"Elaine T" wrote in message
m...
George wrote:


I don't know what calander you use, but mine says that it is spring already.
The green water should be a clue. If you had fish jumping out before, and
replaced them with more fish, who are now jumping out, you likely have water
quality problem. I would do at least a 50% water change immediately,
followed by a 10% change in about a week. You need to get whatever (probably
ammonia or very high nitrates) is irritating them out of the water. You
probably also need to add more water flow/aeration, at a minimum. Is your
pond filtered? Another possibility is that they are mating (yes, it's just
about that time of year).
Thanks. It's definately spring here. I'm in zone 10.
Lessee...

I tested and water is 0/0/5 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, pH 7.0. I seeded
bacteria from my indoor fish tanks and added a lot of plants at the start so I
never really saw any ammonia or nitrites. Gambusia to went in about 6 weeks
ago, and I added some white clouds 4 weeks ago. The white clouds have spawned
and fry are alive, consistent with very good water quality.

Volume is approx. 70 gallons across 3 whisky barrels connected with DIY
spillways. The spillways stop about 2" from the water surface to get a bit of
splash, pleasant sound, and good aeration. Circulation is strong at about 200
gph, filtration is a sponge prefilter over cages of bio balls.

Due to problems with the spillways leaking and having to drain for repairs,
I've been unintentionally changing about 15-20 gallons a week.

I think the green water is from a sudden change to warmer weather and a lot of
sunlight. From what I've been reading, I'll have trouble with various sorts
of algae until about 2/3 of the pond surface is covered with floating plants
or shaded by marginals and they haven't gotten that far yet.

So, as far as I know there is nothing about the water itself that would cause
a fish to jump out. I've been keeping aquaria for a long time and understand
basic fish needs. However, I'm new to goldfish and ponds. Do you think one of
the jumpers could have been a female without eggs trying to escape an overly
amorous male?


Well, it is possible that since you only have 70 gallons, that you may have too
many large fish in your barrel pond and they are simply competing for mates and
for space. I have 2 shubukins and have never had a problem with them jumping,
but then, my pond is 12'x4'x45" deep, at around 1200-1400 gallons. In three
years, I've had one goldfish jump out, but that was after a heavy rain storm
last summer when my pond got to about 2 inches from the top. Here is a picture
of my pond that also describes my filtration system:

http://home.insightbb.com/~jryates/filter.htm