Why Are My Koi Jumping And Flashing Against The Side Of My Fish Pond
Koi Jumping And Flashing May Be A Sign Of Parasite Infections Or Pond Water Impurity
Are your Koi jumping or scratching themselves against the available surfaces in your pond? Have they lost their appetite? If so then these are classic symptoms of excess TDS (total dissolved salts), poor water quality, pond fish parasite infestations or they are spawning.
Koi fish, although extremely good swimmers and jumpers, when it suits do
not normally exhibit this type of behavior as a matter of course. Remember
that it is normal however for your Koi to scratch or itch themselves.
If on the other hand all the pond fish are doing this at the same time then something is wrong.
When a Koi carp is seen jumping it is normally for one of the following reasons:
They are trying to get more oxygen into their gills. Oxygen levels are lower in warm pond temperatures due to warm water being unable to hold as much oxygen as cold water.
A jumping Koi may be the end result of a parasite infection or as a result of gill filament damage.
Backyard ponds with excess heavy metals, such as Copper and irritating chemicals such as chlorine, will sometimes manifest itself in your Koi jumping.
During the mating season and when spawning, Koi can be seen jumping with joy. A tell tale symptom however will be foaming on the pond surface and eggs. As for them not eating; well they have got something else on their minds!
Poor pond water quality problems such as excess TDS (Total Dissolved Salts) may cause your Koi to jump. You are more likely to see them swimming erratically, lifting their heads out of the pond water or scratching or itching themselves against the pond walls (flashing).
Barley straw in addition to being a cure for blanket weeds and string algae is also useful for removing excess Total Dissolved Salts (TDS). Barley straw pellets also use up heavy metals as well.
If you suspect that your Koi have a parasitic infection, it might be a good idea to try Microbe Lift Aqua Xtreme before you start rounding them up for a scraping or gill biopsy. This is much less likely to cause Koi stress, a much talked about and bad thing as far as your Koi population are concerned.
Around 90% of all pond water quality issues can be prevented by installing a biological pond filter designed for the size of the pond that you have. The installation of an ultraviolet clarifier or ultraviolet sterilizer will also keep green pond algae hassles at bay.
