koi carp with a cat next door

longwalks1

we are currently designing our back garden and thought about koi carp in a small water feature/pond area (our garden is approx 50ft x 60ft). Next door have 2 cats, so would they be an issue if we got koi?

And i'm assuming not all koi carp cost thousands of pounds?

Only in idea stage at present, so any positive or negative points greatly appreciated

Catswhiska

Ideally you would net it over anyway to prevent the dreaded herons. Koi can be bought fairly cheaply when young. Netting can be black in colour and hardly noticeable. You may be better with goldfish as koi can get quite large

longwalks1

Catswhiska wrote: »

Ideally you would net it over anyway to prevent the dreaded herons. Koi can be bought fairly cheaply when young. Netting can be black in colour and hardly noticeable. You may be better with goldfish as koi can get quite large

Thanks Catswhiska
Can goldfish grow to larger than those you'd win at a fair? (excuse my ignorance - am new to ponds etc for the garden)

Catswhiska

Goldfish can grow to nearly a foot in the right pond and live a long time

Silvertabby

Some of the koi carp in our local aquatic centre are bigger than my cat !

Don't use netting, though, as wildlife can get tangled in it. You can buy specially designed decorative metal grilles to fit over the top.

malebolge

I bought these last year - they're wildlife friendly and have kept the dreaded herons (and my own cat) away from the pond: https://www.netfloat.co.uk/

Francesanne

Whatever fish you decide to opt for, make sure they're well protected. We have smallish pond and recently lost all our goldfish we believe to a heron. Was heartbreaking and still upset over their loss. Especially as we'd watched them grow and mature over the last couple of years.
They'd survived the snow and ice only to disappear without trace. We do get occasional cat in garden but we have 2 dogs and cats don't stay very long.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

I would not worry about the cats, put a net up to stop the herons!

Davesnave

Is it just me, or or there are others out there that think carp keeping is a total waste of time, and an expensive one at that?

Despite visiting garden and aquatic centres regularly, I've never seen anything remotely attractive in all the paraphenalia used to keep these fish happy. Even the best landscapers seem to struggle when given £thousands to throw at the job.

When the average person assembles all the kit they need, there's nothing very natural about the result; it usually looks like something from 'DIY SOS!'

As for, the racket the pumps and filters make; I'd guess that could be ameliorated with the outlay of even more cash to house them silently, but often it doesn't happen. It certainly hadn't in a garden I visited on open gardens day, where we heard it from a neighbouring property long before we got to see this wondrous monstrosity, like some mini hydro-electric scheme. I hope the neighbour didn't have any incontinence issues.....

Don't get me wrong; I love wildlife ponds, or even those with a few expendable goldfish, but carp.....well, rearrange the letters!

DaftyDuck

I grow the herons to keep the village on their toes!

shortcrust

DaftyDuck wrote: »

I grow the herons to keep the village on their toes!

I'm developing net resistant cats!