landscaping, My koi

Another missing koi :-(

Posted by lorivertin on

Actually two more missing koi! At lunchtime we were sitting by the pond and noticed that Dale was missing. Once again a search of the RDF and nothing.
Tonight we looked in the pond and realized that Jet Li is also missing. The pond digger tried blowing the TPRs harder but the little guys were not hiding there. I’m thinking blue heron but not sure how it could get the koi because we have vertical sides.

Dale is in the center of the photo. Looks like a Kohaku with some beni on his nose. Dale is actually a sanke and had some sumi sitting under the skin.
Dale is in the center of the photo. Looks like a Kohaku with some beni on his nose. Dale is actually a sanke and had some sumi sitting under the skin.

I spent the afternoon netting both ponds …

I always hate to net the pond but it's better than losing koi.
I always hate to net the pond but it’s better than losing koi.

I do have some good news. Super is looking less pink. The nitrite level went down dramatically. Maybe he was pink because of the predator…

Super [Stressed] is looking a lot better. Nitrites are reading lower since we added on a bead filter.
Super [Stressed] is looking a lot better. Nitrites are reading lower since we added on a bead filter.

And we have another landscaping feature being finished. THe pond digger has been making me some Japanese style fence sections. The landscape designer thought this would be a good way to divide the garden from the back section of the yard. Now I need to find out what type of shrubs he had in mind. I think the pond digger is doing a pretty good job based on a picture printed from the Internet. We still need a little more bamboo and apply the cedar shingles.

A look at the new garden dividers. Still need to shingle the tops. We've tacked on a few shingles just to see what it might look like.
A look at the new garden dividers. Still need to shingle the tops. We’ve tacked on a few shingles just to see what it might look like.
The garden dividers also serve a secondary purpose of hiding equipment. The pond digger calls them his "don't ask, don't tell" walls.
The garden dividers also serve a secondary purpose of hiding equipment. The pond digger calls them his “don’t ask, don’t tell” walls.

3 Comments

  1. kraftykoi says:
    June 21, 2016 at 9:27 am

    Lori, I’ve just checked back in. Sorry to hear about your missing Koi! Have you found out what happened since this post? That certainly doesn’t look like a Heron-friendly pond even before the netting. I’m not sure how big a Blue heron is though compared with they Grey’s we have over here (UK).

    1. lorivertin says:
      June 21, 2016 at 9:49 am

      We’re pretty sure it was a heron since there was one perched on top of our neighbor’s house. We thought our pond was pretty much heron proof but if it was patient and stood on the wooden deck or a rock, an unsuspecting koi might have swam by too close to the surface. Nora, one of the large shiro had an unusual little red spot that disappeared after two or three days that might have been a peck from a heron (she’s too big to catch).

      1. kraftykoi says:
        June 21, 2016 at 10:28 am

        I see, sounds likely then in that case. Hopefully the measures you’ve taken with the net will be enough to deter any more incidents!

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