you could let some neighbourhood cats at them...just kidding. but Clove Oil is a more humane way to get rid of them. it's a sedative for them and if you leave them in their long enough they will eventually die. I'm just not sure how long or how much to use.

but I'm pretty sure that if you wait little longer they pet shops will look into buying them, I'm doing the same with my koi, I went around and asked a couple stores and they agreed to buy some off me; when they get bigger that is. That or you could try and sell them on ebay.

to sedate a fish, you would use 8 drops of clove oil to a gallon of water. To kill one humanly, use about 30 drops of clove oil. It doesnt mix with water well, so use an egg beater or wisk to mix it well. then add the fish and leave them alone for a while. They should be dead within 10 minutes or so. Just to be safe, give them 20 minutes, then transfer them to the freezer. If they are not already dead, they will be fully sedated and will not feel a thing.

maybe the pet stores will take them on trade? food, supplies, etc.

yes, you basically over sedate with Clove Oil. leave them in there for a good 30 min. Some will then put them in the freezer to make sure they don't come out of the sedation before they die. But I never found that to happen. If the clove oil dose is strong enough they will never wake up.

Yow... Thanks for the tips. The clove oil sounds like a relatively pleasant way to send them to fishie heaven.

At least they'll be smelling good when they go. ;>

As for the neighborhood cats, I've seen both raccoon and bobcat tracks in the mud around the perimeter of the pond. So far it seems the fish are smart enough to hide in the cattails at night. Just as well as we've got some lovely koi that I'd hate to have get eaten.

I will try the pet stores again when the youngsters get a little bigger and more colorful. The fish-for-food trade idea is a good one. Shoot, I think I could be happy to give them away to the stores just so I wouldn't have to be the one to snuff the cute little buggers.

Ok...

Now I've got another problem.

These little fishies are fast!

I tried to net a few of them to to see if I could and discovered that they were agile and nimble enough to simply dart away from the net with impunity - I swear I think I hear a few of them laughing at my clumsy attempts to catch them.

What is the best way to snare these guys? My pond is a mid-sized mud/farm pond. It's easy for them to swim beyond the reach of any net on a stick. They do like their fish pellets, though. Is there someway to catch them using food as a lure? I'm envisioning something like a crab pot where they can swim in, but not be able to find their way out.

you could try getting som netting and with that lay in it in the pond and leave it there for a couple days so they are used to the area and on then throw pellets and raise it when they come. You might have to weight down the netting to make sure you get it down to the bottoms. Also watch it cause there might be fish stuck on the bottom and you might lose a couple.

the other idea i have is using netting as well but draging it across the pond, making sure your hitting bottom so you corner them in one area and you can just scoop them up.

The crab pot thing might not work cause if even if you come up with an idea, it might injure the fish.

How big is your pond and maybe get a fish that would eat the babies kinda like a natural way and if you never see them its a bit more "painless for you" just a thought

What about freecycle or craigslist, I am sure someone would love to have them,,hate to think of them being killed, before someone would have the chance to give them a great home

It's been over two years since my initial post and those little buggers are still too fast for me to net. Fortunately, Mother Nature has been doing a pretty good job of keeping the population to sustainable levels. The cranes, ducks, egrets, snakes and other assorted predators hunt the smaller fish and have left the larger ones alone. I think some of the smaller shubunkins may have succumbed during the winters as well.

This year, however, I'm afraid the four original koi may have bred. Some of the babies are much more colorful and seem to be getting bigger faster. So far the natural ecosystem of the pond has stayed healthy. I am able to top off the pond with untreated straight-from-the-Colorado-River agricultural water. Perfect for the fish. Maybe if they get big enough, they'll be easier to net and more attractive to the local pet stores. In the meantime,the native wildlife is probably enjoying the hors d'oeuvres.