koi disappearing!!!

[Koi_Luver]

We got a pond a couple years ago and slowly, one by one, a koi went missing. I don't know if it's a heron or a raccoon or whatever, but my dad said he's seen a heron a couple times. He put up strings all above the pond, thinking it would solve the problem so we finally replaced all 6 missing koi yesterday, and today I found out two more are gone! it's a horrible waste of money and anyone who knows me knows when i lose a fish it's like losing a family member. If anyone has had a similar problem and knows how to fix it, please help!

[ikuzo]

search in the forum's pond thread would be helpful. i remember that someone even put up electric fence around his pond. sorry for your loss, i know how expensive koi can be.

[equus_peduus]

I've heard of people using motion-detector water sprayer thingies...
e.g.,
http://www.amazon.com/Havahart-Motio.../dp/B000BO71NY
(no idea how good this particular product, vs any other, is)

[fshfanatic]

Get a dog. Nothing else will really work..

[jinx©]

Dogs are no guarantee either...We have 2 dogs outside that watch deer eat flowers and plants while raccoons eat the dog food...lol

The motion activated sprayers may help depending on the guilty animal. I've seen deer actually cool and wash themselves using the spray once theyve figured out how they work.

[Buck]

You will have to remove the guilty critter...if its a coon , you can set a have-a-heart trap baited with something fishy...then just relocate the pest and try again. Sounds like a heron or other bird though in which case...you out of luck other then an ugly old net over the pond.

[Jman17H]

Where there is one raccoon, there is often a family of raccoon and they are a very resourceful animal!

I have watched a few programs on some of the gadgets and most work temporarily but are eventually figured out! Despite many people's initial thoughts, most animals are actually good trial and error problem solvers in the long run.

Enclose the pond with a screened in area. Thats about the only way to garantee success unless you old school human it by just killing everything that moves, which would make an individual a horrible steward of nature.

[Koi_Luver]

ok, we've set a trap, an electric fence, and strings over the pond. how do you think it will work?
also good news, it turns out the two that went missing were just really good hiders! although my koi have been eaten before in the past....

[ikuzo]

how big/complicated is your pond lol...

[BrettNYC]

As someone already mentioned you can place bird netting over the pond and that may discourage the culprit and eventually it will move on. If it's a heron that may be the only thing that works. If it's a racoon or other scavenger you need to make sure (if possible) that the pond is deep enough around the edges that the animal cannot step into the pond. So remove/re-place any items around the inside edge of the pond that the animal could possibly use as a step. Hope this helps.

[newshound]

Originally Posted by Jman17H

Thats about the only way to garantee success unless you old school human it by just killing everything that moves, which would make an individual a horrible steward of nature.

coons are an "edge species"...they thrive on the edge of human settlement, like deer, "canadian" geese, seagulls, coyotes and in northern ontario bear!
Very UN natural.
actually kinda like humans.

[Koi_Luver]

ok, I have an update. First of all, my pond is deep around the edges enough so that a racoon would not be able to get in BUT there's a shallow part where the "river" flows into the pond and fish are always swimming around there. So we've set up an electric fence. well........kind of. We're not finished yet so animals can still get in but anyway, the two that turned out to be hiding are the problems now. One's gone and the other has some crazy infection I hope I can get some help on. His mouth is all swollen and red and it looks like some fish bit his whiskers off. Also, his body, where all the organs are, is fat and round and his scales around that area are sticking out. I feel so bad for it, it looks so painful. Please, if anyone knows what might be wrong, help me! thanks

[Koi_Luver]

*sigh* since that last post, I've lost 5 koi...

I AM THE WORST KOI-KEEPER IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ValorG]

Originally Posted by Koi_Luver

ok, I have an update. First of all, my pond is deep around the edges enough so that a racoon would not be able to get in BUT there's a shallow part where the "river" flows into the pond and fish are always swimming around there. So we've set up an electric fence. well........kind of. We're not finished yet so animals can still get in but anyway, the two that turned out to be hiding are the problems now. One's gone and the other has some crazy infection I hope I can get some help on. His mouth is all swollen and red and it looks like some fish bit his whiskers off. Also, his body, where all the organs are, is fat and round and his scales around that area are sticking out. I feel so bad for it, it looks so painful. Please, if anyone knows what might be wrong, help me! thanks

Sounds like dropsy to me. read up on it here.
http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/dropsy.htm Did the 5 fish die from disease or were eaten?

[Koi_Luver]

yeah, i figured out it was dropsy a long time ago. and not only that but mouth rot too. oreo had both. sapphire just had mouth rot, so i put it in a quarantine tank but he died the next day. my mom said the bowl was probably too small. the other three we lost were eaten
but i think we're doing a little better. we haven't lost a fish in.....wow.......4 days
i'll post an update when something happens. thanks for all the advice!