Anyone pet fish owners?

[Lollauren98x]

Just looking for advice really! DS is 5 this autumn and is such an animal lover like me, we have 2 small dogs and hes so great with all animals even insects he loves them is so gentle etc

We did think as a birthday present this year maybe a fish but of course me and DH are very aware it'd mainly be us looking after it, but it'd be his fish and we'd help with teaching him responsibility feeding it cleaning tank etc

But I wondered about logistics! Few questions

1. what's the easiest to keep? I dont want to set anyone up for failure if I buy a breed that's hard to keep and i dont know the best conditions etc
2. what do you do about holidays? Currently my parents have our dogs (2 shih tzus btw so wont be able to get up at the tank etc) would we just take the fish in its tank to there too?
3. please tell me if its a silly idea lol

Obviously not urgent but want to do plenty of research before autumn!

I have fish, I’m no expert but for what it’s worth he’s my point of view.

Go to a good local aquatics shop, they will advise you of all you need to know!

I have a 57 litre tanks which is a good starting size, about 40x50x40cm. I was advised that tropical fish are easier to care for, water has to be 25-27 degrees. You can buy a complete kit with tank, heater, filter etc. You’ll need to get it all set up before getting fish a couple days later. Then introduce 3-4 fish at a time. And for the first month or so get the aquatics shop to test the water weekly to iron out any initial problems.

We have tetras, guppies, platys and mollys plus some snails. Signs in the shop will tell which are good for new tanks and which don’t go well together.

You won’t be able to move the fish when you go on holiday. Our tank weighs 60kg! But fish can go a week or two without being fed if you don’t have anyone to pop in.

You’ll need to clean/water change weekly using a syphon, but only 1/4 - 2/3 each time. And once a month I completely take out and clean all the filters etc.

It’s not a silly idea but it can be stressful at times. The water can have problems, fish die reasonably regularly. My kids are pretty accustomed to death now ha ha!

Hope that helps.

My advice is dont. Unless you really want a fish, don't get one just for a five year old. Believe me, I learned the hard way. My son was bursting for a pet and his dad (My DH at the time) would only consider a fish. They are a lot of work.

Don't buy one of those started kits, the tanks are far too small. Start off with 70 litres or something, although even that is too small for even one goldfish. Get some small tropicals (freshwater) but you need to cycle the tank properly before any fish are added. They need regular water changes, you need to decide what substrate you want, real plants or fake plants..... and then it just grows and grows. We started off with a silly little one, then went to 100 litres, and now I'm at 200 litres. I've learned a lot along the way and I absolutely love fish keeping but it does take time and can be quite expensive. You need a decent filter, decent heater, a UV light is always a good idea and you need to learn what fishes can be put together. Honestly, it's a minefield so if you go for it, do loads of research and be prepared. Fish are not easy to keep, my cats and dog are far far easier.

I have kept indoor fish and also have a pond with fish in it. I would advise against fish for a child as they are actually very difficult animals to keep well. It involves a significant outlay in terms of the tank and accessories, you need to establish the tank before even introducing any fish, and there is ongoing maintenance which actually takes a lot of time if done properly.

I have had all sorts of pets, from the fluffy through to exotics, and I would genuinely say an indoor fish tank is the most challenging.

Also, you really cannot move the tank when you go away and in most instances you need more than one fish to keep them happy.

What about something like a giant snail?

I have a 170 koi - it’s not for the faint hearted 😂 Even indoor tanks are a PITA. We’ve had a lot of pets -reptiles, amphibians, insects and the run of the mill fluffiest and DS1is currently at uni doing conservation biology and ecology so it must have rubbed off. I’d go with stick insects/madagascan hissing cockroaches as a starter pet. Or something like a hamster/ gerbil - they can whiff a bit.

This is great thank you all! And why i started the thread. Wanted some honest advice before we even floated the idea to our son so maybe might give it a miss, i remember having a small tabletop tank i had as a kid but it sounds like they're not the best and we definitely dont have space for a huge stand alone one

Yes keeping any kind of fish properly is a lot more labour intensive than people think. It’s easy to do badly! Get him a guinea pig, they’re lovely.