Question
I have an outdoor pond 10' by 15' and 30" deep populated by 5 Koi, 4 Goldfish and 2 Orphs.  The pond freezes every winter.  All the fish have been very healthy for about 10 years.  However, last week  one of the orphs stopped eating, except for one bite of food, and appears to be sluggish, (hangs out at the waterfall or bottom of the pond).  There are no wounds or other unusual things on the body.

My guess is either he (she) has an object stuck in the throat or the life span of a well tended orph  is about 10 years.  What do you think?

Answer
My orfe are 8-years-old.  I'm pretty sure that they should live into their teens at least but I've not heard definitive information on that.  How big are your orfe?  Your pond size is not that different from my own.  My orfe don't normally come up to eat with the other fish, preferring to patrol at lighting speed for something to eat.  The fact that your orfe is not moving much and hanging in a high oxygen area indicates that something may be wrong.  First, rule out pH problems, high ammonia, and low oxygen.  Then, look for any symptoms on the fish.  Often, we can't tell why a fish isn't feeling well as it's often internal.  I assume the orfe is big so removing him/her for treatment in quarantine would be more stressful than leaving him/her there.  We can only hope that the orfe is just feeling temporarily ill and will recover.  Fish do sometimes get something stuck in their mouths but you should be able to see that (the mouth would be stuck open, or the fish would mouth a lot).  Good luck!

Robyn
fishpondinfo.com