Pond problem - disappearing fish!?

Question

We have installed a pond in our garden last month and at first, a few fish have been left a few cm away from the pond, with some sort of claw (i think) markings in the mornings. Since then, we have been closing the pond every night with a hard and heavy plastic lid but now fish are disapearing in the morning!
I was told it might have been a herion but i have never seen one in my neighbourhood and i have no idea what the creature could be and how to stop it. It really confuses me, as it seems impossible for any creature to have had lifted the lid and put it back however some of the fish might have been taken very sneakily during the day when the lid is not on.
Also, recently i have found that one of my gloves was burried overnight in the soil..
Please help!

Answer 1

If you saw footprints of a heron, they'd be pretty distinct - they have three forward facing toes, and one backward facing: http://www.samford.edu/schools/artsci/biology/vert-zoo-04s/photos/heron-print.jpg

Some other possibilities (depending on where you live) are raccoons, cats, and mink. Depending on the size of your pond, you might try a more permanent cover made of chicken wire attached to a frame (use something heavy like 4x4s) that could be moved for pond maintenance. The size of the chicken wire mesh will keep most paws and beaks out and your fish safe.

Answer 2

I had a pond full of fish once. I went away for a fortnight, came back and they were all gone. We thought it might be a heron or something and it still remains a mystery.

Did they have an area to shelter under, i.e. weeds, overgrowing plants, etc. Unfortunately, I had cleared my pond up (just to make it look better) and I think that was the problem.

Anyway, I have now filled the area with soil as I was quite upset at losing them. Can't understand the buried glove though.

Answer 3

I have lost gold fish at a time when the water was very clear and they were easy to see. I suspect that a fox ate them as they were the only two fancy gold fish amongst a few plain ones and therefore slower and less able to escape. The pond is right near the house and it happened during the night so I don't think it could have been a heron.

Answer 4

I think it sounds like a Heron too. If it is, try this...

Get some garden canes and stick them in the ground around the edge of your pond. Then buy some fishing wire (clear so looks less unsightly) and run the wire round the canes, at different height intervals to form a circle of wires around the pond. This makes an invisible barrier. Because herons legs bend forward, they will not be able to step over the wires to get to your fish. Hope this helps :)

Answer 5

It will be either a heron or a cat - probably a cat if the lid is being lifted!!

it won't be garden birds as they eat fruit, nuts and seeds.

You could install a cat scarer. This is a small device that makes a high-pitched noise that cats don't like. However , this can get quite annoying if you spend a lot of time in your garden!

Answer 6

Probably a raccoon. And PLEASE do not try to catch the animal! Raccoons are extremely dangerous animals.

Welcome to nature. Predation is a fact of having a pond. You can't really prevent it. The thing to do is get yourself some rosy reds. They don't grow big and are really prolific and a favorite of predators. They will likely keep themselves well stocked for you despite predation. Even if they don't they are very inexpensive because they are sold as "feeder" fish. (not all "feeder fish" are rosies, some are baby goldfish, but it's easy to tell the difference, see the link below) This will help to keep your bigger, more expensive fish from being targets. Rosies also add activity to the pond and are pretty in their own right.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/rosies.htm

Answer 7

Try a cat, but It sounds like a fox is having a time with the glove, they bury things when their in the cache mode, but if the marks are only on one side of the fish then i'd say it's a cat doing the fish in.

Answer 8

If your pond is in the open, the sunlight will cause algae bloom. Shading the pond during the hours of strongest sunlight will help. If shading the pond is not an option, you will need a UV light.. Even that will not be a quick fix. From a pre-formed kit, I'm guessing that your pond is less than 150 gallons and your filter is a 'bio box' that has filter media, and your pump fits inside the box. I use Accurel for algae. Your filter will need cleaning during this clean-up. Using a bucketful of treated (fish safe) water, dip the filter sponge(s) and wring it out to clean. As many times as it takes. The reason for making the water fish safe is because of the colonies of nitrite/ammonia eating bacteria. The cloramines in city water kill beneficial bacteria as surely as it will kill fish, so resist the temptation to spray it with the hose. Get a test kit. Test for ph levels and ammonia levels. If you've treated with Accurel and used one of the bacteria loading products (Microbe Lift, Pond Clear, etc.) as long as you don't over-load with fish, you should be able to stock your pond. ' Don't overload with fish.' 1 four inch fish needs 10 gallons of water. For every 4 inches of fish = 10 gallons. Fish grow. They also secrete ammonia. Don't overwhelm your bio filter's capacity to clear ammonia by dumping 8 -15 fish in at once. Four 4 inch fish, two 8 inch fish, etc. increase slowly allowing your filter to progress with the fish. Water clarity is NOT an indiction of water quality. >><< UV is a clarifier by eliminating the algae. It does nothing to ph levels or nitrites and ammonia.. You must monitor those with your test kit. >><

Answer 9

Racoon or cat any night time preditor is getting the fish. There is a thing you can buy that has a motion sensor on it and it sprays out when its triggered. Also some netting over the top will help as well.

Answer 10

Raccoons. I figured at first it was birds too, but when you said the glove was buried, it makes me believe it is raccoons. Can you set up a video camera safely to observe the pond for 24 hrs? You'll catch the culprit this way.