If you have noticed your koi fishes jumping in their pond, you might get a little worried as you might think that something is entirely wrong with them.
You really do not have much to worry about as the causes of this behavior can be a good thing and a bad thing (even if it is a bad thing, it is not the worst-case scenario) So why do koi fishes jump?
Koi fishes jump in their pond for a number of reasons. It can be due to poor water quality, lack of oxygen, they are being chased around, or they simply just want to jump. You do not have to be alarmed when this happens occasionally as there are quick solutions that you can do.
So now that you might have calmed down a bit as you know there is not much to worry about, we should state that if this jumping behavior happens more often than it should, then there is definitely something wrong in their pond.
With that said, just keep on reading to know the different ways you can handle this situation.
Why Do Koi Fish Jump: The Reasons
Let us go right down to business so that it will be easier for you to determine the solution that you can do. Keep in mind that when you see one or two koi fishes jump in their pond, it does not necessarily mean that it is one of these causes.
Once it happens periodically wherein there are a lot of koi fishes involved, then that is the time to know that there is something wrong with their enclosure. In such a case where you see a couple of fishes jump in their pond, let us say at least once or twice every two weeks, then all is fine.
With that said, it is still best to check their pond to see if everything is A-okay just to be on the safe side. You should never leave the health of your koi fishes to chance, right?
1. Quality Of The Water
As koi fishes thrive in a natural environment, just like your outdoor pond, you might think that the water conditions will always be right and nature will find its way to correct any imbalances.
However, the truth is, you really have to get your hands dirty and see for yourself if the quality of the water is good in your pond.
First off, it is apparent that the water in your pond may contain both chlorine and chloramine. These two chemicals are toxic to your koi fishes. Even if you treat the water that you use in your pond beforehand, there will always be some trace of these chemicals.
In fact, even if there is a low concentration of these chemicals, your koi fishes will still be able to detect their toxicity by the use of their gills. Therefore, if there is a high concentration of these chemicals, they can burn your koi fishes.
In turn, they will keep on jumping in their pond in order to prevent distress. The same goes for the build-up of carbon monoxide and ammonia in the water.
These two chemicals are produced in the water due to the waste of your koi fishes as well as the everyday processes of other live organisms in the pond.
2. Lack Of Oxygen
This is one of the leading causes as to why your koi fish are trying to jump out of their pond. Of course, if there is not enough oxygen, they will try their hardest to go up the surface of the water to get some of it.
This can be caused by the build-up of chemicals in the water or faulty filtration systems.
We have already discussed the carbon monoxide and ammonia issues and what it does to your koi fishes, but now you see that it does not only affect the quality of the water, but it also hinders the proper supplementation of oxygen.
In addition, having a faulty filtration system can cause the nitrate levels in your pond to spike. Nitrate is the result of the nitrification process of the ammonia of the filter system. This chemical is still dangerous but it is slightly less toxic compared to ammonia.
However, your filtration system should be able to get rid of the nitrate. If there is too much of it, it can also lessen the oxygen in your pond. The existence of this chemical also hinders the absorption of carbon dioxide from the plants.
In turn, the plants will not effectively release oxygen, which will then further urge your koi fishes to look for a different source of oxygen.
3. Overall Health Of The Koi Fish
You should ask these questions if the two causes that we previously discussed are not the problems:
- Are your koi fish generally healthy?
- Did they suffer from a viral infection, bacterial infection, or parasites?
- Did you add new koi fishes to the pond?
Any of those three questions can explain why your koi fishes are jumping in their pond. First off, if they are healthy then everything is well. You can just blame their jumping behavior to overexcitement.
On the other hand, if you know that one or two of your koi fishes are sick and you suddenly see other fishes jumping in the pond, they are simply acknowledging the fact that one or more of their pond mates are sick.
It is interesting to note that koi fishes value their survival to a T, to even a point that they will try and evade from other koi fishes that are sick.
Lastly, if you added new koi fishes in the pond, you might notice that your koi fishes will jump in their pond. This is natural behavior as they are simply surprised by the burst in their population.
Although they cannot recognize new additions to the tank, they somehow know that that specific koi fish is not part of their “old population.”
4. Natural Behavior
Hopefully, this is the cause of your koi fish jumping dilemma as this cause is obviously harmless. When your koi fishes are chasing one another, there will be times that they will jump in the pond.
Further, if it is the mating season, they can behave in an erratic way which may cause them to jump as they bash against one another. Also, as they love to eat natural food like bugs and flies, they will occasionally jump in order to catch those insects.
More than that, they will just jump for no reason at all. So in this case, you have to be mindful that they still land in the water, as it can be dangerous if your beloved koi fish fell to the ground.
What To Do
Take a look at the different things that you can do in order to curb these jumping behaviors of your koi fishes.
Do A Water Treatment
You should do a water treatment every once in a while as you can never be sure that the water is free from chemicals. In fact, the Japanese do not experience this problem as they use mountain spring water for their koi fish ponds.
Obviously, this water is as pure and as clean as they come.
It is great if you have an ongoing supply of freshwater that trickles down to your pond as this will ensure that there is always new and clean water coming in.
Test For Ammonia And Nitrate
There are a lot of testing kits that you can purchase in the pet store and online stores to see if the levels of nitrate and ammonia are low. Of course, if you see that they are high, then that means that the level of oxygen in your pond is low. Therefore, you need to do a deep cleaning.
Check Your Filtration Systems
If you have been treating your water and making sure that the chemical levels in your pond are in check, but you keep on having problems, then there might be a problem with your filter. Make sure that the pumps are working fine and that there are no clogs.
We also recommend reading our following articles for further explanation:
Separate Ill Fishes
In such a case that you have a sick fish, be sure to separate him or her from the rest of your koi fishes. It is best to treat your sick koi fish separately in a tank so that he or she will not infect the other fishes.
More than that, the recovery of the koi fish will be faster as you are keeping a close eye on him or her.
Provide A Netting Or A Barricade
This is done in order to prevent any koi fishes from falling to the ground and hurting themselves. If they manage to jump out of their pond, at least there is something that can catch them and can immediately alert you to put them back in the water.