Hi,

As you know I posted about the Orfe problem well thats no longer an issue. I have a netted, well guarded pond only to find a few fish tail scales on the surface of the net and the remains of a fish tail on one side of the pond.

So you might wonder how can a fish squeeze out of the net? How can 40 fish of over 8 years of fish stock just suddenly vanish. Fish that were trained to feed and enjoyed by many just all be gone. Well the blood raged me couldn't work it out. The fibre glass pond was solid as a rock and then I noticed something on the net, a small hole which looked like it had been chewed, then I saw it, a RAT!!!!

A large rat has taken residence under the pond, it had burrowed and used the rim of the pond as a cover whilst nesting deep down one side of the pond. We have purchased poison and have watched a large brown rat popping up to take the poison down. He/She is a fairly sizeable thing, we have also now heard squeaks and peeps coming from this thin tunnel.

After repairing the net (pegging it down where the sod had chewed) we have found a majority of the fish. The familiar shape of a human near the pond brought them out from their hiding area which on a quick investigation the only area I didn't look was in under the pump which is about a frizbee sized area.

Its looking like 8 or so are missing mostly young that were on the surface basking (as I call it). So mental note be aware of pegging your net down firmly, even though the rat did chew through, the rat in question from observation is the common brown.

I suppose I did over react at first with the whole 'Uber Rat killed my Moby Dick goldfish', similar to a dragonfly carrying off a koi.[B]

Oh my gosh! All those beautiful fish are gone?!! I am so sorry! That would p*** me off to no end. :angry: :angry:
I would have never suspected a RAT of all things. :blink: I hope you get that varmit! :ph43r:

Actually little update on my original post.

I suppose I did over react at first with the whole Uber Rat killed my Moby Dick goldfish, similar to a dragonfly carrying off a koi at least a majority are there most of last years young are gone though.

I'm sorry about your fish. What was the biggest fish the rat took? Rats can fish but they're not great at it. Are you sure it's a rat and not say a muskrat? Muskrats are aquatic and more likely to be doing what you're seeing. It's not a good idea to use poisons near the pond, and it sounds like you put some right in the rat's hole by the pond. I would worry about poison getting into the pond and killing the fish. It would be better to try to trap the rat with a live trap and move him far away. He may also not be alone.

Same thing happened to me but it was a martin and ate 80 or so big goldfish

The guy that lives next door to me...his name is Martin. I had better start keeping a closer eye on him!

The worst I have had so far is a stray cay eyeballing the fish (time to break out the BB gun) and a bunch of Robins using it as a bird bath and crapping all over everything. Hmmm, I don't think our Robyn was one of them. Surely I'm not so old that I wouldn't have noticed her bathing in my yard!! LOL :o

Derrick

Oh My Gosh! That is just aweful! I am so sorry to hear that! I had no idea that rats did such a thing. I don't think we have rats here. I just had to run out and look at my ponds after I read your post!

I doubt it was a Muskrat, I don't think we get them here except in Zoos but I may be wrong. It is just a rat and right now the Warfarin is taking effect that it has horded. We are draining the pond this saturday, lifting it out and filling the edges in before setting it back down.

I am still doing my spot check on the fish so far a few young are missing and even my nice big white fish which was by far the most tame, however I am hoping hes laying low (hoping).

I googled Rats killing fish and so far have learn't that they just swim, however the evidence is substantial in that the rat did one if not two things.

1) He went through the chewed bits of netting (this stuff I thought is bomb proof as I have cut my hand on it) and got what he could. (explains the scales in different areas).

2) He used the net as a transparent fish walk way and picked off the young that basked at the surface (as its the young missing and my most tame fish would have gone to say hello no doubt to the odd visitor) (explains the half knawed fish under the net).

Seeing golden scales in and around areas is what annoys me and I know its spawning season soon so I am reluctant to want to move the fish too much but I am determined to know what lies beneath the pond.

If you have a large fibre glass cast pond (approx £500 margin) they are different to a liner. A rat tunneling agains the liner and pond would find the liner expand to fill the void, a rat tunneling against a fibre glass pond would find a rock hard water proof surface that won't move.

I would just check the rim of the fibre glass pond as the dip where his hole is, is subtle its just fortunate we have some small pebbles that have dipped and fallen down his hole showing the mud curve which identifies his home.

Derrick, I wasn't swimming or excreting in your bird bath pond (that was someone else) but, if I came there, I would take shots of those BB's to protect the poor kitty. One of the stray cats I adopted, when we took x-rays, she had been all shot up with BB's. Please don't shoot the poor cats; loud noises or a dog will be enough to scare them off. None of the cats here have ever harmed the fish but they have hurt froggies.

hahaha...don't worry Robyn, I don't own a BB gun or any other kind o gun for that matter. When I go hunting I take a camera.

I'm more likely to throw a beer bottle at the cat, but unless it intentionally ran into it, the cat is pretty safe! :D

Derrick