kept them all a bit more leary, and maybe the water greener. I may set my alarm earlyfor tommorow, this morning I was sitting out at 6:30am, thought it strange how the fish hid from me, took a while me to figure out. My husband refuses to net the pond as of yet, instead he went out and bought one of the motion sensor scarecrows. I think I will have a hard time sleeping tonight. I know this feeling will pass, just hope the scarecrow does the trick or I'll insist on fishing line or net.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/grandmavis/2003_0101feet20014.jpg

[Jackie Ramo]

Marla, I am sorry to hear the little guy is gone. Pretty fish as well. Depends on the predator what will work. Set the alarm early and have hubby go out while you sleep. Worked for me :) Hubby got up at 5:30 each morning and sat with the super soaker to ward off the great blue heron who took 8 fancy goldfish from the pond in one day. Took about 4 days and he has so far never come back. Mind I am in the city so it is not his normal hunting grounds he was just passing through on his way south.

[Busy B]

Sorry Marla...it's always the favorites that are the first to go :sad:

[Tamianth]

Sorry to read this Marla! Pretty Shebunkin too! Keep my pond netted down tight even if it is a pain! Still, I read someplace of someone useing shepards hooks to do the net. Thought I'd incorporate that and raise the net high enough to get under like a canopy and then run nets down from the top to just be able to pull back/remove easily in sections.

[Terri]

Sorry Marla :(

I hope the scarecrow works for you. We use those 1" diameter 6 foot tall bamboo stakes, placed every 3ft around the ponds.... herons come but they don't try to feed. For the past two days that blasted kingfisher is back from last summer! He's beautiful yet cocky LOL I finally strung up some white string over the fry pond to keep him out, seems to be working. The koi are too big for him to even think about... mind you I am missing a couple of shubby babies from the water garden... but that's ok as we have enough fish LOL

I worry about the use of fishline - birds can't see it and this becomes a danger to them. If they see the "barrier" they are more apt to move on than take the risk.

[Dave in Innisfil]

Unfortunately for us, supplementing the local wildlife's regular dining fare is pretty common occurance for us, thus our reluctance to properly restock our ponds until I have it under more manageable control. I made a net frame using 3/4" PVC piping that worked well, but became an eyesore after a while with all the poplar blossoms it gathered.

I gleaned Ian's idea about the bambo poles and use bambo torch holders (slightly more decorative). Our heron comes before sunrise and leaves whatever time it hears us stirring inside the house. Reputedly, herons will fish for "practice". Very disheartening to find our deck and flagstone littered with our deceased fin-kids too big for the heron to swallow. I've been meaning to pick up one of those plastic herons that reputedly deters them except during mating season.

The ravens and crows have been pelleted so often now they give our property a wide berth, and I recognize them at a distance now with all the missing feathers. A little plastic owl seems to keep the kingfisher who found our pond at bay, and I move it frequently for added reality. Unfortunately, it also deters some of the many beautiful songbirds that are also regular bathers in our waterfalls and bird baths. We had hoped that our three dogs would eventually teach the mink and coons to stay away, but to no avail. I'm installing a motion sensitive night light to the equation, but it will no doubt lead to a barking dog complaint from our neighbors. Almost nightly we hear the skurry of something on our deck or across the waterfall.

Let's hope your loss was an isolated occurance, and not a way of life as it is for us.

[marla]

Kathy, I love the shepard's hook idea, guess after I'm done with my wash and cleaning I'm off to the store, Love when I have the day off. Got up at 5:00am this morning :-? (the birds chirpping woke me before the dog!) didn't see anything out of the ordinary, fish still leary all in the cave. The scarecrow was wet, so maybe it went off at some time. I did get a head count and they are all still with me. Last evening scared the beejesus out of our 20lb siamese, as it went to drink from the biofalls :grin: . My hubby had fun setting up and testing it out, men and toys. Yes the idea of this pond was to bring more nature to the yard, plus both growing up with aquariums and having several in the house it was an extension of that passion. I actually never even gave predetors a thought before, but I guess that is part of the circle, a part I too hope will be a one time occurance. We enjoy the small birds, frogs, dragonfiles etc. that visit, so this will not ruin it for us, it will just make us more aware and more vigilant. %(