New bonsai garden, including koi pond!
- Thread starter Adair M
- Start date
DirkvanDreven
Shohin
Very nice place you created!
Ruddigger
Chumono
Have you had wildlife issues, or is the net just preventative?
I was able to get along for about 6 months before the heron found it. Lost two koi the first day. Then two more the second day.
I had to put a tarp over the pond for a couple days until the sprinklers came in. They worked for about 3 months until the heron figured out that by stalking the pond, very, very slowly, they could get in.
I lost two more koi over a period of about a week.
I tried adding fishing line strung out over the pond.
Didnāt work!
Finally resorted to the net.
Itās been on 6 months now, and Iāve had zero losses! Right after I installed it, I could see where he approached and walked on the net, and even tried stabbing thru it! But he couldnāt reach the fish. He tried for another two days, and then he must have decided to give up. I havenāt seen him since.
I live near a river with trout. So thereās lots of herons.
The trout fishermen tell me that they find dead trout on the banks of the river. Big ones that were too big for the heron to eat! (They usually swallow them on one gulp). So, theyāll dump them on the river banks and stab them with their beaks! D@mn birds!
Anyway, no, I donāt like having to use the net, but now I have peace of mind I wonāt lose any more fish! One of my fish must have gotten caught but managed to wiggle away... but he was damaged. He had marks on both side of his body, but one side was right up where his gills are. He slowly got an infection and died. Took about 3 weeks. Horrible.
Iāll live with the net.
I had to put a tarp over the pond for a couple days until the sprinklers came in. They worked for about 3 months until the heron figured out that by stalking the pond, very, very slowly, they could get in.
I lost two more koi over a period of about a week.
I tried adding fishing line strung out over the pond.
Didnāt work!
Finally resorted to the net.
Itās been on 6 months now, and Iāve had zero losses! Right after I installed it, I could see where he approached and walked on the net, and even tried stabbing thru it! But he couldnāt reach the fish. He tried for another two days, and then he must have decided to give up. I havenāt seen him since.
I live near a river with trout. So thereās lots of herons.
The trout fishermen tell me that they find dead trout on the banks of the river. Big ones that were too big for the heron to eat! (They usually swallow them on one gulp). So, theyāll dump them on the river banks and stab them with their beaks! D@mn birds!
Anyway, no, I donāt like having to use the net, but now I have peace of mind I wonāt lose any more fish! One of my fish must have gotten caught but managed to wiggle away... but he was damaged. He had marks on both side of his body, but one side was right up where his gills are. He slowly got an infection and died. Took about 3 weeks. Horrible.
Iāll live with the net.
And the fish are happier, too! They instinctively know the dangers of heron. So, for several days after a heronās āvisitā, theyād hide in the fish cave, or in the rocks as best they could, or in the deepest part of the pond. And wouldnāt venture out.
I have a āstreamā section where I have a bridge crossing over. Itās fairly shallow. And thereās a second, smaller pond at the end. They wouldnāt go there.
But, now, with the nets, they feel secure, and happily explore all parts of the pond!
I have a āstreamā section where I have a bridge crossing over. Itās fairly shallow. And thereās a second, smaller pond at the end. They wouldnāt go there.
But, now, with the nets, they feel secure, and happily explore all parts of the pond!
Ruddigger
Chumono
Thatās awful about your lost fish. The net isnāt that noticeable, glad itās working. Iāve had opossums nosing around, but no herons yet. I haven't lost any fish, but Iām sure itāll happen eventually and Iāll start netting too.
Itās kinda open up by the waterfall. Small birds will come in and get under the net and hop around, and fly under the net from one side to the other,
Some birds like the black birds and chickadees are pretty smart, and find their way in and out easily. Some birds, like doves, are pretty stupid they can get in, but have a hard time getting back out!
Hereās a dove I had to direct her back towards the waterfall:
I must have some crayfish in the pond. I havenāt seen any, but I found this pile of skeletons:
See all the little claws?
The pile was taller and neater when I fist discovered it a month or so ago.
Itās a mystery! There must have been at least a half dozen to a dozen skeletons! How did this happen?
My guess is a raccoon found them and ate them at that spot. But, I havenāt seen any raccoons. I have seen rabbits, and ground hogs, and squirrels... but no raccoons. (Doesnāt mean there arenāt any).
Weird.
I also found a baby snapping turtle in my skimmer. It was about the size of a silver dollar. I took it to the river.
I get a few frogs and lizards. And dragonflies.
See all the little claws?
The pile was taller and neater when I fist discovered it a month or so ago.
Itās a mystery! There must have been at least a half dozen to a dozen skeletons! How did this happen?
My guess is a raccoon found them and ate them at that spot. But, I havenāt seen any raccoons. I have seen rabbits, and ground hogs, and squirrels... but no raccoons. (Doesnāt mean there arenāt any).
Weird.
I also found a baby snapping turtle in my skimmer. It was about the size of a silver dollar. I took it to the river.
I get a few frogs and lizards. And dragonflies.
Such a lovely spot to have coffee in the morning or a drink in the evening.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Like all crustaceans, crawfish molt and leave behind the old shells. Either that or you had a creepy Cajun visiting your pond and do a miniature crawfish boil. If you smell cayenne pepper then it is the latter.
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Yeah, but thatās not what happened here. Iāve figured it outā¦. What I found was a pile of crawfish skeletons sitting behind a rock that was a couple feet from the edge of the pond. Iām pretty sure it was heron scat from when the heron was attacking my pond, and he had made a meal of a dozen crayfish before visiting my pond. I have no crayfish in my pond.
The net has prevented the heron from getting any more of my fish.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
My Cajun guess was close, no?
Iām NOT getting into whether a ācreepy Cajunā is equivalent to Heron scatā¦
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Creepy Cajun = Heron
Crawfish boil trash = Heron scat
I've been to many crawfish boils. Invariably there are mounds of crawfish shell left behind to clean up.
All these yearsā¦ and I never knew Heron used cayenne pepper! Live and learnā¦
vp999
Omono
Y'all missing there newspapers on the bottom for lining lol. Im from New Orleans and this is definitely bringing me back...
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Iām certain that there is a ton of cayenne peppers in those crawfish ha ha.
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