Thrives in a warm location with bright, indirect light. Keep soil consistently moist. Can be pruned freely to maintain desired size.
Keep soil evenly moist.
Orchid bark mix.
Once every month during growing season.
Easy to grow, epiphytic plants produce a cascade of foliage splashed with bright orange, tubular flowers that resemble gold fish! Epiphytes are plants that attach to trees, rocks, or other structures instead of growing in the ground. Looks great in hanging baskets or mounted to a piece of bark or moss.
A great potted plant for a sunny spot indoors or on a lightly shaded deck, patio, or porch during warm weather. Perfect for hanging baskets.
Start with a good quality, commercial potting soil. These are usually lighter in weight than topsoil, sterile and pest-free. Many are available with a mild starter fertilizer in the mix.
Select a container with a drainage hole or be prepared to drill holes for drainage if there are none.
Prepare the container by filling with potting soil up to 2” (5cm) from the rim of the planter. Remove the plant from its pot.
Make a small hole in the soil slightly larger than the root ball either by hand or using a trowel. Insert the plant into the hole and press soil firmly around the roots and just covering the root ball. When all the plants are potted, water thoroughly to settle the soil and give plants a good start. Place plant in a reliably sunny location.
Repot every 2 years in the same container or in a container slightly larger than the diameter of the roots.
Prefers moist but well-drained soil. Check the soil moisture with your finger. If the top 2-4” (5-10cm) of soil is dry, or plants are wilted, it is time to water.
Apply water at the soil level if possible to avoid wetting the foliage. Water the entire soil area until water runs out the base of the pot. This indicates that the soil is thoroughly wet.
Most container plants can be pruned freely to maintain the desired size and shape. Keeping the foliage trimmed also keeps the plants looking neat and tidy, encourages the plant to develop more side-shoots and flowers, and reduces the demand for the plant to develop a larger root system. This is important since the roots are in a confined space.
Fertilizers are available in many forms: granulated, slow-release, liquid feeds, organic or synthetic. Determine which application method is best for the situation and select a product with a nutritional balance designed for foliage plants.
Too much fertilizer can damage plants so it’s important to follow the package directions to determine how much, and how often, to feed plants.
Slow-release fertilizers are an especially good, care-free choice for container plants. A single application can often provide plants with the proper level of nutrition all season long.
Want to buy red dancing Dolphine
Hi Eileen,
We found red dancing dolphin available to purchase online from Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses in New York.
Mine is growing very well. The vines are almost 3’ long now but there weren’t a lot of blooms. Only 2-3 at a time. What can I do to increase the blooms?
Hi Wanda,
It sounds like your goldfish plant is thriving, so it’s probably getting plenty of light (low light can diminish flowering). You could try fertilizing it with a plant food for indoor flowering plants. These are typically higher in phosphorus than nitrogen or potassium. Phosphorus supports root development and encourages flowering. We recommend a liquid fertilizer for quick uptake by the plant. Apply according to the product directions.
HOW DO I PURCHASE ONE OF THESE Goldfish Plant, Dancing Dolphins Indoors (Columnea species) PLANTS? I HAVE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE SINCE MY DAD PASSED AWAY AND CAN’T FIND THEM
Hi Christie,
If you can’t find this plant at your local garden center or florist, there are online sources. If you do an internet search for “buy Columnea” or “buy Nematanthus” (another similar plant with the common name “goldfish plant”) the search results should provide you with online retailers.
I would love to have a dolphin plant again mine was very large then got watered so much it and drowned it won’t happen again because I will water it
Linda —
If you can’t find this plant at your local garden center or florist, there are online sources. If you do an internet search for “buy Columnea” or “buy Nematanthus” (another similar plant with the common name “goldfish plant”) the search results should provide you with online retailers.
In the description it lists orchid bark for soil. But in the description below in says potting soil. I got some starts from someone a few months ago and would like to repot them. I saw she put them in miracle grow. But that seems very heavy. I like to mix my own soils. What do you recommend?
Hi Tami,
In nature the Columnea goldfish plant is an epiphyte, meaning that instead of growing in the ground, it grows in loose organic material captured in the crooks of trees or rocks. So keep that in mind as you create your mix. Good drainage is a must, but you also want enough organic material to hold some moisture as well provide as nutrients as it decomposes over time. We would suggest a mix of orchid bark and potting soil to give your plant the best of both worlds. You could also make a mix of perlite with potting soil. In either case, a blend of one-third drainage material (such as bark or perlite) and two-thirds potting soil should keep your plant happy.
I have a cutting from a friend that i potted. It is growing new vines and look’s healthy but the “stem” is very thin wood like and everything grows off that. The new growth is just green vine/leaves. How do I either get the stem to grow more shoots to fill out or is it always going to be like this? Do i take a new shoot cutting and try to propagate it?
Hi Kayli,
“Yes” you can take a cutting and propagate it to help develop a larger plant. Removing a cutting from the original plant could also potentially stimulate new buds on the original stem. Just be sure to leave plenty of leaves on the original plant so that it can continue to photosynthesize and grow.
I was given this plant from a friend and it blooms quite often. But it doesn’t seem to be growing. It looks very healthy. And it likes a spot on my counter to the side of the window. When I tried to move it to a more convenient spot since it is in my way it doesn’t do well. But it still only hangs down only about 10 inches
Hi Sharon,
You could try fertilizing it with a feed designed for blooming houseplants since you’ll want to stimulate growth, but not compromise flowering. The other possibility is that your plant needs more root space or a looser soil blend if it looks compacted or the plant is root-bound. You’d have to remove the plant from its pot to inspect the roots. The goldfish plant is an epiphyte and prefers a soil mix with a good amount of small bark or perlite mixed in. If the soil looks tired and compacted, repotting the plant may be helpful.