{"id":10385,"date":"2022-03-13T16:19:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T20:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.earthworksjax.com\/?p=10385"},"modified":"2022-11-07T18:39:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T18:39:22","slug":"koi-predators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthworksjax.com\/landscape\/koi-predators\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida: Land of Flowers and Koi Predators"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Florida is Spanish for \u201cland of flowers\u201d and for koi hobbyists, it also represents a land of abundant predators. \u201cI never had a need to keep koi,\u201d said Jan Brown, past president North Florida Koi Club<\/a>. \u201cI wanted to grow water lilies. I did grow water lilies. I also grew designer mosquitoes and here\u2019s where the long, slippery slide into koi keeper begins.\u201d Along with the flowering foliage, water gardens, and koi came predators, many that are found elsewhere in the United States and notable exotic invasive species, especially in South Florida.
The Great Blue Heron may be one of the best-known koi predators which have an interesting history of its own. A century ago, herons nearly disappeared as a result of hunters killing them to harvest their plumes for women\u2019s hats. They made a dramatic comeback from near extinction in part because of the proliferation of koi in hobbyist\u2019s ponds. The heron has religious significance in Japan dating back to the Heian period (700 to 1100 A.D.) and the Shinto Sagi-mai or White Heron Dance as it is also known. The dance is still performed today by dancers in heron-shaped costumes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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“File:Senso-ji Shirasagi-no-mai 20130414.jpg<\/a>” by Tak1701d<\/a> is marked with CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cKoi are a large fish but it seems to be a game for the herons to spike them in the head, often resulting in death by blunt force or a secondary bacterial infection invading the wound,\u201d wrote Doug Ward, Tropical Koi Club<\/a>\u2019s former vice president, and aqua-culturist.
While they may harm koi, harming these birds is strictly prohibited by way of numerous laws including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which was entered into with Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia.
\u201cYesterday the netting over one nursery tank was removed to enable routine maintenance,\u201d said Joe White, Florida East Coast Koi and Water Garden Society president and AKCA director. \u201cIn the evening, I realized I had not put the netting ring back over the tank and hurriedly laid it on the tank with minimal fastening. In the morning this visitor attracted attention by its loud clucks and sounds of thrashing as it tried to escape from under the protective netting. The bird had successfully maneuvered his way into the tank through an open area. A dead, apparently regurgitated, three-inch koi was floating on the water surface. Mr Green Heron flew away once freed from the tank\u2019s enclosure. Hopefully, the bird will breakfast elsewhere from now on.\u201d
Around Florida, such stories are nearly as common as sightings of these magnificent predators themselves. \u201cI lost four of my oldest and largest koi,\u201d said Frank Scanlan. \u201cThey were about five years old and the largest probably 15\u201d+ were lost to a Blue Heron that was frequenting our pond in Coral Springs, Florida. I ended up running several monofilament lines randomly across the top of the pond about three feet above the surface. I haven\u2019t noticed any fish missing since.\u201d<\/p>\r\n