Siamese Doll Goldfish: Origin, Life Span, Tank Preparation, And More

Siamese Doll Goldfish is known as one of the smallest goldfish types. Few aquarists know these fish, which are also often difficult to find in pet stores.

If you happen to keep beautiful little animals in your tank, you are in luck. They will bring your aquarium an elegant look. Moreover, they require less space than common Goldfish due to their smaller size. 

Now, let’s scroll down to get more information about these lovely fish!

Siamese Doll Goldfish: All You Need To Know

Origin

These goldfish are a kind of carp native to East Asia, including China. They result from the cross-breeding of fish keepers and are a rare breed of Goldfish.

They also have large cone-like stalks or telescopic mounted on the sides of their head. Their eyes are red, and they have egg-shaped or more rounded bodies. 

Appearance

These fish look quite like Albino Telescope Goldfish but are smaller and feature red eyes. Their bodies are stubby and short and have a vast head and a split veil-like tail fin slightly forked.

Life Span

Like other small goldfish, they can live from ten to fifteen days, provided they get special care to stay healthy.

Size 

Goldfish typically grow up to 12 inches in captivity. But Siamese Doll Goldfish only grow up to five inches, making them small-sized goldfish you can have.

Tank Preparation

• Size Of The Aquarium.

The recommended minimum aquarium size for these fish is ten gallons. It is possible to keep them in a smaller tank or bowl, and they are more likely to have a stunted appearance and even die sooner than expected.

If these goldfish are kept in a ten-gallon tank, we recommend doing a water change at least once weekly, and maintaining your tank well as poorly maintained water would result in injuring their eyes.

• Water Quality.

These fish favor cold water, and the best temperature ranges from 65 to 72°F (or 18° to 22°C). Meanwhile, the Ph level should range from 6.0 to 8.0, and water hardness should be between 5 and 19 dGH.

These fish can withstand freezing temperatures as the temperature decreases over time. Hence, you can keep them in your pond in winter.

Yet, they can’t tolerate sudden temperature changes. We recommend keeping a heater in your tank if you are in a freezing climate.

• Substrate.

These fish prefer sand substrate instead of cobbles, rocks, gravel, and other substrate types as they can efficiently forage food with sand.

If needed, keeping your aquarium without any substrate is okay, and these fish can live without substrate.

• Decoration.

You should decorate your tank carefully. The decorations, substrate, or equipment like aeration systems or filter systems must feature soft rounded edges. If not, these fish may get injured due to these decorations.

• Plants.

These fish are omnivores, so they typically appreciate live plants in your tank. 

They are also diggers, meaning they may uproot your live plants. As a result, using artificial silk plants is best.

• Cover.

Goldfish aren’t prone to jumping, while some goldfish jump out frequently. So you should prepare a cover since it will reduce evaporation and protect your goldfish from predators.

• Lighting.

Lighting is not required for these fish, but it will give the aquarium an impressive look and will be helpful for live plants.

• Aeration System

These are extremely busy and active fish that forage and swim all day. So, you must give them a lot of oxygen to thrive. 

 A proper aeration system will give the water enough oxygen and circulation by delivering forced air bubbles into your tank water. So, an aeration system is a must-have for your Goldfish tank.

• Filter System.

These fish need a lot of oxygen and generate a lot of waste. For this reason, you must install a decent filtration system to eliminate residues, debris, and excess food from the tank water. It will keep your tank clean and maintain the general health of fish.

Feeding Your Siamese Goldfish

Food Type

These fish will consume anything you feed. Some fish may not feed on some types of food. In this case, you should skip the food they avoid and give them anything else. There are various foods you can give your Goldfish, such as:

• Pellets and flakes
• Vegetables and fruits.
• Some seeds, like green peas
• Live and frozen meat food: Brine shrimp, blood worms, and tubifex worms.

Feeding Frequency

We recommend feeding these fish several times daily as they have poor vision and can’t compete with other tank mates for food. For this reason, feeding them several times ensures they get enough food.

Overfeeding

They are scavengers, so they will consume anything offered, even to death. Therefore, preventing overfeeding is essential if your fish are healthy.

Also, overfeeding will leave excessive food on the bottom of your aquarium. It will then decay and pollute your tank water if left uncleaned.

FAQs

What Are Proper Tank Mates for Siamese Doll Goldfish?

These fish are peaceful and can live with all non-aggressive fish if they are larger enough. Here are guidelines for picking a tank mate for your fish.

• Avoid aggressive fish that pick on other fish.
• Choose slow swimmers.
• Stay away from small and spiny fish.
• Check the required water condition of tank mates.

Here is a list of proper tank mates for these goldfish.

• Ricefish.
• Dojo Loach.
• Zebra Danios.
• Giant Danios.
• Variatus Platy.
• Hoplo Catfish.
• Hillstream Loach.
• Bristlenose Pleco.
• Rubber Nose Pleco.
• Banded Corydoras.
• Longfin Rosy Barbs.
• Brochis multiradiatus.
• White Cloud Mountain Minnows.

What Is the Difference Between Siamese Goldfish And Albino Telescope Fish?

Siamese Goldfish feature red-colored eyes, whereas Albino Telescope Fish have blackish eyes. The telescope fish is a bit bigger than the Siamese Goldfish.

What Is the Difference Between Siamese Goldfish and Black Moors Fish?

Black Moors fish have black skin, while Siamese Goldfish skin is light in color. There are some black Siamese Goldfishes, but they feature red-colored eyes.

What Are Common Diseases of Siamese Doll Goldfish?

Here are common diseases of these fish:

Parasitic Diseases

• Ich.
• Flukes.
• Anchor Worm.
• Fish Lice.
• Trichodina.

Bacterial Diseases

• Fin Rot.
• Ulcers.
• Dropsy.
• Pop Eye.
• Cloudy Eye.
• Mouth Rot.
• Hole-in-the-Head.

Viral Infections

• Tumors.
• Lymphocystis.
• Carp Pox.

What Is The Behavior Of These Fish?

They are very active and social fish who get along with other fish in your community tank.

Conclusion

Above is all the important information about siamese doll goldfish you may need to know before introducing them to your aquarium. 

They are a rare species and one of the smallest Goldfish in the world. If given the right conditions and mates, they will live well.