Lone fancy, very gentle, should I get another?

I have a long tailed, slI'm bodied female moor, I've had her for about 3 years. In the past I had 2 other fancies (ranchu and oranda) in with her. They chased her round the tank all the time so I had to put her in a separate tank. I found out they were both male and she was female, so that behaviour was normal. The 2 males get on brilliantly as a pair. I then brought a small oranda to go with the female moor thinking it was female, they got on well for months then he started chasing and hurting her, I found out he was actually male. I put him in with the other 2 males, he bullied both of them, chasing and biting the biggest one constantly (a bully fish unfortunately). So I had to give him away to live on his own.
I have the female moor on her own in a 125 litre (33 us gallon) tank. She seems healthy, though not as active as the other 2. I really want to get her a friend but understand it has to be another female. Should I get another moor or a telescope butterfly (as they appear very similar but have larger bodies) and if so should I buy a 4-5 inch one so theyll know for sure if it's a female? Or should I just leave her on her own as she is very gentle and peaceful (loves humans) and has permanent damage on her tail from the bully fish?
I'm in 2 minds because I'm worried she'll get bullied again, even by a female, or I'll end up with another male or bully fish and I only have enough room for my spare 64 litre (about 15 us gallons) tank and would find keeping 3 tanks difficult as it's a lot more added work.
Sorry for the long post, if anyone has any ideas or insight I'd very much appreciate it as I am new to the hobby and I'm ashamed to say I didnt know much about their care before but have really researched over recent months and now have them in good, stable conditions

 

I'm in the market for a fish eventually myself, and I was struggling with this same question. I'm pretty sure that my two fish are both female and they get on well with each other. I was thinking I might get an older fish that can be positively identified as female to add to the tank, to avoid the exact thing you are talking about! One of my fish has big fins and telescope eyes and she can be clumsy, I'd hate her to get pushed around. I'd love to hear some other opinions on this.

 

I may be biased, but the addition of another fish - especially if its ID'ed femalev- would be a nice addition to your current goldie, since they social fish.

 

I'm in the market for a fish eventually myself, and I was struggling with this same question. I'm pretty sure that my two fish are both female and they get on well with each other. I was thinking I might get an older fish that can be positively identified as female to add to the tank, to avoid the exact thing you are talking about! One of my fish has big fins and telescope eyes and she can be clumsy, I'd hate her to get pushed around. I'd love to hear some other opinions on this.

Other opinions would be great, I'll take all the advice I can get fish keeping has a lot more to it than I thought! You're very lucky to have both females; wish I had that luck haha
I (personally) found that telescope goldfish are more docile and peaceful than other fancies so maybe get another one of those? I hope you find a suited tank mate

I may be biased, but the addition of another fish - especially if its ID'ed femalev- would be a nice addition to your current goldie, since they social fish.

I really would love to get another fish I'm just worried they ID it wrong; or even if it is a female that it will pick on her. I'm very attached to her and would hate for her to be bullied again. Thank you for the response.
I'd love to know if you (or anyone else) know if all telescope (butterfly & moor) female goldfish get along?

 

Most goldfish play well together. But sometimes they're just dicks. I'd give it another shot!

They have varied personalities like people

 

Other opinions would be great, I'll take all the advice I can get fish keeping has a lot more to it than I thought! You're very lucky to have both females; wish I had that luck haha
I (personally) found that telescope goldfish are more docile and peaceful than other fancies so maybe get another one of those? I hope you find a suited tank mate

I think telescope eyes *feel* more docile because they basically can't really see. Mine would happily steal all the food if she could tell where it was! The visual impairment instead makes them seem slow and dopey

 

From what I can tell, its pretty uncommon to get aggressive goldies (outside of spawning behaviour, which is more pushy than aggressive) so I do think an IDed female goldie will easily play ball, and can close to guarantee a successful pairing of two females.

 

If you're attached to her, I'd leave her by herself. There's always so much to consider when bringing a new fish in if the new fish will get along, bring illnesses etc. For me, I always go by do not change what's not broken.

 

A second female telescope eye is probably ideal, as they will both be "impaired" in similar ways. I have mine with a regular fantail and they get on just fine, they have different eating styles and don't really compete (plus I handfeed, makes it easy to make sure everybody gets fed!) If you follow proper quarantine procedures there isn't much to worry about. (I have a tank waiting in my storage for when I find JUST the right fish to quarantine! )

 

Thank you everyone for the replies, its given me a lot of food for thought!
I do have a quarantine tank, so if I get another fish I'll put it in there for a few weeks - a month. I would just be gutted to get a bully fish (be it unlikely), but if I see one I love then I'll try not let previous bad experiences put me off

 

Since I don't have the means to have more that 1 goldfish, I currently have a mirror taped to the side of the tank so at least my current goldy has some "company". I'd say it's the best alternative to actually getting another fish.

He does seem to pay attention to it, because he gets nervous when I take it off the tank too long.

 

Goldfish are social creature, and I think you should definitely add a nother fancy! As long as you make sure to quarantine, I think your fish would be happy to have a friend!

Goldfish are social creature, and I think you should definitely add a nother fancy! As long as you make sure to quarantine, I think your fish would be happy to have a friend!

also there is a great butterfly telescope seller on ebay, I have had GREAT experiences with I highly recommend if you want a butterfly telescope. Tercamp98 is her name I think, but is you look up butterfly telescope on ebay her fish will come up. I also hear lewnews is good.

 

You don't necessarily need another fancy goldfish. There are many fish that you could have with it.

 

You don't necessarily need another fancy goldfish. There are many fish that you could have with it.

Weeeell...imo goldfish should only be with fish of the same species, and similar body type, i.e. Fancies with fancies, comets and commons... Especially if you are looking for a companion. There are just not many fish that do well with goldfish, especially fancies. The problem is usually when the fish is smaller than the goldfish (who will eat anything it can with in its mouth), or is too fast or aggressive for the goldfish. I personally only keep other goldfish and snails with my goldfish. Either way be sure to quarantine. And do whatever works best, you may find a perfect fish to go with your goldfish! Either way it's up to you.

 

I see minnows with them quite often.

 

Minnows are one that usually get along well yes. (Too fast for the fancies to get)