Cormorants, pelicans, herons, cats and more can inflict serious damage to your prized pets or eat them.
What are some signs that make you suspect such is the case?
- Certain fish are missing (usually the smaller ones).
- Fish are injured on the dorsum (over their back or dorsal fin).
- Fish are not coming up to eat or are very skittish.
- Fish jump out.
What are some things you can do to remedy the situation?
- Put a cover/barrier over the pond (e.g. netting, fishing line, plank).
- Use “scare crows” (e.g. T-shirts on hangers, crocodile ornaments floating in the water, a sticker of a shadow of a bird of prey on a window).
- Use “scare birds” (herons are territorial, so a plastic model of one may deter other herons – but make sure you move the model bird daily so that other birds will not realise that it’s a fake!).
- Use “biological scare tactics” – have more human activity near the area or employ a jack russel dog!
- Colour your pond green! Research shows that birds fly over many water bodies and the colour of the pond determines whether the bird would come closer for a look. Green ponds are often avoided because the birds believe that there is likely to be an algal bloom and fishing in such a pond would be a waste of their time.
- Provide hiding spots for your fish so that they can avoid predation – have these in deep parts of the pond.
If you have any more tips, please do not hesitate to add to these.
Fish = Good.
Bird = Bad.
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Now on: Twitter – Blog – Facebook – Linkedin – Flickr
Now on: Twitter – Blog – Facebook – Linkedin – Flickr
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Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
BSc BVMS MPhil (Vet Path) MACVSc (Aquatics & Pathobiology) DipPM CMAVA
Veterinarian / Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia. Mobile Veterinary Service for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
