Just thought of something- what about the ducks and geese we have each year? I guess they mostly fly in and out. But they do hang on the edges and walk up to the banks at times. They never bring their babies back here though- the bass will take them. Would an electric fence kill anything? Or hurt a great blue or other water fowl? I know the GB gets fish- along the edge. Sunnies mostly. But the blue eats what he gets and moves on. This should be another post maybe- our pond is very established- but we have some large mouth bass in there that are BIG 18"? I think some should be fished out and relocated. They eat everything. A tennis ball fell in the water once and a bass took it- let it back up in a few seconds. We once found a bass at the edge of the pond with a big sunny lodged in it's mouth. The bass was dead- the suuny lived after we freed it. Our kids scared a frog to jump into the pond one eve. Bass took it. What's anyone's opinion about getting some of those great big bass out? We never fish and eat. If anyone ever fishes here, everything gets thrown back. We would relocate them to a big lake nearby.

I don't have a bottom drain. I tried a retrofit bottom drain, but had the problem of it sucking up fish, some pretty large ones. So I did exactly what you are considering. My 2 in. pipe runs down the side of the pond and I have an elbow then a piece of 2 in. pipe laying across the bottom of the pond. I have a cap on it and have holes drilled along the pipe across the bottom. Holes are about 1/2 to 3/4 in. can't remember exactly. Spaced about 6 in. apart and staggered, so that the holes on one side aren't opposite the holes on the other side. I think it works perfectly, because I have not had any fish sucked up except the little tiny bluegills that had already died. I get a lot of crud that accumulates in the basket that I empty and wash out about once a week. This goes to the bottom of the bog filter and is forced up through the gravel and returns to the pond via a waterfall. Glenda

Kirk..Are you talking about your new fish? IMO it is sometimes what they have been used to eating versus a new kind of food. My fish will eat anything, but prefer floating pellets because that is what I give them. They don't like to have to find them on the bottom. They will eat sinking pellets, if I drop them slowly. My daughters fish only will eat sinking pellets, because that is what they are used to. They seem to like scrounging around on the bottom for their food. Your new fish also need to adjust to a new invironment. You can give them cooked green peas minus the skin of the peas. Hope they start eating soon for you. Glenda

Most likely mink - what state? I had one two years ago - St Louis MO area. Saw water all over my surrounding rocks - looked in the pond fish seemed fine but I heard something rustle in the boxwoods. Hour later same thing but all the plants were disturbed and the in pond lighting was floating. Didn't want to even look so I waited until next morning to clean up the mess. Used my net to position plants and hooked something on the bottom. See photo - must have been hit by a falling rock and got knocked out. No marks to body. Fortunately wasn't alive when I was in the pond because they can bite your fingers clean off and they are VERY nasty. Hard to tell from the photo but the mink was very large. This year have something else. 1/2 fish are gone - found one with its head bitten off. May just not restock unless I can find out whats killing them. Not fair to the fish.