Backyard fishpond (exterminator, landscaping, city, freeze)

[Da Grouch]

My business partner has a pond on his property, we put it in about 3 years ago because his dearly beloved said she wanted a pond and wouldn't back down until she got one. So, since neither of us wanted to get into it with a redhead, she got her pond. Now you have to understand that both myself and the Viking are just a couple of overgrown kids, really, and we took this opportunity to play with our BIG toys.

We brought in the Hitachi and started digging out the small gulley that runs through his property. After 3 days on the excavator we had the pond ready to go complete with sloped banks and perimeter berms. It took nearly 4 months for the rain (runoff) to fill the pond but by November of '06 the Viking had nearly 1.5 acres under water with an average depth of just over 15 ft.

The pond was then allowed to establish itself for well over a year before any fish were added. In March of last year the venerable Norseman added 100 rainbow trout about 9" long that were purchased from a local hatchery ($1.50 a piece no receipt needed, thank you).

As it turned out Lynne (the fiery redhead) had the same problem as you, she would walk out onto the foot bridge across the pond to feed them and would see the trout scatter. But by mid-May the fish were congregating around the bridge at sunset just waiting for her to arrive with the feed. So I guess it's like the others have said; it's only a matter of time.

[Katzpur]

Okay, I have some bad news. I was concerned about the amount of algae that had accumulated on the rocks at the bottom of the pond, and about how green the water in the pond was. Also, as I stated initially, I had only seen one fish since I put them in the pond two weeks ago. So, we slowly drained the pond, expecting the fish to congregate in the "deep end." Well, finally, I saw one fish. Excited, I waited and waited and waited. The pond level got lower and lower. We have one fish left out of the ten we put in two weeks ago. I saw no dead fish. Therefore, I'm forced to conclude that birds did actually get them. I've never seen any kind of birds in the area that I would have expected to go after fish (nothing like heron or other water birds), but I have no other explanation. I've lived in my house for twenty-seven years and have never seen any racoon or any other wildlife in my yard.

I'm really bummed out. I don't think I'll add any more fish right away, or at least not more than a couple to keep Boston Rob company. (I figured that was a good name for a survivor.) Maybe next year when the plants have matured some more.

[HB2HSV]

When I buy my gold fish, I get those 'feeder fish' from pet store for 10 cents each. I have the gratification of 'saving' these fish from being pet food, and they grew up as beautiful & graceful swimmers.

[Janecj]

Sorry to hear about your fish. I have two ponds joined together with a waterfall and have had my fish for over 5 years now. I've lost some to raccoons (found 1/2 eaten, so I'm assuming it was a raccoon). I've also seen Owls, and an Osprey also... so it is entirely possible this is what has happened to your fish. I bought the cheap fish also.. small fish for like 2.00 a piece. They seem to do better because they are small and can hide. Build plenty of hiding places in the pond. Things they can swim into (rock caves, plants, etc). Mine also seem to like to swim into the overflow basket where leaves are collected. The small fish (I just got 3 more as I was missing a couple lately) can't seem to figure out how to get back out. So almost everyday, I fish them out from the overflow basket/leaf basket. In Fall, I put a net over the pond until Spring (because of leaves mostly). When you do this, be careful because sometimes birds get stuck the nets because they are used to drinking water from the pond and don't see it. My fish never hid more than a couple days and always come up when feed them. Best of luck with your pond.

We rarely get cold Winters but when it does get below 32 degrees for an extended amount of time, I have one of those pond heaters to just keep an airhole open in case. Mine isn't more than 2.5 feet deep in the deepest part. They only run about $50.00 or so.

[Icy Tea]

You might have a turtle in there too.

[andthentherewere3]

What a shame about the fish! I never knew we had herons either, although I know they are pretty much everywhere. My pond is close to the house, and I thought we were safe from herons. But then one day a koi disappeared, and left behind on the rocks was a big, blue feather. That's how I came to the conclusion we had a heron drop by. The next day I lost another fish, and another blue feather was left behind. My plants were really nice and big, and I also had a lot of surface plants as well. Unfortunately, the heron or whatever got your fish will probably return. And it will take your plants a while to get full each spring, so your fish will be at risk. If you'd like to add a hiding place, you could put a heavy terra cotta pot on the bottom, resting on it's side. Or try the dreaded bird netting, that's what I did. I'm not crazy about it, but I didn't lose any fish this year, except to a bullfrog. (and he got rehomed to a new pond the next day ) There are also sprayers that sense movement and spray water that you could try.

Did you know you should add dechorinator to the water when you add more each time? Chlorine is toxic to fish. Not everyone is aware of that. And your water is probably still cycling, which can add to the green water, and changing a lot of the water can just repeat the cycle...but even so, I still battle green water, it's really hard to keep it clear. I use a natural product called Microbe-lift that helps control green water.

[Skip-n-Bit]

Sorry to hear about the fish, Katzpur! {{{Hugs}}}


Dawn

[Katzpur]

Thanks everybody. I really do appreciate your help. I think I'm going to just go with a fishless pond for now. It's really pretty, even without the fish and with winter headed our way within a couple of months (we ususally get our first measurable snow in November), I think I'll just wait till next summer and then try some of your ideas. I do have one more quick question, though. A woman my husband works with, who also has a fishpond, told him to buy one of those plastic herons to stick in the ground by the pool to scare away the real birds. Initially, I told him no way was I going to have a tacky plastic bird by my beautiful pond. Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe she doesn't have a point after all. Has anybody else ever heard of this remedy?

[Skip-n-Bit]

I've heard of people using Heron statues around their ponds to keep the real ones away...it's a territorial thing. You just have to make sure that you keep the statue moved around the pond, hopefully fooling the real birds that your pond is the statues turf.

We just took over care and maintenance of our fish tank clients 5-tiered garden pond. The lady that originally installed the pond and cared for it found some real nice Heron statues. Not sure what they're made of but it's not plastic and they look nice. (There are no fish in the pond so we don't have to mess with moving the statues.)

Found some pix of them. The first 2 pix are the same statue, different angle.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Thanks everybody. I really do appreciate your help. I think I'm going to just go with a fishless pond for now. It's really pretty, even without the fish and with winter headed our way within a couple of months ...

Yes, it's too soon, isn't it?

Give yourself time to morn the passing of the little guys. Let the body gets cold, little gills stop moving, before we move on and replace it with another.