Koi and Pond Fish - Pond Inhabitants

Orfe - Orfe are usually sold as a small yellow "minnow" which has a reputation for being peaceable and enjoyable to keep. Indeed, this is true. Orfe grow up to be a sizeable fish with a flashy silver-yellow coloration. The one drawback with Orfe is that they will survive almost no treatment which you might someday need to apply to the rest of the fish. This basically means that when you choose to add Orfe to your collection, you're adding a fish which will have to be removed from the system every time you treat with the customary medications. In some ponds, removal of such fish is neither easy nor practical. Sparing the fish from treatment may also result in the Orfe carrying a disease and reinfecting your collection. Personally, I would not own Orfe due to their frailty under most treatment conditions.

 Mosquito fish - These little live bearing guppies are excellent at pursuing and reducing the numbers of mosquito larvae that can exist in ponds. Mosquito fish are hardy, cheap and prolific. You don't need to buy dozens of these. They will procreate and make plenty more. The only problem is that Mosquito fish are the filthiest fish in the whole of creation. They are an excellent fish for students of parasitic diseases because it's not rare to find a single fish with all seven of the "big-name" parasites on it. Quarantine of any mosquito fish intended to reside with your dear collection is highly commendable.

 Tilapia - These are becoming more and more popular each year. Sometimes they're called

by various Asian names but the shape of the fish is a dead giveaway. Be careful! these fish are prolific breeders, but they all die in the Fall when temperatures plunge to winter-temperate levels. What this represents is a major pollution-risk as hundreds of the little fish die off in the Fall and begin to decay in the pond. Imagine the frustration of having purchased these fish only to have to net them all up in the Fall before winter sets in. And what will you do with the hundreds of recovered fish?

 Plecostomus - This suckermouth catfish is a common resident in the indoor tropical fish aquarium, but most people do not know that they flourish in the outdoor pond. They usually do a superior job of removing algae from the sides of the pond and they are peaceable and grow very quickly to become and impressive an valuable specimen. In the Fall, when temperatures drop into the low sixties, the Plecostomus will have to be removed to an indoor vat or tank for maintenance over winter. The local pet shop will usually be very excited to have a large Plecostomus returned in exchange for a couple of small ones. Plecostomus are extremely resistant to disease. They are not very safe to keep in small facilities (under 100 gallons) with Koi because they have been known to suck on or rasp the flanks of the larger Koi and cause fish, causing them bodily harm. I always have Plecostomus in my ponds and I remove them in the Fall if I am not heating the respective pond.