Why has my golden orfe got a curved spine?
Golden orfe are actually prone to a number of spinal deformities, including a disease similar to scolliosis. GEnerally this is caused by over breeding. Many fish breeders breed within a small group of stud fish, who are completely genetically pure orfe. This breeding may mean fish coming from the same parents breed together, increasing the risk of genetic malfunction and errors. This problem seems to occur more in fish bred outside the Japanese traditional breeders. Outside of Japan, the number of pure bred fish is fewer than in Japan and so the gene pool is smaller. The fish will not be affected in terms of their life in the pond, but if the curvature is particularly bad, or if the fish struggles to swim or keep it’s gills under water then it may be better to humanely put it out of it’s misery. You wouldn’t want to see a fish suffer for the sake of it. One fish in my own pond has had a similar problem for 2 years now and seems to be OK. If possible buy fish directly from Japan, where
