I'm fairly new to goldfish and the different varietys, I've only ever had comets and Betas before. I was wondering if there are any types of goldfish that stay small, like around a couple inches.

There are several goldfish that seem to be smaller than most. Ranchus, lionheads and some telescopes like pandas and siamese dolls all seem to be the smaller of the varieties. But, they can still get pretty big every now and again.

Finding a goldfish that is garaunteed to stay small is not going to be an easy task. Its next to impossible if you ask me.

Hope this helps


Paul

I've always wanted a tiny little black fish, does anyone know of any types of fish, goldie or not, that are like this? I love Moors, maybe if I get a baby one he'll stay small long enough to quench my desire for a tiny little fish...

How about one of these:



Theyre called Black balloon molly. They look a lot like ryukins.....



Paul

I just googled them and they look perfect! How much space do they need per fish? does this site have a page where there is info on them? If not are there any sites you recommend where I can look to get more info?

For excellent care of Mollies, you can go0gle for molly caresheets mollie information and the like. You will find a plethora of information regarding them. I think you would comfortable house about 1 per gallon, if you provided the filtration rate needed for goldfish (ten times an hour).

Beware, they breed like its going out of style. I have a pair that have spit out 3 batches of fry in the passed 2 months!

Sounds great, I've got a two gallon tank just waiting to be used, as soon as I get a chance I might just get a pair, after I read up on them of course. I might start cycling tomorrow. Thanks sooo much for the help.

I'll definatly have to try to get two that are the same sex, I don't think having a ton of fry in a college dorm would be a good idea, my roomates gonna think I'm crazy, I've already got two goldies.

Balloon mollies are the cutest! Make sure you get balloon mollies and not sailfins...they get much bigger than a couple inches

http://www.petfish.net/molly.htm

Yay for mollies!!! I love mollies!

I have a balloon molly He is great! He lives with my randy guppies. I only have 1 though. He hasn't grown any since i bought him, he stayed small. Sounds like what your after

oooh wish I had known that they stay small could have tried to locate a few locally.

they are cute!

Okay, I went to my LFS this morning and they had the cutest Black Lyretail Mollys. I really want some but they only had one that looked healthy, the other four they had looked sluggish so I decided to wait. I figure if I get a tank cycling right away it might be ready for them in a couple weeks. I get paid agian in a couple weeks so I can make sure I get them averything they need right away, but I might not get the fish for a month or so, I want to make sure I've got everything I need well established before getting them.

I might wait until I visit my mom to get them because theres a really awesome LFS almost right down the street from her. It's a family run business and they take great care of their fish and they've got tons of them, they've got like eight different types of plecos. Before I went there fir the first time I thought there was only one type of pleco. Also thats where we got Freddie's parents.

Great! let us know how it goes.....

Sorry,I had to laugh when I read this.I really can't believe that Toothy didn't pull out a pick of his little Moor, Shaggy! Anyway,I think that the Balloon Mollie's are pretty cool and a great way to satisfy your urge for a black fish. I happen to love Blasck fish myself.

I'd get cycled and wait til you can get to the good LFS. I know how it is when all the LFS's around you only carry diseased and dieing fish.

Speaking of tiny goldfish, in one LFS i regularly go to there's a shallow bowl about 5 gallons volume that's filled with vallis and looks beautiful (like a mini jungle), no filtration. It housed mainly guppies but on closer inspection u can see a teeeeny green fantail about 1 1/2 inch long and round belly like a pearlscale
I asked how long have they got the fish in there and they said more than 6 months! Talk about stunted! The fish looks as healthy as a goldfish can be though. I might take a pic of him if i got the chance

OOoooo I love those guys! They are so CUTE and happy! They are the best little fishies ever (well...second to goldies lol but they arn't little)

One caution so you don't repeat a mistake I made too many times: don't buy a female that is ready to have babies if you have a long drive ahead of you--they can get really bad health complications from stress if they are near to giving birth. If you get two, get a boy and girl (or 2 girls) that is skinny and therefore isn't going to risk birth complications on the ride home and the first few days following. Just dont' get two boys...they can really be real pains to each other if they don't have any ladies to pester.

Baloons stay small, not more than 1" usually, sometimes larger. They are kind of dwarf mollies...they don't have the ability to get to be 4" monsters like sailfins.

I remember seeing a particularly cute one do the goldfish lovey wiggle. Holy crap I had to run away before it was too late...Literally. I RAN!

Remeber nichjake that normal lyretail mollies will grow pretty big, i've seen some pretty massive ones. Make sure its a balloon lyretail if you want it to stay small .

Heres my black balloon lyretail molly He lives with some neon tetras and the randy guppies, you can see baby guppies in the picture, i thought the adults would eat them! but no!! oh well everybody loves bebies!

http://tbbw.customer.netspace.net.au/ballo...molly%20012.jpg

The white flecks are just scratches in the glass, its a pretty old tank.

OWWW get a pic and then mail her to me!! LOL

svendenhowser...your moly is lovely! is that a neon tetra near it?
very pretty!


I love mollys I want a dalmation Molly..*sigh* have to wait for yet another tank.

let us know how you go with your fish! and post pics if you can

Lol I had a dalmation molly once! Had it for about 2 or 3 years. Loved that little thing! It was sooo precious to me because my little sister caught it for me in a creek by our house. She would always ask me about the molly and I said of course I still have it! Its my favorite fish! She would just glow. I miss her a lot. She lives in FL and Im all the way in CA.

if you want small fish, balloon mollies look like tiny ryukins!





Wobbles, my little lyretail balloon

Lol, Magick, I was waiting for you to post pics of your molly She's adorable. And sven, yours is so pretty too! It looks like she has amber colored eyes..does she in real life? I wish I could have a molly...I'd get a black balloon lyretail like yours

Thanks He's got kind of a rainbow part of the tip of his dorsal fin and the end of his tail, his eyes are kind of like that too, i dont know why, i've never seen it in other mollies.

LuvMahFred, yes theres 4 or 5 neon tetras and guppies. You can see 1 teeny weeeny guppy on the right side in the middle, and a medium baby next to the left/top/middle guppy as well.

I didn't notice the rainbow tip before. He's beautiful! Yes, I'm definately getting a brackish tank with mollies bumblebees and ghosts when I've got my own house!

This is the real tiny green fantail (just a little more than an inch long!) I mentioned earlier in the thread. Believe it or not he's at least 7 months old! Looks very healthy & very well cared for though, and what a cutie!


Here's a close-up




That's him I circled. Notice how big he is compared to the guppies




Comparison with duckweed and guppies



The bowl he's in is like 60% plants the water is pristine clear!

I was looking after a friends bumblebees while she was away about a year ago and they were awful! so aggressive... it could have just been the ones i had, but everyday i'd find another dead or ripped to shreads guppy. As soon as i took it out the guppies were fine!

ahhh good to know im getting more practice

Ok I WANT the green one
post it! LOL

Okay, the tank has been cycling for a week and has doing really well, I've been using store bought ammonia. The tank is probably a little over half cycled and I was wondering if the Black Mollies would be okay in the tank. Also I have some basic questions that I probably should have asked before.

1) Is two gallons enough for two Mollies, could I get more than two or would it be too crowded?
2) Can I leave them for a day or so like I can the goldies? Since I'm a college kid, I go home for the weekend every now and then, I just want to know if they'd be alright.