goldfish

[STEVEB]

my orfs have munched a load of scales of goldfish,why would they do this?
should i quarrantine it in case it was disseased?

[STEVEB]

[Isleworth]

Are you sure it's the orfe that have damaged the goldfish... Doesn't sound like normal behaviour, is your pond un-covered? If so it's sounds more like a heron attack as any fish with damaged scales will get picked at by the others.

I had a couple of mine damaged by a heron but they healed as the flesh was not broken just a bit of scale damage.

[Ishard]

Too late to quarantine it now, anything it has so do your other fish. Sometimes stress of moving causes scales to drop. So does mating although its rather early in the year for that.

Is there an open wound or anything?

Herons walk into a pond to feed and cannot eat lower than their own feet so if your pond has vertical sides herons cannot get your fish.

I have seen 2 blue herons stand at the side of my koi pond positivly drooling at the size of the fish but cant get at them.  ;D My goldfish pond is the same.

[GrannieAnnie]

We've watched a Great Blue Heron walk around the rock border of the pond then step down about a foot or more into the pond and go fishing. Mainly he eats the frogs perhaps because our goldfish are small fry.

[Ishard]

So the heron walked into the pond then :)
The sides on my ponds (apart from the wildlife one)  are at the very least 3 foot. Herons wont walk into that.