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  • Results 1 to 6 of 6

    Thread: Heron attack

    1. #1
      rubyduby is offline Junior Member
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      Unhappy Heron attack

      I looked out the window to my pond this morning only to see a huge heron fiddling with something on the lawn that looked very much like one of my four largest koi.....I ran down and saw that he was breathing and flopping a little so I threw him immediately back in my 19,000 gallon lined pond...I saw some blood on him and some of it was on his eye but I did not see any signs of real damage in the split second examination...I was just intent in getting him back in the water. He immediately swam away and hid somewhere....

      Is it possible that he will recover or is he doomed?

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    2. #2
      kdh is offline Senior Member
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      Your koi based on your analysis sounds like it well be fine. Just check the koi out everyday closely as you feed and watch for infection. However the bird could come back as it now recognizes your pond as a new food source. Colder temps could play a roll for any healing required as the kois immune system has declined.

    3. #3
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      To determine survivability, you would need to pull the koi and sedate it so you could evaluate the injuries. In a 19k gallon pond that's a challenge. Healing doesn't happen very well below about 70° either, and here we are headed into winter.

      Do you have a heatable quarantine setup, by any chance? The best scenario would be a heated, filtered quarantine tank through the winter, that way you could monitor and medicate if necessary. Many people use kiddie pools in their garages or basements. If you can't manage that, keep your water pristine clean through winter and hope for the best. If the fish dies, do you have a way of finding it in the pond? Decomposition will release a bunch of ammonia in the water along with other nasties, so monitor your ammonia too.
      Mary

    4. #4
      ademink's Avatar
      ademink is offline Senior Member~~Moderator
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      It had to hoist the koi out of the pond somehow. This means either you got lucky b/c it grabbed it like "scissors" or it speared a hole in the side you didn't see in the two seconds you took to throw it back in the water. I agree you need to pull the fish and see what damage is truly there.
      Andrea
      Koi Health Care Committee Member

    5. #5
      rubyduby is offline Junior Member
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      Thank you kdh...The water temp has dropped here in VA to the mid forties I'm afraid...I guess I just have to hope for the best at this point...

    6. #6
      rubyduby is offline Junior Member
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      To Mary and ademink...Thank you for your advice...I do not have a quarantine tank and I would not be able to find him now even if I did...My pond is very big and very deep with lots of hiding places...I will have to hope for the best...After hearing from you all I can see that the prospects are not good...

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