Is 4 too young for a fish?

[tryhard]

DS1 would like it to live in his room, he's starting to not want his light out at night so I was thinking the gentle light of a fish tank might be quite reassuring. I loved keeping fish as a child, still find them v relaxing to watch, but is 4 too young? I'm thinking he'd help with feeding, obviously I do the hardcore cleaning out :)

[Wigeon]

My four year old would not be able to take any responsibility for caring for a fish, would not be trusted with a fish tank in her room (likely to 'feed' the fish bits of tissue, flapjack, toothpaste etc etc), would be likely to knock over the tank, and the novelty would probably wear off after a week.

So if you are prepared to take all the reponsibility for looking after the fish, and for your 4 yr old to occasionally feed it tiny pinches of food, then I'd say go for it!!

[tryhard]

Hmmmmm I didn't think about the feeding it 'treats'...I did consider knocking over but more from my boisterous 19 month old who loves to bomb about in his big brothers' room and who loves to throw anything & everything in the bath when it's full.

[ByTheWishingWell]

As with any pet, I think you would need to take responsibility for all of the care, and be ready for your DS to lose interest quite quickly!

Also, the light wouldn't be on all night, as fish need darkness to rest at night too. Presumably the light would still be on while he falls asleep though.

[tryhard]

Yes I was thinking the light would be on a timer and I'd be the one doing the caring as such, I hadn't really thought about potential mischief from the toddler but then that could be the case whichever room the fish lived in I suppose.

[ByTheWishingWell]

It depends what height the tank is at- I have fish and a 2 year old. The tank is on a stand which puts the fish at her eye level but the lid of the tank out of reach. It's in a corner and way too heavy for her to pull over, so the only mischief to watch out for is making sure she doesn't bang on the glass and frighten them. Hopefully be the time she's tall enough to reach the lid she can be trusted not to 'feed' them, or we'll have to raise it up higher!

[Justgetknitting]

I had my first fish at 4, back he was won at a fair (it was done back then - my mother was furious was one of the only times I saw my father and I returned with a fish, he sat in her favourite bowl until the shops opened on the Monday) I loved that fish and swear it's part of why I love my animals so much now. I fed him every day (I think)

He lived until I was 12.... As an adult I find this very hard to believe but my Mum still swears he was the worlds longest living goldfish... They can live for 20 years I'm told still at nearly 40 every time I ask.

[Justgetknitting]

She looks at me with are you really still asking me eyes... But then age has confessed lucky is not on a farm and actually in heaven so I don't think I should doubt her :)

[CharleyDavidson]

My dd decided to feed my aquarium of goldfish for me without asking when she was about that age. She slipped and tipped nearly a whole pot of food in. Then was too scared to say.
The upshot was, when the light switched on that afternoon, the water was a dark dark green from the algae bloom triggered by the food. That had robbed the water of much of it's oxygen and the fish were gasping at the surface. We had to do an emergency removal of fish into fresh water and we thought we were going to lose them. After a few hours they were swimming around happily, but I think it severely affected them and within the next 6 months they all died. :(

If I did have fish in my dc's room then I'd have to have them somewhere within sight, but not reach and I would supervise their feeding and not leave the food anywhere reachable either.

[LaNouba]

I don't think its too young but from my experience of goldfish I'd get a hamster I won my fish at a Uni fair and he lived for 14 years and was huge. He was a hardy little bugger and survived driving home from uni in the holidays in a ice cream tub. He launched himself out of his tank over the banister once and landed on the bottom step, he was still for a few days with a ripped tail and a dodgy fin but he miraculously recovered and lived for a further 8 years. Can't say he did much to entertain me and I don't miss cleaning out his tank but I did feel quite sad when he died, I couldnt bring myself to flush him either as I was convinced he'd remain floating in the toilet due to his size.

[Justgetknitting]

LaNaboua I shall be calling my mum tomorrow to apologise for doubting her :)

We "buried" goldie (I was 4) well actually I decided after studying Vikings or wot not he deserved a burial at sea as he was fish and had left him in some Tin foil (ideal coffin) before school and was eaten by the cat... That my dad told me years later. He was buried at sea in a hand made boat

[Justgetknitting]

4 at the naming - 12 at the death

[WeAllHaveWings]

We had 2 fish in a large tank, ds was desperate for them and my dad bought the whole kit for him.

He was interested in them for 2 mins. Fed them when he had to, avoided the regular cleaning. They really are a boring pet that took ages to die.

Filter can be noisy in a quiet room, so not sure if suitable for bedroom

[Indole]

DD first had fish when she was 6. She was fine with them and did not do anything silly like overfeed. I think younger would be something that required constant supervision. She's 9 now and helps with water changes and cleaning the filter but she absolutely could not do it all alone. Having the tank in her room hasn't been a problem. It's quite quiet.

I got my first fish at about 9. Me and my brother went to a fair alone and won two of them and brought them back. My mother was furious but although one fish died almost straight away, the other lived for 9 or 10 years. And I had to do every bit of the cleaning out because everyone was so cross with me.