RAISE THEM OR PURCHASE ADULTS?

[nk]

In your experience, is it better to purchase 2 or 3" oranda or fantail
goldfish and raise them yourself, or buy a couple of the showy adults?
I don't know how to advise a beginner. The older fish are so stunning,
it's hard for my friend to consider the little undeveloped ones.

Thanks.

n

[Gunther]

In article >,
says...
> In your experience, is it better to purchase 2 or 3" oranda or fantail
> goldfish and raise them yourself, or buy a couple of the showy adults?
> I don't know how to advise a beginner. The older fish are so stunning,
> it's hard for my friend to consider the little undeveloped ones.

It'd be best for both the fish and the beginner to start out with
something hardier than showy fancy goldfish. Orandas aren't the best
starter fish -- their shortened bodies make them susceptible to internal
problems, so it's unlikey your friend's first pair would live long
enough to fully develop. But by the same token, buying well developed
fancies isn't a good idea for a beginner either, since losing a $30
fish hurts. And _all_ beginners lose fish, even with the best advice.

Start out with some 5 cent feeders, that's my advice.

[sophiefishstuff]

In message >, Gunther
> writes
>In article >,
>says...
>> In your experience, is it better to purchase 2 or 3" oranda or fantail
>> goldfish and raise them yourself, or buy a couple of the showy adults?
>> I don't know how to advise a beginner. The older fish are so stunning,
>> it's hard for my friend to consider the little undeveloped ones.
>
>It'd be best for both the fish and the beginner to start out with
>something hardier than showy fancy goldfish. Orandas aren't the best
>starter fish -- their shortened bodies make them susceptible to internal
>problems, so it's unlikey your friend's first pair would live long
>enough to fully develop. But by the same token, buying well developed
>fancies isn't a good idea for a beginner either, since losing a $30
>fish hurts. And _all_ beginners lose fish, even with the best advice.

the only fish I've lost weren't goldfish.
a weather loach jumped out of the tank (mea culpa), a runt rasbora
didn't make it, and one of my first white cloud minnows died a couple of
days after purchase. The goldfish are all fine (despite horrendous
beginner errors).

>Start out with some 5 cent feeders, that's my advice.

I'm not sure. If they are well looked after, you can end up with fish
you don't actually want. Making sure you start off with a cycled tank,
knowing what you should be doing and getting fish you're interested
enough in to look after well strikes me as being a better idea. I'd be
inclined to start with small fish not big, but that's just me...

--
sophie

www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
(under construction. ish.)

[xkatx]

"nk" > wrote in message
...
> In your experience, is it better to purchase 2 or 3" oranda or fantail
> goldfish and raise them yourself, or buy a couple of the showy adults? I
> don't know how to advise a beginner. The older fish are so stunning, it's
> hard for my friend to consider the little undeveloped ones.
>
> Thanks.
>
> n

I buy all my fish small. I just don't care much to spend so much money for
a big fish when a small one costs way less. I like the small ones mainly
because of that. They also seem to grow so fast...
I've had my variety of fancy goldfish for about a year and a half now. They
started out about 1-1.5" at the most, and now they're all huge. They're a
bit big for what they're all in, but they seem to be happy enough. They eat
and swim around and none have ever gotten sick, even if a boring comet has.
I transfer some fish over every now and then because they're too big. I
guess now my fancy goldfish are about the size of the goldfish that are sold
for around $40 in the pet stores, and I paid $5 for them.
I personally prefer small fish. I think they're cute and the possibility of
losing a small fish right away is less hard to swallow than losing a big one
right off the bat.
Just my 2¢

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[bettasngoldfish]

I think it depends on how large the tank is, if the tank is already
cycled or not and if the person has experience keeping goldfish. When
someone is just starting out they are probably better off buy small
fish (that they like so they will keep them if they manage to survive
through the cycle and all the mistakes begginers are bound to make)
OTOH, if the tank is cycled and the person has knowledge of keeping
goldfish then it may be better to buy larger fish. I like to be able
to see how the fish looks once its mature and how it swims and if it
looks like it may end up being a floater. Some of these things are
hard to tell when they are still small. How many of us have purchased
a goldfish only to find it looks entirely different six months to a
year down the road. I still get a chuckle out of the fact that I
bought two black goldfish (I really wanted black goldies) when they
were still very young and I am sure those of you that have goldies
already know what I am going to say....in no time at all they were no
longer black but completely orange. I was so disappointed : )

[NanK]

Thanks everyone, for your opinions. I was having a hard time advising
her because I once bought "feeder" goldfish, and they lived for 4 years
and grew to 5" before they were eaten by a turtle that shared their
tank. If you want a "Cleo" - Pinocchio's goldie -- a comet just doesn't do.

So, we're going to try the younger orandas and see how she does.

Thanks a milliion.

n