# Kid wants goldfish, any kind I can steer him to that's smaller?



## learn2turn (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm settin up a 10g for my kid. I let him look at fish at the store. No matter how I try to steer him to other varieties, he wants a cute little 2-3" goldfish. I'm told grows real big.

Now, I have a 29g in the basement and I could replace the 10g with in 6-12 months. I also have a friend with a pond I could donate a fish to in a year or two. But, I'd like to have the best chance possible with this thing in the 10g for as long as I can.

Is there a particular variety of gold fish that is least big at full grown size? I'd like to try to steer him toward that.


----------



## VincentM (Aug 8, 2008)

I have fancy goldfish, but goldfish non the less... I was told to have one in 30g minimum.

On more than one occasion people here have said you need 15g for the first goldfish, and 10 for the next... Now if you want 3 then you will need 35-45 gallons.


----------



## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

I'm afraid you will have to steer him towards the smaller tropical varieties..you should try him with dwarf gourami's or tetras?
A goldfish gets too big for that tank but I suppose you could get away with having a smaller variety and as it gets bigger take it to your friends pond, something like a black moor, shubunkin or possibly a fancy goldfish.


----------



## learn2turn (Aug 31, 2008)

nathanbarry said:


> I'm afraid you will have to steer him towards the smaller tropical varieties..you should try him with dwarf gourami's or tetras?
> A goldfish gets too big for that tank but I suppose you could get away with having a smaller variety and as it gets bigger take it to your friends pond, something like a black moor, shubunkin or possibly a fancy goldfish.


He really wants a goldfish so I think that's it. 

I might try now to steer him toward one that is okay outside. I always wanted a water garden. We have a nice deck in back where we eat out a lot, I could do a barrel pond on the deck next spring when it outgrows the tank (assuming it makes it that long).

-K


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Yeah, stick with the fancy types. Fantails, etc. Steer him AWAY from comets/common/feeder goldfish.


----------



## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Yeh, that would be good...black moors, fantails etc are relatively slow growers so he could live in the tank for about 8-12 months or so but must be moved to a pond or a bigger tank later on.


----------



## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

sometimes, there's just no way to reason with a child.

lay the law down, or upgrade as you go along in a timely fashion as you suggested.


----------



## learn2turn (Aug 31, 2008)

Well the too-big thing may have gotten through because now he says he wants an angle fish. From what I've read, a 10g is still a tad small for one angel. But it still isn't near as big as a goldfish and I still have the option of upgrading to the 29g.

Also, I'm trolling craigslist. Once in a while, you see something that's a steal. Giving it 6-9 months, I might find a good deal on a bigger setup.


----------



## learn2turn (Aug 31, 2008)

Well kids are either 100% stubborn or 100% fickle. Got him to the store. He got the point that some fish grow too big. So he started looking at the little community fish. He said I like this two, I like these other two, about ten times. I finally said to the FSG, get the net and the bag before he changes his mind an eleventh time. 

So we ended up with a honey dwarfg= gourami and a little silver tetra of some sort. FSG says would could even get a couple other community fish in the 10g.


----------



## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

no to be a wet blanket, but aren't you supposed to keep tetras in schools?


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

I would not listen to FSG's advice, honestly, I've rarely gotten good advice from them. I would add 4-5 more tetras (of the same species) and call the tank stocked.


----------



## learn2turn (Aug 31, 2008)

Searched around for images on the net, the tetra looks like the one linked below.
So, that type would be happiest in a school of a few?









http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2688170741_f6329405d2.jpg?v=0


----------



## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

pretty fish.


----------



## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Most Tetras are best in groups of 5 or 6 minimum. This keeps them happy and calm. They school and don't bite.


----------



## Daniel1 (Aug 30, 2006)

that's a white skirt tetra, I started my 10 gal tank with 5 white skirt tetra, they are really cool to watch, the bad thing is that they are usually painted by cruel people and sold as "Painted Tetra"
There is also a long finned variety but then you have to be careful with the fins. 
Please avoid any type of tattooed or painted fish


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Yeah, that looks to me like a painted tetra 

They're an albino form of black skirt tetras, that are artificially dyed. You didn't know before you bought it, if it is painted, just try and buy the normally colored ones from now on. You can keep a school of them in 10 gallons, but I'd really recommend at least a 20 gallon for them. They get about 3 inches and pretty wide.


----------



## gil_ong (Apr 15, 2008)

hang on. are we looking at the same pic?

what part of this fish is painted/dyed?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I don't see any paint, I think he means that that kind of tetra is one of those commonly dyed. So make sure you don't get a dyed one when you go to get more. The painted ones tend to have a shortened life span.


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Look at the top of the fish. It's blue. They aren't blue


----------



## learn2turn (Aug 31, 2008)

That picture is not my fish. I search the web for images of tetras and that's the one that looked most like my fish. Mine is the same shape and a slightly whiter color. I'm a noob, not and expert but I would think it's possible that the slightly bluish cast of that fish is an artifact of the photography/lighting and not dying of the fish.

I've seen the day-glo painted fish and think they are disgusting. Thankfully they don't sell at the LFS I frequent.


----------



## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

The day-glo fish are actually not painted. They have been genetically modified to exhibit those colors. Nothing cruel about that.

As for the "Painted Tetra" issue, there actually are naturally colored tetras that look like the one in the photo often sold under the name "Painted Tetra." I'm not really sure how common they are.


----------



## Guest (Sep 7, 2008)

Day-glo? Is that a new common name for them?

As COM said already, Glofish (zebra danios) are NOT dyed. The first generations were genetically modified using the flurescent genes from corals and anemones. Since the fish carry the genes, however, they're just bred now to display the colors.


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

COM-they're quite common, they're just albino skirt tetras. I used to keep them. Very fun fish. If they're in a tankful of "painted" tetras, their dye has probably just faded out. 

I don't know, something must have been wrong with my screen, it looked like it was blue across the top when I first looked at the picture. Oh well.


----------

