I really like them. Hopefully in the future I will be able to put in a bigger pond and I can try again with the Golden Orfes and do it right by getting about 5 or 6. For now I am going to pass on them as I see the advice the guy in the pond store told me that one was good, was wrong. Meantime I rewarded myself by going back to the pond store and buying two new fish. I got a stunner of a butterfly koi in a strange metalic almost mustard old gold color. I know that might not sound attractive but the fish is lovely. Also a most beautiful deep almost red "goldfish" with the most long, long, long tail and fins.

The first rule of fish keeping is if you take care of the water and the fish will take care of themselves. By now your fish should be used to the container and probably will not jump, it's usually fear of a new place. Ammonia is produced by fish waste. Eventually bacteria will grow that eat the ammonia and produce nitrite, which is also bad (but not as toxic). A little later other bacteria grow to eat nitrite and produce nitrate, which is plant food and your plants will eat it all up and close the cycle. The unfortunate problem is can take 2-3 months for this bacteria to grow on it's own (and it will). But up until that time you can loose fish. It's called new pond (or tank) syndrome, and also referred to as "cycling" your pond. A cycled pond has a good colony of bacteria living in there, and it is the prime filtration of any pond or tank. You can get test kits for all these chemicals at any pond or fish store. The strips are not as accurate as the drops but are OK to tell you if you have a problem or not. Until you get your pond cycled your only real method of keeping your fish safe is frequent water exchanges. If you measure high ammonia then change enough water to make it safe again. There are chemicals you can buy to "lock up" ammonia but I have no experience with them.

Fish produce ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to fish. It is also uncomfortable so that might cause them to jump. Fish poop, excess food and organic waste rotting on the bottom produce nitrites and toxic gases as well as being a home and nutrient source for anaerobic bacteria. That may not cause them to jump but it is unhealthy for the fish and for humans. (You might like the link below.) Ph is affected by many things including rain, organic matter etc. Koi do not tolerate water that is too acidic. They do much better in alkaline water. Nitrites and nitrates in the water will cause water problems and feed algae. KH is a measure of buffering capacity or resistance to change in PH. Knowing the levels of these is important to avoid a crash that can and will kill fish.That is where a test kit comes in. There are 3 types. The first is a research grade kit and while extremely accurate it is expensive and you don't need that level of results. The second type are strips that come in packs of fifty, are easy to use and can be frustratingly inaccurate unless fresh, properly stored and kept absolutely dry until you use them. Most of the ponders on this forum don't use them although a few do. I tried them, didn't like them. Half of what I bought were not accurate. The third while not as accurate as the first is totally adequate for your purposes. It contains liquid chemicals, test tubes color charts and instructions for the tests you need to do regularly. They run around $25 to $30. It is recommended that they be replaced each year but I have cheated and had good results when the kit was carefully stored. I don't push it though. It is not worth it to me if I lose a koi because of it. The next part is from a web site but is correct. "When to test. An established pond with healthy Koi fish should be checked every month. It is only when you notice something out of the ordinary, and possibly during seasonal changes, that an additional test or two might be prudent. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A simple test, at the right time, can prevent a minor problem from becoming a catastrophe. When starting up a new pond system, daily tests may be required then weekly for a couple of months until the system has stabilized." Right now your main concern should be ammonia. You have a lot of fish. Limits on the number of fish is usually figured by gallons of water to inches of fish. Since some of your fish are rather large you may very well be approaching the edge of disaster. The test kit will tell you. To reduce ammonia, you can aerate with a bubbler, agitate the water as with a waterfall or fountain or use a product to remove it chemically (I use a combination of Ammoblock and Activated carbon in a bag in the Skippy filter. It does a good job for my little pond) In any case, you need to test the water. Here is a link that might be useful: Ron's Pond Scum

Indeed, cats are very smart, but...they can lose all their intelligence when intent on chasing a passing bird or bug. A lot of cat fatalities have occurred by cats following potential prey out into space, then downwards to great injury. I like the suggestions of getting some sturdy custom screen panels. That's a beautiful balcony, but you are absolutely correct that your cats could find a way out and to great harm. Better safe than sorry!My kitty Zizu caused my breathing to cease for a moment when she blithely walked right through the vertical bars on my balcony railing and went strolling up and down the rail-less edge, then casually walked back to safety. I don't think 30 seconds elapsed after that before I had ordered some vinyl-coated 1/2" hardware cloth online and installed it the minute it arrived with cable ties. All is safe again in balcony-land!