Question
We have 6 x 10/11 year old Orfe and 4 x 3-year-old (home bred) Orfe in a 9000litre pond and I noticed that one of the mature ones has very recently changed from the normal pale gold to a redder gold colour.  It's also been hiding in the marginal plants and sometimes puts the top of it's head (but not mouth)out of the water.  I think the water condition must be OK because they all had a breeding frenzy about 10 days ago.  Any ideas on what might be wrong with it?  Is there anything I can do?  Another mature fish had Dropsy so I had to take it out and kill it but that was a couple of months ago and it had different symptoms.  That was the first fish illness we'd had in seven years of pond keeping.  Thanks

Answer
Wow, you have some nice old orfe in there, breeding too!  Fish in general are able to change colors to some degree, some species more than others.  Orfe though usually don't change much in color aside from varying shades of orange.  If the orfe wasn't hanging in the shallows, I would say don't worry.  That fact that the fish is may indicate a problem.  Spawning is a stressful time.  That could be part of it.  I would also be sure that you have good strong aeration as orfe need a lot of oxygen.  Despite the name of this site, I am not an expert and am not sure what else to suggest.  If you can find a fish vet in your area or someone in a local pond club, they may know more.  Good luck!

Robyn