Beaten up fish

[Kishimo]

This morning I found my fish near the surface of the water near my pond.  It looked like he was a bit ill so I got him out and it turns out he has large gashes on either side of his body.  They're near his gills and so deep that about half a centimetre of his skin/scales has been ripped off.  I'd guess that one of the other pond fish have had a go at him but don't know why, as they have all been living together for about 3 yrs.  One other fish looks as though it has happened to him as well. 

I've taken the ill fish out and put it into a small tank.

Can anyone suggest why this has happened, what I should do or if the fish will get better?

Thanks.

[Phantaxus]

If it is a heron attack then there is a good chance the herron will keep coming back, you will need get a net to cover your pond.You can get a plastic heron to stand by your pond that is supposed to keep other herons at bay but I have heard cases of them not working

[gastwo]

Mating frogs can also damage/kill pond fish. During the mating frenzy male frogs are known to attempt to couple with any moving object in the pond. The fish usually die through suffocation caused by the frog gripping the gills. Cant say I've noticed any gashes or injuries though, and our pond had shallow areas, ideal for frogs. Dont think it would happen so much in deeper water.

[Kishimo]

Phantaxus - We have a net over our pond as cats keep coming into the garden because some evil kitty killed our last fish (we learnt our lesson after that).

Gastwo - I think you might be right...last year a huge group of frogs turned up in our garden and one particularly large one did try to attack a fish...I guess they're probably back =(

[delilahcat]

I'd suggest having him checked out by a vet - he could be in a lot of pain and may need some sort of treatment.

[Kishimo]

Oh well...fishy died last nite   =(    thanks anyway   =)

[buchanan]

Commiserations on loss of Fishy.

I hate to ask but, did you bury or flush?

[Kishimo]

We buried the fishy, and also found out the reason it was injured...

We were emptying the pond to find out if any more fish had been injured and found at least three frogs in the bottom of the pond!  They were huge!  Looks like you were right Gastwo!