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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I want to get a pair of pearl scales to put in the thirty gallon with Toothless, my axolotl, but i want to know if they will be okay before i get them!

It is a thirty gallon long with a heavily baffled filter suitable for a fifty gallon tank, so there is little to no water movement, depending on where in the tank it is. There is a bubbler on one side that provides oxygen.

The tank has Toothless, a school of small white cloud minnows (not sure how many, cant count them, guessing a dozen or so?) and once a week i get about a dozen rosy red minnows that Toothless eats through the week.
 

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I don't think this would work for a number of reasons.
First, bioload wise 30 gallons is just enough for a pair of goldies.
Goldies need high flow, which axxies don't appreciate. They need a filter rated double for the tank size.
Also, I read one of the main reasons axxie owners don't keep larger fish with them is because those gills look delicious to fish. Goldies are always hungry beasts looking for food, and I think they'd constantly harass the axxie for his gills. :/
 

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I agree with Olympia. While they seem like good tankmates, I don't really think they would be. I also fear that the axolotl would take a liking to goldfish fins (which just kinda hang there and beg to be nipped). Especially seeing how slow the pearlscales swim. Plus, if you wait and get a 40 gallon tank you could make that three pearlscales! ;)
 

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I personally think the tank size would be fine with proper filtration... However, they will try to eat EVERYTHING. They aren't fast enough to catch faster fish that are higher in the water, but anything on the bottom will be pecked at constantly. Unless you can be sure of their strain (buy from a breeder not a pet shop) you will likely get the flatter type that grow very large. The true round pearlscales are hard to come by just by luck because they have more trouble spawning.

Mine are quite small, but they still pick up gravel and move it around searching for food. You can always hear the rocks scraping the bottom and hitting the sides.

I love mine to death, but I wish I had not gotten them now because of how many problems they have. That cute little round ball of a body comes at a heavy price in health... Swim bladder issues are guaranteed, as is constipation. They also have a tendency to bloat or develop dropsy but you can't tell because of their body shape and scales.
Everytime mine look slightly rounder than normal I start to worry...
 

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Discussion Starter · #7 ·
Aww, darn! And here i was so sure they would like the low water movement because of their inability to swim well. lol! This is why i come to you guys first! :3

Toothless will just have to be happy with his white clouds until i can get him another axie buddy and grow it up to six inches for him to hang out with... Now the question is, Leusistic or albino.... hmmm. lol!!


Thanks a lot for the input guys! I appreciate it so much! I guess ill just have to save up for another big tank and set it up for some goldies. :)
 

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I agree that they are incredibly cute. In the long run, they are probably the least demanding of goldfish because they don't get as large as most other varieties, and they aren't very active.

The health thing is a big issue though. Most don't live past a year or so, even in really wonderful conditions. They are prone to a lot of issues because of their crunched bodies. You rarely see big ones because of this... :cry:

I posted photos of mine a bit ago.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=96845
 

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Discussion Starter · #9 ·
They are so adorable. lol! I wouldnt even mind the bigger ones from the pet store really, at the rate they grow i could save up for a larger tank and turn theirs into a community by the time they need to be moved. lol!
 
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