Caryl

Possibly. I would run a solid metal pipe, or wooden,post down the centre as chicken wire would sag, not as much as the netting but enough for the heron to land on. With finer chicken wire it would be unable to stick its beak through the holes to stab the fish. Hopefully the centre brace would discourage the bird from trying to land on it as it would see more easily that it would be unable to get through the wire.

The tank is looking good. When was that plec added? They are major poo machines and personally I think the aquarium would look a lot better without the plec. It will also rip up the decor as it swings its tail around so will dislodge stuff without even trying. Frequent water changes is the best answer and that is what you are doing so see how it goes.

I also wonder if Silverdollarboy2 can see his messages as he has yet to reply to one I sent him the other day!

Netting only works well on small ponds as it stretches so easily. We put netting over our pond (a similar size to yours), which needed support in the centre as it sagged into the water. It did not work as the heron just walked across it! Once the hebes grew large enough it stopped the heron coming by. Kingfishers dive straight down so make sure there are no jutting branches overhanging the pond from which they can dive. Herons wade in to grab the fish and I don't think they like to get their feathers wet so plant heavily around the pond so there is nowhere they can stand and jab fish from the edges. Making sure edging wobbles stops predators like cats from getting too close too as they dislike unstable footing. I would suggest a wee wire fence, about 30cm high around the edge of the pond, might help more than netting. Another possibility is to cover the pond with one of those freestanding gazebo or portable carports you can buy these days.

You know what plants I have and there might be some spare Odessa barbs if you want them.

I have both. I will wait until my husband gets home as he will understand

Thank you for the suggestion Alexyay. I would do what you suggest if I understood it!

Pity. For those of us whose eyesight is going, it makes it harder to read. Never mind, I am sure I will cope

Fixed mine I must say I often find it difficult to work out where one post ends and another starts, especially when scrolling through looking for something in particular. Is there a way to make each post more defined?

I can now see signatures I could not see before, although I haven't changed anything, but they are not displaying correctly.

We might be wrong!

I would expect it to disintegrate in a heated tank.

I would agree with your guess about damage. It may sort itself out eventually and swim properly over time, then again it might not. As long as it is now happy, and can get its own fair share of food, I would not be too worried.

I suspect LA answered without actually looking as that is where you added your sig in the last forum so he assumed it was the same here. This one does not seem to have a sig field and, from scrolling through looking, I can't find anyone with a sig attached. I know I used to have one on the old forum but it has disappeared from this one. I hadn't noticed until you asked and I suspect LA is the same!

Don't know but it looks like the one I haul out of the local river but have never had luck with it in my pond. I suspect it likes a good water flow.

My 4ft must be getting up to 20 years too. I am more concerned with the sealant giving way than the glass cracking. I have been told tanks should be re-sealed every 10 years. The tank has been moved twice in that time. Polystyrene is good but doesn't help in an earthquake

I have only just started feeding them again after winter so just crushed up Aqua One flakes.

Others may have had more luck but I have found moving Ancistrus fry smaller than 3cm is unsuccessful, they do not survive.

I am happy to send you the pics Ira. Not sure if you still have the same email address as the one I have here though. Could post them here if nobody objects.

Easier to do on a larger fish :-) Anything I can do for the live one? I know peas or Epsom Salts work for constipation but a gut blockage is different.

There is another very large fish I am watching. Hard to tell if they are enjoying the sun or if it is a pre-cursor to something else. It does not startle so I suspect another is about to die :-(

Thanks for that Colour_genes. I am wondering the same myself so will soak the flakes before adding them to the water. I do not feed pellets or larger foods at first (my dad always said fine porridge oats was good for them at the start of spring). We have had a very hard winter so perhaps that has added to the problem.

Fish died and we tried to open it up. No idea what to look at. Have taken photos but need to go out now. I will email the pics to you later today LA rather than post them here in case they upset someone.

Not sure about an autopsy as I do not have any equipment (or a good enough knife, or the stomach ). At the moment this fish is still alive, but only just. We are going out and I suspect it will be dead on our return. It does not appear to be stressed which is why I have not euthanised it. Gills looking lovely and normal.