Tag: birds

Are your pond fish safe from predators?

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

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?

  1. Certain fish are missing (usually the smaller ones).
  2. Fish are injured on the dorsum (over their back or dorsal fin).
  3. Fish are not coming up to eat or are very skittish.
  4. Fish jump out.
What are some things you can do to remedy the situation?
  1. Put a cover/barrier over the pond (e.g. netting, fishing line, plank).
  2. 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).
  3. 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!).
  4. Use “biological scare tactics” – have more human activity near the area or employ a jack russel dog!
  5. 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.
  6. 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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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