Protect fish from racoons and birds?

I have 2 ceramic koi ponds that stand on 2 foot stands. 2 nights ago some animal ate all 11 fish. We think it was either a bird or a racoon. Is there any natural way we can protect the fish from the birds or racoons? Like will lily pads or other plants covering the water work?

Protect fish from racoons and birds?
Wire "bird wire" netting fitted to the rim of the container and like a lid at water level or marginally higher. If you are in a rural area you should be able to access a rural supplies shop so get a portable battery unit for an electric fence (they will run of a motor bike battery or D size batteries and some plastic tubing. I recommend that the tubing is about the same size as the rim of the pots. Put the tubing over the rim (insulate the pot form the electrical current) and place a circle of wire (fencing wire thickness) around to top and tape it down in a few places with electrical tape. The run a bit of wire off that wire circle down to the ground or wherever (though the tubing to insulate it) and hook it up ti the portable unit. Anything that tries to climb/sit on top of that pot Will get a shock and at worst will only come back once more before deciding enough is enough and stay away for good.
Reply:If it was a bird... only the fish are gone.... a racoon will tear everything up... for birds try a fine wire mesh cover... for the racoons ...it is a little tougher, they are very determined critters.We strung a low voltage wire a few inches off the ground to keep the neighbor's dog out of ours. You can buy small kits at most farm supply stores. Any water plants will help but especailly floating plants give the fish a way to hide .
Reply:If only the fish were gone, I would suspect a bird - probably a heron or egret. If the pond and plants were a mess, too, then it's more likely it was a racoon.



If you put netting over your ponds, it will keep the birds out but racoons can and will tear right through it. If you have enough lily pads for the koi to hide under, it will help with the birds, too, but once a heron or a kingfisher or an egret knows to find food in your ponds, they will keep checking back. Your only defense is to keep netting on it at all times, or give up on koi and put feeder goldfish out there and figure you'll have to just keep replacing them to keep the pond stocked.



We were able to successfully deter racoons from our koi ponds by putting out live traps, baited with stale bread spread with peanut butter and molasses (DO NOT use cat food as bait - you will get a cat if you're lucky and a skunk if you're not!). We would then call our state's Fish and Game office to come get the racoons out of the trap and they would take care of them (some states do "catch-and-release" and take the racoons out into the wilderness; others euthanize them). It seems like the word got out into the local racoon community that our yard was not a good place to search for food - we haven't had problems with them for the last 3 years.



What you really need to do to minimize damage from both types of predators permanently is to change the design of your pond. Ideally, it should be at least 3 to 4 feet deep with steep sides. That way, it will be too deep for anything to wade into it and the fish will have enough room to dive down and evade predators at the surface. You can pot your lillies and other plants in black plastic tubs, and stand them on another overturned tub with holes drilled in it to let the water flow through. That way, you don't even need stepped sides for plant growth. This is what we have done with our pond and as I said - no lost fish to predators for three years straight now.



Hope this helps....



Hope this helps.