Are Golden Orfe Good Pond Fish?

September/October 2007

Dick Schuck

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Are you a little bored with goldfish and fed up with the sometimes-destructive behavior of koi? If you are looking for a change, then you need to try the Golden Orfe. But even if you aren’t any of the above, Golden Orfe are worth a try in your pond. They are so good that I’ve considered getting rid of my goldfish and koi and just having Orfe.

Orfe are attractive torpedo shaped fish, yellow orange in color, often with black spots on the head and silvery flanks that are fairly deep. When mature, they grow a noticeable hump just behind the head. They’re very fast and feed primarily on the surface. They eat insects, small worms and possibly fish fry. They like to swim in groups or shoals. As far as I know, they don’t eat algae or other vegetable matter. They grow to about 1.5’ maybe 2’ depending on the pond. I’ve never seen them harass other fish or each other.

What I like most about the Orfe is their unusual behavior. My wife and I call them the dolphins of the pond. Besides being great jumpers, they exhibit group behavior that I’ve never witnessed in other fish. In mid summer, when the water is warm, they will gather in a group usually under the shade of an overhanging bush. They will shimmy and shake as if using a secret sign language to communicate with each other. Then, taking turns, they’ll dart a few feet out into the open and then dart back into the group. What causes this behavior? Is it the hot sun and the warm water? I don’t know the answer, but it is great fun to watch.

They prefer cool water to warm and need lots of oxygen. An air stone or tumbling water- fall is not a bad idea. Afternoon shade during really hot weather may be a necessity. It’s rumored that they’re more sensitive to chemicals than other fish. I’ve never seen this, but it is probably something to be cautious about. I use a variety of fish treatments and none have ever affected the Orfe unfavorably. Several of my customers have witnessed the Orfe swimming down a waterfall to a lower pond. I’ve never seen koi and goldfish do anything like this.

These unusual fish are native to Europe and are considered game fish. In their wild state they have a silver color and some even exhibit blue and marbled coloring. Over there they are known as Ide.

They are my favorite pond fish, and they don’t seem to get goldfish and koi diseases. This is a great characteristic for sure. Try them; I know that you will like them.

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Comments

How do Golden Orfe live with koi and goldfish?

We have a fish pond with several koi and goldfish that I refuse to give up (we've had most of them since we got the pond 5 yrs ago) but I wouldn't mind mixing it up by adding some orfe to it.

1. Posted on July 15th, 2010 at 4:27 pm.

By nate.

Orfe are insect eating surface feeders and pose no threat to Koi. In fact, Orfe are less damaging to the pond ecology. They do not disturb the plants or roil the bottom. They are my favorite pond fish.

Dick

2. Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 9:19 am.

By Dick Schuck of Maryland Aquatic Nurseries.

Golden orfe (Leucius idus ) is in the same family of fishes (cyprinidae ) found throughout Europe and asia where they inhabit rivers ponds and lakes.

There preferred water temperatures are not as wide as koi although they can and do inhabit koi ponds in the northern parts of the USA where temperatures stay below 70 degrees F. Short durations of higher temps can be tolerated but not preferred.

These fish are fairly quick darting to the surface to grab some pellets and back down. They are not aggressive and do well with koi and goldfish .

The Orfe ... or Ide as the regular blueish grey color variant can grow to a maximum of 18-30 inches and have a fairly long lifespan

In the past, Orfes were available for wholesale purchase from Hunting Creek Fisheries in Thurmont Maryland. where they have been grown for generations.

Prior to ordering or stocking these fish , check your local state regulations as they are illegal in some states.

Hope this helps !

3. Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 9:21 am.

By Joe Pawlak of Blackwater Creek Koi Farms Inc.

will a golden orfe eat leftover goldfish food?

4. Posted on February 11th, 2011 at 12:18 pm.

By Jimmy.

Orfe are surface feeders and eat goldfish food, but I have never seen them eat leftover food off the bottom.

5. Posted on February 12th, 2011 at 8:58 am.

By Dick Schuck of Maryland Aquatic.

i have kept golden orfe with koi and also one sturgeon for at least ten years, they do like to eat chrsyalis from magots all the year round,and yes they will feed on these from surface to bottom of pond and also pick them up from the bottom

6. Posted on June 30th, 2011 at 8:50 am.

By john brown of j.a brown.

Every year we have orfe babies, usually a dozen and the
population seemed to be under control as some didn't survive the winter but this year they had at least a hundred babies!

Should I do something?

7. Posted on July 25th, 2011 at 8:03 am.

By Sara.

Revel in your good fortune. The population will take care of itself.

8. Posted on July 27th, 2011 at 12:20 pm.

By Richard Schuck of Maryland Aquatic Nurseries.

I have a single 10" Orfe in a pond with a mix of a ghost and mirror carp. The Orfe, up until a week ago, was quite an aggressive eater, pushing through the throng to get to the food. Now, I haven't seen it eat a pellet in at least 6 days.

Have read that they can be choosy when it comes to their processed pellet food. As I cannot see any fungal or physical injuries (just netted and checked), is there anything else I should be looking for?

9. Posted on July 28th, 2011 at 10:07 am.

By AGCG.

Just for clarification, I'm in the UK and the temps over the last two weeks have been bouncing from the low teens to the upper 20' Celsius. Doesn't seem to have effected the other stock though (the Orfe being the largest in the water).

10. Posted on July 28th, 2011 at 11:30 am.

By AGCG.

have just bought some goldfish for my pond as one i put in the pond a day ago has gone , so bought some more 3 put them in 15 mins later sitting watching then a large orf cam and ate them 1 after another, THOUGHT THEY WERE INSECT FEEDERS.????????????????

11. Posted on July 30th, 2011 at 8:50 am.

By brian.

Hi Brian,

Sorry to hear this happened to you.

In the second paragraph of the article it says "They eat insects, small worms and possibly fish fry." So yes they eat more then just insects.

Thanks for sharing.

Cindy
POND Trade Magazine

12. Posted on July 31st, 2011 at 10:22 am.

By Cindy Graham of POND Trade Magazine.

To AGCG

When fish stop eating, it usually indicates a health problem. I don't think it would suddenly stop liking the pellet food. It may be getting enough natural food (insects) off the surface. My best guess is that its sick.

Dick

13. Posted on August 15th, 2011 at 3:44 pm.

By Richard Schuck of Maryland Aquatic Nurseries,Inc.

A few weeks ago I bought a 10cm golden orfe to join my goldfish, shubunkin and koi. At first it swam around with the other fish and seemed perfectly normal. Then it started just being on its own and not joining the other fish when I fed them (it swam a lot at the surface but I think this is normal for the species).

I read that orfe like to be in groups - does the group have to be made up of other orfe fish or can it join the goldfish, shubunkin and koi (which all hang out together anyway)?

Then today I went to inspect the pond and the orfe has completely DISAPPEARED!!! I looked everywhere under all the rocks as well as all around the edge to see if it jumped out. I haven't seen any birds near the area ever (heron is too scared to go so near the house). What do you think happened? I am sad :(

14. Posted on September 3rd, 2011 at 12:41 pm.

By Elsa.

The Golden Orfe is a pond fish that is native to many small European rivers, but does very well in our Fish Ponds. Golden Orfe are school fish that need to be kept in a group of at least 3, or they will hide. Each Golden Orfe has a unique pattern of brown spots in the back, by one each fish can easily be identified (sort of like a human finger print). Golden Orfes are very fast swimmers and need a Fish Pond of at least 500 gallons or they will jump out. They have a very high need for oxygen and can usually be found near the surface of the water. The high need for Oxygen also means that they are only sold as fingerlings (very small, usually in the 2" - 4" range.

15. Posted on September 14th, 2011 at 9:08 am.

By Cindy.