The Blue Heron cleaned me out, I had five big koi - all gone. He left me nine goldfish. Well at least they won't eat the water hyacinths. Someone suggested putting a big heavy plastic pipe in the bottom so that when he comes, they could hide. What do you think? I hate the thought of netting the pond. Arum

He'll probably be back for the goldfish. Having hiding places always helps.

This is one of the reasons I don't have koi, so sad.

Have you looked at the water sprayer sensors? They do work well. You can also net your pond, or you can line the edges of your pond and then criss cross across the pond with fish line.

I agree with Carol - he will be back. Typically herons will keep coming back until they have you totally cleaned out.

Yes, he came back. Rats! Anyway, I have a plan,(along with only 5 goldfish). Maybe I won't get any more koi either. Someone suggested putting a heavy piece of plastic tubing,(the kind used for pluming), in a Y shape. Think that might work? Arum

it would sure be worth a try. A lot less trouble than netting.

If I haft to net the pond, I'd just rather not have one,the natural look is what is best for me. For some reason I just can't be mad, although those koi were huge, and I had them for years. He was just hungry, precautions are needed,so he will haft to get dinner someplace else. Here is what I plan to do.
http://x-evolutionist.com/2010...

Good idea - let us know if it does the trick.

Funny thing - they mentioned the Koi Kastle in the article. I have looked at that several times and each time I am shocked at the price. But it seems anytime you attach the word pond or koi to anything and the price triples!

Yes that's true Carolyn, that's why I might not get any more Koi.

We have to use strong deer netting to keep the critters out, we have no choice. Without it we have the neighborhood Kitties trying to go fishing and there are Raccoons taking a swim and I don't what else. We only keep Paradise Fish in our small pond over the Summer, and there are lots of hiding places, but I hate to see everything constantly disturbed and I don't like to lose any of the little fish. We have to make sure the netting is really tight around the edges, or critters will get underneath the netting.

I was keeping "mosquito fish" in my water lily pot, and something even tore that up to get those tiny guppies! The neighborhood cats miss the entertainment, but now I just use Mosquito dunks.

Also interested in whether the pipe does the trick. The herons get my fish every year, so I don't keep anything more expensive than gold fish in them (though a few have figured out how to hide and have started getting large). They tear up my lily pads and flowers, too. I keep meaning to try out one of the sensor water squirters.

A friend lost all of her Koi to a heron a couple of years ago, but after a couple of months, they found a sole survivor that had been hiding. I think a raccoon got him.

Well, with all that's going on right now I haven't had time to look for the pipe. It appears that it might be hard to find. It seems like this is a good idea though, and different pipes might be useful. Those were expensive fish, but I got them when they were babies. First I'll try the goldfish, if they don't end up as dinner, then I will consider getting Koi again. It's probably good to have a lot of plants also, trouble is in the cold weather the plants die back. Oh well, back to the drawing board! :0 Arum

Let us know what you end up doing - I have to get my sprayer up. Makes me nervous - I have seen the herons going from one river to the other.... perhaps I can get DH moving this weekend.

Carolyn, I haft to go away for a few days, hope I still have fish when I come back. Try to give your fish something to hide in that's sturdy. That ole bird is a master when it comes to fishing! Can't help but admire him. Arum

Probably a good idea. DH wants to move the WL's to the side of the pond that is more open so they get more sun, so we will see what I can find for the other end.

I use an intermittent electric fencer after the raccoons cleaned me out. Once the herons started visiting I found it works great with a single wire across the pond. If not hidden in your backyard check city codes. .
I have heard from others that using an imitation heron placed in or by the pond also works since herons are territorial and solitary. Haven't tried this since possums and raccoons are a bigger problem for me. . They are beautiful birds aren't they.
Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you.

That is a thought - they keep changing the zoning here every time we turn around.

I have always loved watching the herons, until we started ponding some dozen years ago. My husband wanted to shoot them, but I never thought that was a good idea. They really are majestic birds.

I seen a photo somewhere where a very stiff metal grating was put over the pond, just under the surface, supported by blocks. You couldn't see it, it was just under the water surface.