Goldfish Disappearing

[GRADDON]

I have a fairly big formal pond (bout 30ft x 15ft) Established 4 years. Its full of lillies and iris etc. The water is clean and filtered. The other morning there were no fish to be seen and water was splashed on the paving around the pond and a planter of iris that was sitting on an inverted flowerpot in the water was sitting on its side under the water. Heron? Grass snake? Otter? Or next doors cat? The traumatised fish were hiding under the bridge, in clay drains and tubes I had placed on the bottom of the pond when we built the pond.

No dead fish. Later that day all the fish appeared again (we have about 80 fish including small fry, and came when 'called' to be fed.

Exactly the same thing happened last year.

Then yesterday and today there were no fish to be seen again (I eventually found them lurking back in tubes and old clay drains and again by mid day they came to be fed.

We have trip wire round the edge and a very realistic Heron statue.

Do goldfish hide like this as a seasonal behaviour? Or do you think they have indeed been traumatised by something?

Hope someone can shed some light on this...

Thanks

GRADDON

 

[Noahs ark6]

some large birds can pick up fish out of ponds quite easily, this might be the case. That would also explain the water around the perimeter

 

[Davo86]

some large birds can pick up fish out of ponds quite easily, this might be the case. That would also explain the water around the perimeter

How shallow is the edge? can something say a heron wade in? or is it just a sharp drop?
I doubt it would be an otter as it would find a way to get to the fish and you would have very few remaining,

My guess would be either a heron if the sides are shallow, Or a Mink or possibly Cat

 

[fluttermoth]

Hate to sound cynical, but could it be a person? A lot of people can't tell the difference between koi and goldfish (especially if the goldies are orange/black/white patched) but they do know that koi are worth a lot of money.

Might be worth begging/borrowing/buying a CCTV camera?

 

[Baccus]

My guess would be a heron or a cat. In my a pond at one of my previous addresses a neighborhood cat worked out how to hook my fish out of the pond. I only found out what was happening when I saw one of my largest goldfish with some pretty nasty gashes up its side, but still swimming around. Where the pond was, was in the front yard and unfenced, the cat I think eventually tried going around to the back of our yard and got short shift by my dog.

A motion detection sprinkler might be the way to go, I have had to put one on my aviary thanks to a pesky harrier that has decided my flock of cockatiels are an easy meal. The bonus with this system, heron, cat, or human are all not going to like getting squirted by the sprinkler especially if the attacks are happening at night.

The other thing that srpings to mind is that goldfish can be rather boistrous when spawning and can splash water all over the place and if they are big enough could bump or cause enough water movement to topple the pot plant. I have seen my goldfish make bow waves in a pond when in the height of breeding.

 

[GRADDON]

some large birds can pick up fish out of ponds quite easily, this might be the case. That would also explain the water around the perimeter

How shallow is the edge? can something say a heron wade in? or is it just a sharp drop?
I doubt it would be an otter as it would find a way to get to the fish and you would have very few remaining,

My guess would be either a heron if the sides are shallow, Or a Mink or possibly Cat

Sheer drop from the edges - no shallows. The bridge I refferred to are in fact big stepping stones laid on piers built into the pond so you can walk over.

We think there are fish missing. Thanks for your interest

My guess would be a heron or a cat. In my a pond at one of my previous addresses a neighborhood cat worked out how to hook my fish out of the pond. I only found out what was happening when I saw one of my largest goldfish with some pretty nasty gashes up its side, but still swimming around. Where the pond was, was in the front yard and unfenced, the cat I think eventually tried going around to the back of our yard and got short shift by my dog.

A motion detection sprinkler might be the way to go, I have had to put one on my aviary thanks to a pesky harrier that has decided my flock of cockatiels are an easy meal. The bonus with this system, heron, cat, or human are all not going to like getting squirted by the sprinkler especially if the attacks are happening at night.

The other thing that srpings to mind is that goldfish can be rather boistrous when spawning and can splash water all over the place and if they are big enough could bump or cause enough water movement to topple the pot plant. I have seen my goldfish make bow waves in a pond when in the height of breeding.

Yes I agree with all that, tho we are way out in the country and very well secured - so not humans.

I do like the idea of CCTV though.

 

[Davo86]

Do you have a river nearby? If your out in the country then Mink or otter (although they usually clear out the pond) would be the most likely but both species tend to be quite messy, and you can usually find parts of the head and tail, (unless they have been spooked and have carried the fish off to eat elsewhere)

If its a steep drop a heron is unlikely IME,

 

[GRADDON]

Today just like yesterday at 8am the fish all came eagerly to be fed. Its now 11.45am and they are all hiding in and under things. Its a warm sunny day.No sign today or yesterday of any splashing round the pond but still this strange behaviour. The mystery deepens!

 

[natalie265]

In my area when a goldfish disappears from a pond it's often a raccoon to blame.

 

[tenohfive]

Is the pond in easy view of a window somewhere?

If so, cheap webcam and a laptop might shed some light on any day time activities. In fact with an extension cable and some a bodge job shelter/small tent etc you could probably get a close up of the pond if you're feeling imaginative. Depending on how much you're willing to spend I'm sure there's a night time equivalent that could be bought too.

 

[nigelchapman]

Its really big you have that's nice, I think its not easy to maintained such a big tank. Yes its really annoying when we found that our precious goldfish is disappearing. here may be some other problem with your goldfish not that it is seasonal.

 

[nurglespuss]

Sounds like mink to me, especially with the splashing round the pond.

Luckily it sounds like your fish have plenty of cover, and a handy retreat, it may also be that they recognise the time of day that the event happens, and know to hide (they do learn quickly).

Definately good idea on the camera.