I’m going through fancy goldfish withdrawl. lol I’ve lost all the fancies I’ve bought over the last 5 years or so. None of them lived two years in my tank, although I tried to be the best fish keeper I could be. There have been seven or so of them; all beautiful, all very expensive and all of them now buried in my garden. I’ve used natural methods and, when desperate, have resorted to antibiotics; all to no avail. I’ve tried buying from different breeders. I lost my last one, a stunning oranda, about a month ago; to the same kind of dropsy-like symptoms most of them died of. Didn’t even have him 9 months. My dime store fantails, on the other hand, have all lived for at least 5 years. I have one remaining and she is 8. So when the oranda died, I made the decision to give up on the fancies. Maybe someday, when I have a ginormous tank of 150 gals or more, I’ll try them again, but otherwise, it’s the hardier varieties for me. It’s a hard habit to break, however and I’m jonesing for another fancy. I have to keep reminding myself of why I’m not getting another one.
So, right now, it’s just my little orange fantail in my 50 gal tank. I’ve been looking for another fantail to keep her company. The problem is that they’re all so small – fry basically – in the stores and online. She’s about 5 inches, nose to end of tail and I don’t want her to eat the company. lol I did see some larger fantails online, but they were $80. No thank you. That’s part of my new decision – no more very expensive fish.
So, if anyone knows of a cheap source of 4 inch fantails, please let me know.