jillian Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 So we are thinking of getting dd a couple of little fish around her birthday to help her learn to care for other living things (we will obviously not leave her to her own devices....help remind her to feed the fish, etc). Anyone else do this? eta: she'll be 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 A Betta fish. With one of those you can use one of those "goldfish" bowls and don't need a huge tank. No need for a heater as long as your house doesn't get super cold. They're low maintenance and very easy to care for. They're also solitary so you just need the one. NOT a goldfish. Goldfish require a lot of room (min. 10 gallons per fish and require heaps of maintenance because they're little poop machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 We bought a 10 gallon tank for each of our dds about 6 months ago. They love their tanks, and are good about feeding the fish. My main advice would be to prepare your dd for fish death. We have had a survival rate of less than 50%. Petsmart will replace fish for free if they die within 14 days. That is great, but the deaths are still upsetting to the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 So we are thinking of getting dd a couple of little fish around her birthday to help her learn to care for other living things (we will obviously not leave her to her own devices....help remind her to feed the fish, etc). Anyone else do this? eta: she'll be 4 We bought dd a Betta fish when she was 4 or 5, but it wasn't with any purpose in mind, other than to have a pet . . . If I thought about it, I'd say it may be too much responsibility to put onto a 4 year old. Fish die pretty easily, and I'd hate for my child to have any guilt over it when it's nothing she can control. My dd loved her fish. He lived forever (a couple of years), and she insisted we put him in the freezer when he died. The ground was too cold to bury him that week. He ended up staying in our freezer for a few more years, and he was often the first thing she showed new friends who came to play. We finally tossed him when his tail broke off.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 We bought dd a Betta fish when she was 4 or 5, but it wasn't with any purpose in mind, other than to have a pet . . . If I thought about it, I'd say it may be too much responsibility to put onto a 4 year old. Fish die pretty easily, and I'd hate for my child to have any guilt over it when it's nothing she can control. My dd loved her fish. He lived forever (a couple of years), and she insisted we put him in the freezer when he died. The ground was too cold to bury him that week. He ended up staying in our freezer for a few more years, and he was often the first thing she showed new friends who came to play. We finally tossed him when his tail broke off.:tongue_smilie: lol at the tail breaking off. yeah we definitely will prepare her for death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 My main advice would be to prepare your dd for fish death. We have had a survival rate of less than 50%. Petsmart will replace fish for free if they die within 14 days. That is great, but the deaths are still upsetting to the kids. That's why I hate buying from Walmart and chain pet stores. They buy their fish from what are basically fish mills and the fish don't have great survival rates. If you can find a reputable independent pet or fish store they generally get MUCH better and healthier stock. It makes a huge difference in how long the fish live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbkaren Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 All I remember about keeping fish is that you should always err on the side of UNDER feeding rather than overfeeding. For us, that was the issue, and many souls floated up to fishy heaven at our hands; we killed them with kindness. :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Great tips and advice!!!! Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidip2p Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Our DD was about 4 when she got her first fish. She still talks about him to this day at now almost 13. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 So we are thinking of getting dd a couple of little fish around her birthday to help her learn to care for other living things (we will obviously not leave her to her own devices....help remind her to feed the fish, etc). Anyone else do this? eta: she'll be 4 This really didn't work for ds. He just couldn't remember to feed the fish. Our neighbors have done this and they have to constantly remind their little ones to feed the fish and Mom has to clean the bowl. IMO, if you have to constantly remind the child to feed the fish the child has no ownership. At some point, the child must start doing it on their own. 4 years old is too young to expect that so you are setting her up to depend on your reminders instead of learn to do it herself. Just MHO and experience. When ds was 7 he wanted a rat/hamster/just something mammalian. We told him that if he could keep a fish alive for a year then he could graduate to a rodent. That worked wonderfully! In fact, that fish just died a few months ago after traveling all over the US with us. It was 8 years old! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 That's why I hate buying from Walmart and chain pet stores. They buy their fish from what are basically fish mills and the fish don't have great survival rates. If you can find a reputable independent pet or fish store they generally get MUCH better and healthier stock. It makes a huge difference in how long the fish live. :iagree: I'd love to find a local fish store. I have noticed that when the bags of fish arrive at PetSmart, there are many already dead. :glare: The only independent stores I've found also sell puppies. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slone07 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 How fun! Please do a little research on the care of the type of fish you decide to get. The care for different breeds varies so much and just a touch of research can extend the life of your new family member (not to mention the happiness of your little girl). There are even forums out there for the popular breeds that are a wealth of information. I agree with WishboneDawn's suggestion of a betta (and NOT a goldfish - unless you're going to really invest in a good, heavy duty filtration system and large aquarium). However, I'd recommend staying away from putting anything living in a glass bowl. There are little aquariums made just for bettas (5 gallons is the lowest I'd go even for a betta) with just enough filtration that are incredibly inexpensive. My favorite tried and true system for smaller aquariums is the Eclipse brand with the bio-wheel. I've had just about every other sort of system, but the Eclipse is fantastic...and nice looking, too, as it's self-contained and streamlined. Another fun thing to do for the kids is to get a slightly larger aquarium and buy some small schooling fish. It's neat to see them swimming around in groups. It's also fun to buy live plants and rocks or driftwood and aquascape to recreate a similar to nature living environment for them. It can be a good lesson in water chemistry and plant growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 How fun! Please do a little research on the care of the type of fish you decide to get. The care for different breeds varies so much and just a touch of research can extend the life of your new family member (not to mention the happiness of your little girl). There are even forums out there for the popular breeds that are a wealth of information. I agree with WishboneDawn's suggestion of a betta (and NOT a goldfish - unless you're going to really invest in a good, heavy duty filtration system and large aquarium). However, I'd recommend staying away from putting anything living in a glass bowl. There are little aquariums made just for bettas (5 gallons is the lowest I'd go even for a betta) with just enough filtration that are incredibly inexpensive. My favorite tried and true system for smaller aquariums is the Eclipse brand with the bio-wheel. I've had just about every other sort of system, but the Eclipse is fantastic...and nice looking, too, as it's self-contained and streamlined. Another fun thing to do for the kids is to get a slightly larger aquarium and buy some small schooling fish. It's neat to see them swimming around in groups. It's also fun to buy live plants and rocks or driftwood and aquascape to recreate a similar to nature living environment for them. It can be a good lesson in water chemistry and plant growth. we initially said betta but then started thinking about a little bit bigger of an aquarium and getting some small schooling fish. we need to do a bit more research though....any tips for places to research? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slone07 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 we initially said betta but then started thinking about a little bit bigger of an aquarium and getting some small schooling fish. we need to do a bit more research though....any tips for places to research? It's been a few years, but I remember Aquaria Central being a great resource. Scroll down to the freshwater forums and there are thousands upon thousands of threads on just freshwater aquariums and fish. If you're interested in aquascaping, they have that info, too. Do a Google images search for the term aquascape - it'll knock your socks off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I would also suggest getting a water testing kit; the test tube variety are considered to be more reliable that strips. I have a small fancy goldfish in a well filtered but small tank. After the first few days I was needing to do partial water changes twice a day for a while to keep the ammonia levels down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 (edited) How fun! Please do a little research on the care of the type of fish you decide to get. The care for different breeds varies so much and just a touch of research can extend the life of your new family member (not to mention the happiness of your little girl). There are even forums out there for the popular breeds that are a wealth of information. I agree with WishboneDawn's suggestion of a betta (and NOT a goldfish - unless you're going to really invest in a good, heavy duty filtration system and large aquarium). However, I'd recommend staying away from putting anything living in a glass bowl. There are little aquariums made just for bettas (5 gallons is the lowest I'd go even for a betta) with just enough filtration that are incredibly inexpensive. My favorite tried and true system for smaller aquariums is the Eclipse brand with the bio-wheel. I've had just about every other sort of system, but the Eclipse is fantastic...and nice looking, too, as it's self-contained and streamlined. Another fun thing to do for the kids is to get a slightly larger aquarium and buy some small schooling fish. It's neat to see them swimming around in groups. It's also fun to buy live plants and rocks or driftwood and aquascape to recreate a similar to nature living environment for them. It can be a good lesson in water chemistry and plant growth. That's a good point. One thing about bowls is that there's not a lot of surface area for oxygen to get into the water. Not sure if that's what you were referring to but on second that I think thought might be a concern with a bowl. Edited November 2, 2011 by WishboneDawn fixinf the bad spelling that I noticed when Slone07 quoted me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slone07 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 That's a good point. One thing about bowls is that there's not a lot of surface area for oxygen to get into the water. Not sure if that's what you were referring to but on second that I think that might be a concern with a bowl. Exactly! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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