Help - Koi with skin tear on his forehead

[bekko]

Heron pokes are usually behind the pectoral fins and on both sides. But, you never know.

-ste veh

[rockman]

I appear to now have a *second* koi with a scrape on his forehead (this time its my yamambuki).


I have the pond currently covered with a net (since there has been a heron around ), so I don't think this is incurred by a critter attack. It must be the fish scraping against something in the pond, for example a rock. I have rocks ringed around my pond and many have since fallen to the bottom and I am thinkning maybe the fish are swimming into them? Curious, this is my second fish with such a scar now, and both happened in the last few weeks right after I got my latest fish, so maybe this is a sign of the pond getting too crowded, who knows?

I started to take out rocks that I thought looked like they might pose some problems, hopefully I dont keep having injured koi at this rate!

[Sangreaal]

When koi spook, it's a blink-of-the-eye lightning-strike stampede to the bottom. Down and Under are their feral flight tactics, and they will try to insert themselves under mulm, rocks, plants, or each other to put some kind of barrier between the perceived danger and themselves.

Yep, heavy rocks are quite a disappointment to the diving-under hiding koi and pose quite the hazard when they are freaking out. Abrasions, contusions, lacerations and getting wedged and trapped can all happen.

The net is a good start at providing them cover. Float something on the pond--inner tubes or floaties. Or give them a ledge or bridge or something to hide under. But get rid of the rocks.

And get rid of the heron...they're like an assassin paid for the absolute kill--they don't stop until the job is done.
Marie

[rockman]

Marie,

Interesting timing, I woke up this morning and spotted a heron on my neighbors roof, looking at me as if asking me what was on the menu today

My koi were extremely skittish today when I got home from work, I could barely get them out to eat, and I still can not account for one of them, I have a tiny corner of my pond that the net does not cover perhaps the heron managed to get my smallest koi.

I agree I need to get rid of the rocks, at least the ones that have fallen to the bottom, problem is how did I grab them (about 5 feet down or so)? I suppose I am going to have to either get some kind of a grapping hook or go diving

[Sangreaal]

Beautiful birds, but I hate herons when it comes to my koi. I lost a beautiful 14" ochiba shigure (my absolute favorite koi I've ever owned) earlier this year to one. I, too, netted the pond afterwards, but lost one more after that--a very pretty 10" longfin that simply disappeared from the pond.

I can only think of one thing that can absolutely keep that bird away from your pond besides a good protective dog or the violence of buckshot. Hotwire fencing.

There is no better deterrent than 15,000-20,000 volts of electrical bite to discourage trespass on your pond if you don't have a good dog to tear the legs off that predator or a shotgun to blow it into eternity. However, that kind of voltage IN your pond would be bad, so if you opt for this desperate measure make very sure that the wire has no way whatsoever to break and fall into your pond. That said, use the short rebar type posts with screw on insulators to run the wire through (they don't pop off like the T-post clip-on types). Situate the wire about 24" or so off the ground so it can't be stepped over by the heron (but not gone under) and close enough to the pond so the heron can't fly and land inside of it on the edge of the pond. One shock, just ONE, and that bird will never step close to your pond again. In fact, it shouldn't ever return to your yard, the jolt is that memorable. *L*

Diving for rocks.... LOL! If yours is a liner pond and not cement, this would be about the safest way to get those rocks outta there. My koi love it when I get in there with them, but with the water temp down between 60-65 degrees, you couldn't get me in there now without my hubby-to-be's surfing wetsuit. If you end up having to get in there, walk the rocks with your feet to the side of the pond and if the stone isn't too heavy, lift it carefully along the pond wall with one foot until you can grab it. Otherwise, it's head-first dive time. *L* Have someone take plenty of video or pics of this exercise to share, okay?

The skinned beaks of your koi will heal just fine and leave no scars if no bacterial infection sets in (which it probably won't if your water quality is up there and your koi is otherwise healthy). From what I was able to see in your photos, it's really a superficial injury to just the skin and not deep into the meat. If you haven't done it yet, salt your pond a bit to help them in this regard. That's about all you can do without netting them up and topically treating, which is not a necessity for such a minor scrape.

Good luck getting rid of that bird,

Marie

[jnorth]

And now for a public service announcement about killing herons.

Click here to see the fines
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ht...7----000-.html

Good luck getting rid of that thing. I have one myself now to deal with.

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by jnorth And now for a public service announcement about killing herons. Click here to see the fines http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ht...7----000-.html Good luck getting rid of that thing. I have one myself now to deal with.

I don't know about you, but where I live, herons are not migratory. Click here to read about great blues:
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=41

Now if it were a swan or goose or duck or humming bird or any other kind of bird that migrates like clockwork at the season change, I'd worry about the fines. But even endangered species can be taken with a permit if they are damaging/killing/eating livestock, and if all it takes is to contact Fish and Wildlife or Dept. of Fish and Game for permission to dispatch the predator that is harming your koi, then those heron's days should surely be numbered....

Marie

[bekko]

LOL. Trust me, you will not get a depredation permit to kill a heron because it is taking your koi.

I know the frustration and anguish of loosing fish to herons. But, herons do what herons do. Herons are not mean, vindictive, or spiteful, they are just programmed to find and eat fish. In addition, they have mystical powers.

Some form of heron protection should be part of the initial design for every pond where you intend to keep fish smaller than about 16 inches. Just like any other aspect of the pond design, if you fail to make proper provisions then you will eventually suffer the consequences.

-steveh opk

[saratogatan]

in one sentence : he is ht emoderator of this forum.

Herons live too good a live in northern California that they have forgotten about migrating. I have 5 herons calling my neighborhood their home, and my do call them her buddies. They don't come in as often any more after I covered my pond with net.

stan

[dizzyfish]

Behavior

"Great Blue Herons are often seen flying high overhead with slow wing-beats. When foraging, they stand silently along riverbanks, lake shores, or in wet meadows, waiting for prey to come by, which they then strike with their bills. They will also stalk prey slowly and deliberately. Although they hunt predominantly by day, they may also be active at night. They are solitary or small-group foragers, but they nest in colonies. Males typically choose shoreline areas for foraging, and females and juveniles forage in more upland areas."

Does anyone know if heron can attack without landing? Can herons take koi from ponds to deep for them to walk in very easily? I see the above says they stike with their bills. I saw a large heron on the rock edge of my pond once, but it didn't take any fish and hasn't been back. So does making ponds that drop off sharply offer some protection to the koi?
Mitch