Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations DEAD COON contaminates broodfish pond

First: I'm not going to mention the name of the supplier on this Forum....

I'm worried.

Few weeks back, I bought various sizes of baitfish from a source. I guide on some East Texas lakes, and needed a reliable source of large baitfish, thought I'd buy these.. put them in my 3/4 acre baitfish pond (along with the fatheads, golden shiners, bluegills and redear..
Seine or trap them out as needed... That was the plan :p

The baitfish arrived and I took the boxes down to the pond for release. The largest size was opened and, after acclimating them to the water temp, were released into the pond. Most all were in good shape.

The next box was opened and contained a smaller size. About 85-90% were dead as a hammer, and the few that were still alive were on there way out. I released them and the ALL stayed at the release area until the varmints came to feast.........

Called the supplier and was told that this was next to impossible. "Their baitfish just never died." After a fairly heated discussion, they agreed to replace fish.

Next week the replacement fish arrive. Met FedX at my gate and immediately zipped fish to pond. Local County Extension Agent was helping me with some wildlife conservation projects and helped open package.

This time they were ALL DOA.

Following Monday moring I get a call from supplier. Wanted to know how my fish were doing..
I told him, All Dead. He replied that he was following up on shipments because they were getting numerous calls about dead fish.

I asked him for a remedy. He said he would get back with me as he had a "high dollar biologist" checking the ponds and fish. Guess maybe they are mortal and DO have a problem from time to time which is completely understandable.

Missed a call from him Friday, returned the call today.

Today's conversation (paraphased)..

Did you figure out problem with your fish?

Yeah, that biologist lady was looking for diseases/parasites in the fish, but overlooked water quality issue.

Huh?

Yeah, there was a DEAD COON in the pond and it was causing all the problems.

Huh? You know I've dumped two bags of these fish in my pond, and I'm concerned.

No problem.. Strictly a water quality problem on our side. You have nothing to worry about

Tell you what.. don't send any more replacement fish. Just credit my Visa card.

I'm a tad concerned.
Any input?

Sorry to hear about your problems. I've encountered my shared of problems too with fish delivery. From bullheads, to dead fish, to sick fish. That's one of the reasons why this forum is so valuable. Helps to sort through all of the reasons and solutions.

That said, what exactly would be your concern with the dead coon in the other pond? I don't know how big their ponds were, but dead mammals in ponds certainly don't help the water quality any. But I'm having a hard time visualizing how that would equate to a problem with your pond. I'd guess any bacteria present in the pond of origination would be fairly ubiquitous species.

I hope you get credited OK, michauxii. At least now we know the story.

Reminds me of the pond in Dances With Wolves before Kevin Costner cleaned it out, although nowhere near as bad.

Hey Bruce...

Here's my take on the coon deal. I'm skeptical as heck.

Fish were delivered to several customers. They were sick or DOA. And the reason is "a dead coon in the pond."

Maybe so.. But I'm having a hard time buying it.

Packing expensive (these are fairly pricey) baitfish in contaminated water?? I Guess it could happen.

I'm more concerned that there might be something else going on here, and that the fish in my pond could possibly become diseased. We'll have to wait and see.

*** When initially dealing with the employee that oversees these baitfish, I felt that I was getting a "run-around" regarding replacement of the first dead shipment..

I asked to speak with the owner. Employee said, "if you bother Mr. _______, he won't replace the fish at all! AND.. "he will put you on a list that states we are NEVER AGAIN to sell to you."

With that prevailing attitude and customer service, I really don't trust ANY information I might get from him.

Mich, Im with you. Who needs these guys.

Call your credit card company and dispute the charge. There are several good suppliers in East Texas...mailing fish adss another dimension in 90+ degree weather anyway - but thats a whole other issue...

I see your point. Often times people who are responsible for customer service "tip off" their true intents by some of the subtle (and not so subltle in your case) things that they say. If the intent is just to make the maximum amount of money, then it's pretty easy to see through their baloney.

The various suppliers that I've dealt with who are on the Pond Boss forum have it down pat. Give up the fast easy buck early by treating the client with respect and fairness, then create a good loyal customer for the long run profit.

I think your intuition is serving your well on this situation.

One of the best fish suppliers I have ever dealt with up here in the north is a guy by the name of Dan Laggis of Laggis Fish Farm in Gobles, Michigan. It's not unusual for me not to have a single mortality after I haul them and the fish are clean and very healthy. I don't know what Dan is doing on his farm but he really must know what he's doing.

I'm also skeptical about the dead coon story. I can't imagine a coon dying in a pond unless it was pretty sick. Unless it was a pretty small pond, I can't see how it would do a lot of contaminating. Most fish stockers, that I know, keep an awful close watch on their ponds and holding tanks. They seine, sort by size, bag with oxygen, and ship. They usually come out of aerated concrete holding tanks after sorting. I'm inclined to think that the oxygen tank might have been contaminated. However, that doesn't explain why the larger fish were mostly OK and the smaller fish were dead.

Just thinking. It could be that the fish were put into separate holding tanks after being sorted by size. There might be an issue with one or more of the tanks.

I agree with Gator. Call your Credit card company. I doubt that the threat about not selling you any more fish will keep you awake nights.

I would be skeptical about the dead coon story too. If I were to pick a more likely cause, it would be the high water temperatures, July and August are not good months for moving and stocking fish.

I appreciate all the replies. Will keep you posted to the outcome..

Thanks!

If the water killed the coon, I'm not surprised it killed the fish as well

I remember pulling a rotting "raccoon" out of the pond a couple years back. We thought it might have fallen through the ice or something because we had some thicker than normal ice that winter. It was a very unpleasant surprise when I snagged it.

It could have just been a fat cat or something else. But it was floating near shore so we ended up removing it with trash bags. I don't know what effect it had on water quality or the fish except for a nasty film around the corpse. I do know that after awhile the fishing was a bit better in that area.