Looking for koi fish or goldfish for our pond

[mistamick]

We have enough fish now and if I could figure out how to delete this post, I would be happy to do so. Thanks to all who responded.

Carol
352.661.5171

[JerryLBell]

I'd be curious as to how long these would last. I've seen flocks of white pelicans descend on retention ponds and wipe out most of the fish in a couple of days. I would think that a single fish-eating bird like a Great Blue Heron or a Great Egret or a Wood Stork could empty a small, backyard pond of all of its fish in pretty quick order. And it might even be illegal to try to chase the bird off.

[Bogie Shooter]

We have a net over our koi pond. Herons have stopped to look.....but don’t touch.

[Stu from NYC]

We have a small pond with running water have wondered if the fish would last.

Could goldfish live off decaying leaves that fall into the water?

[Bogie Shooter]

We have a small pond with running water have wondered if the fish would last.

Could goldfish live off decaying leaves that fall into the water?

Probably would require some food supplement.
Do a search on, outdoor goldfish pond. (Plan on some maintenance work)

[JerryLBell]

We have a net over our koi pond. Herons have stopped to look.....but don’t touch.
Hadn't thought of a net. but that would do it for most birds!

[Inexes@aol.com]

If you have any excess fish that you would like to give a good home, please contact us.

Carol
352.661.5171

If you Google Koi, you will find there is a Koi farm near Eustis or Tavares and one in Dunnellon. Also, Touch of Paradise in Ocala may have some Koi.

[PugMom]

i'm curious, where is your pond, in or outdoors? i'd like one, but am afraid of wildlife killing them

[Yvetteperry]

We have a pond back in Mass where we go for the summer. We used to have fish until a blue heron found it and ate every one two years in a row. We no longer put fish in and we still see heron fly over to check it out. We have tried a fake heron to no avail. We also had a hawk fly down. We tried a net but came home one day and found a small bird tangled in the net, so that came off. With the abundance of birds in TV I would hesitate to put fish, especially koi, in a pond where they would most likely be easy targets, but that is just my opinion having lived through it. Good luck with whatever your decision is. I love sitting by the pond and hearing the waterfall.

[ddmpls]

I have 2 ponds and have actually really loved stocking them with small $.32 goldfish from PetSmart. Half of the fun is watching them grow. My ponds are not covered with nets. I lost fish in one pond to a predator about 3 years ago, but no incidence since. The only true basic requirement for success is to have some falling water (to aerate the pond). Both of my ponds current inhabitants are about 3 years old. They spawn around May of each year, but so far I have only 1 new offspring in each pond and they were spawned last year.

[Weezie8013]

If your pond is not under a screen,
herons and other birds will find your fish and say, “ thank you”!

[Pedrocarrasco01@yahoo.com]

We have a pond back in Mass where we go for the summer. We used to have fish until a blue heron found it and ate every one two years in a row. We no longer put fish in and we still see heron fly over to check it out. We have tried a fake heron to no avail. We also had a hawk fly down. We tried a net but came home one day and found a small bird tangled in the net, so that came off. With the abundance of birds in TV I would hesitate to put fish, especially koi, in a pond where they would most likely be easy targets, but that is just my opinion having lived through it. Good luck with whatever your decision is. I love sitting by the pond and hearing the waterfall.
We had a large pond put some cinderblocks in there to provide a cover for the fish and a large plastic owl nearby to keep all other birds away, it worked, the fish would eat algae keeping it clean, we used feeder fish (fish usually grown to feed other fish, bought 100 at the time for $5.00 to $6.00, also had some Koi purchased initially for a few dollars each, they grew and when we moved we had some 18” long. Enjoy it but put some cover so they can hide from predators

[Rzepecki]

Saw some for free yesterday on Nextdoor.com.

[024engine]

Check Mira Mesa next door. Someone had some for free yesterday.

[Tsalla Apopka]

Our neighbor in Citrus County had a beautiful professionally built pond with waterfall and hiding places for the fish. Nestled up in the front of the house.

The raccoons got the big fish and the herons got the smaller fish - took them 2 weeks.

[sloanst]

My neighbor had to put a screen over their pond. The first stocking was wiped out in less than a week.

[mistamick]

Pond is inside the lanai.

[mistamick]

We have a pond back in Mass where we go for the summer. We used to have fish until a blue heron found it and ate every one two years in a row. We no longer put fish in and we still see heron fly over to check it out. We have tried a fake heron to no avail. We also had a hawk fly down. We tried a net but came home one day and found a small bird tangled in the net, so that came off. With the abundance of birds in TV I would hesitate to put fish, especially koi, in a pond where they would most likely be easy targets, but that is just my opinion having lived through it. Good luck with whatever your decision is. I love sitting by the pond and hearing the waterfall.
We also had a pond up north that was prone to herons and raccoons. We found two solutions.
1) if you have a water hose nearby, a product called "Scarecrow" Water sprinkler works wonders, day or night. It’s on Amazon.
2) after a heron visit, I placed a length of black corrugated plastic pipe in the pond. The fish will hide in it at the first hint of danger.
We used both and never lost a fish from then on.

[boobear51751]

Is a fish pond allowed in The Villages at all? The only place I know where they are okay is in the historic district. I heard they will make you take it out if it is any other area. Check on the restrictions in your village before you put a lot of money and time into something like that. I believe it is because they draw mosquitoes and are a health risk. I know they are a lot of enjoyment from my up north experience.

[jimbo2012]

If you give them hiding areas they see the shadow of the predator and will swim in or under a rock etc.

[Carlsondm]

Good for you on the netted koi pond. I made a trellis cover and it helped too. Also offers shade. There was a trail of fish leaving my property once. Never again.

[ffresh]

Our neighbor in Citrus County had a beautiful professionally built pond with waterfall and hiding places for the fish. Nestled up in the front of the house.

The raccoons got the big fish and the herons got the smaller fish - took them 2 weeks.

I must be demented … for some reason your post made me laugh out loud :1rotfl:

Fred