Question
My Koi and goldfish just recently started jumping out of the pond.  I have had to ask my friend to check on them once I go to work or they will die.  I always think that I am going to come home to some dead fish but they are still striving.  The other day one of my Koi jumped out and wasn't moving or flapping around like a normal fish out of water.  I put it back in the water and within seconds it started swimming like nothing happened.  Is this normal, is this how they act when they are breeding?  Please help any guidance would be appreciated.

Answer
Fish can jump out when breeding but that normally happens in the spring, and you would see them thrashing to spawn.  How big is the pond?  How long has it been set up?  How big are the fish?  Fish most often jump out during spawning, to try to swim upstream (what kind of water movement do you have), if they are itchy (parasites), or if they sense something is wrong with the water.  I suggest testing the water's pH, hardness, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and oxygen if you can.  Do you add anything to the water like dechlorinator or salt?  Both are good to add.  A salt level of 0.05% can help with many problems.  If the water has high ammonia, nitrite, chlorine, pesticides, heavy metals, etc., the fish may jump.  Water testing labs can test for those last two.  If you suspect heavy metals, dechlorinators usually bind those up so they are less toxic.  Do the fish have other symptoms?  If you contact your local koi club, they may be able to send someone out to do a scraping on the fish to test for and rule out parasites.  I hope things work out!