Jumping shubunkin

[MermaidTracy]

My 2 yr old shubunkin has started jumping a lot. I have tested the oxygen and ph and it's all good. Any suggestions?

 

[Lisak1]

Can you define “good”? What’s the actual readings?

 

[WaterGardener]

You should also test for ammonia, nitrite, with an "i", and nitrate, with an "a". Also KH.

Please do those tests with the liquid type test kits and post the numbers here. That will give us a better understanding of the water quality.

 

[MermaidTracy]

I tested kh last night and it was low at 50. I added 4 table spoons of baking soda. It is up to about 100 this am

 

[MermaidTracy]

My oxygen and nitrates are within range. Oxygen is a liquid test so there's no number just a color. I have a fountain and also an air stone. It's not a huge pond and the wind has been crazy these past few days. I'm thinking that may have caused the kh drop

 

[WaterGardener]

Wind won't cause KH to fall. It naturally drops over time so needs to be monitored regularly.

Do you have an ammonia test, or nitrite? Those are important to know, too.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'll go another route here it maybe gill flukes, or even chlorine . So I'd start with the dechlorinator dose for the whole pond won't hurt anything. And gill flukes are semi easy you want prazi but before you go that route if you don't have one yet a cheap microscope and slides are your next investment be it mild. Go to you tube and watch how you check for gill flukes. Other than a snip of the gill. It's the same process for costa and other parasites. But generally fish don't jump unless there's a problem or chasing and spawning in the wild.

 

[Lisak1]

Mine will jump on occasion in an attempt to avoid spawning activity. We've also seen a bit of jumping from time to time when there are small bugs on or near the surface of the water. Both typically last an hour or two - not a long term issue.

But generally speaking this is a sign of some kind of irritant. How big is your pond? How many fish? What kind of filtration? Have you added anything to the pond - new fish, new treatment, water top off, etc?

 

[MermaidTracy]

I don't know how big it is as far as gallons but it's about 6x3 and 2 ft. I have 4 fish with an oase filtration and pump. Nothing new has been added they survived winter just fine

 

[MermaidTracy]

Wind won't cause KH to fall. It naturally drops over time so needs to be monitored regularly.

Do you have an ammonia test, or nitrite? Those are important to know, too.

Yes I did all of those tests and the only one that was not in range was kh

 

[WaterGardener]

As GBBBUD said it could be flukes. I prefer to use Fluke-M over Prazi. It seems to be more effective to me. It can be found on eBay if you choose to go that way.

 

[MermaidTracy]

I will take him out of the pond and get a closer look. Thank u!

 

[WaterGardener]

Flukes are not visible to the eye. A microscope is necessary to see them.

But treating them won't hurt and most all fish have flukes to some degree. Some fish keepers treat once or twice a year as a preventative.

 

[Mmathis]

My first thought was, maybe it’s spawning behavior?

 

[MermaidTracy]

Idk???