I watched a black or brown snake with orange strips slither into the rocks at my pond yesterday. I am totally creeped out since I hate snakes and now have to make sure the coast is clear when i'm at the pond which is as much as possible. I wonder if the snake poses a threat to my fish- koi and goldfish. Is there any way to get rid of it that you know? I found a dead frog in the pond yesterday with no sign of injury. I did salt the pond the day before but only to 0.06%. I like how clear it makes my water and how colorful the fish become but the plants don't all do well with it so I don't use the full amount suggested on the Pond Salt container. Thanks, Nancy

Some species of snakes like the ones I've had in my pond (garter snake, black rat snake) hang around in the rocks for a few days and do some swimming and perhaps eat some fish or frogs. They aren't great at it though. Other snakes, namely water snakes, are very good at catching fish and frogs and may hang around much longer. They often need to be caught and relocated. Snakes will try to eat larger fish and frogs and may spit them out if they're too big to swallow.

I have a photo of a snake eating a sunfish at
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pmamm.htm#reptile

I suggest using no more than 0.05% salt in ponds with plants although my salt bottle says twice that.