AIBU to think fish in my five-year-old’s room could be manageable?

[Fisharefriendsnotfood1]

I'm considering getting my 5yo some fish for in their bedroom (higher up on top of their drawers) as they have been asking for a while.

I'm not under any illusions that it'll be anyone but me who actually cares for said fish. But I just wondered people's experiences?

We do have pets already, some of which that do require regular clean outs and maintenance so I'm not adverse to that sort of thing but ideally I'd like it to be as stress free and as simple as possible to not add anything considerable onto my weekly chores 😅

Am I totally deluded that this could be a simple enough pet for our household? Google tells me to steer clear of the typical gold fish as they produce a lot of waste and to go with something like a small group of minnow instead?

What are your other pets? Wouldn't get fish if you have cats!!

I would put them in the livingroom so there is no temptation to bother them.

Should have specified! No, there are no cats.

We have dogs and some other outdoor animals like chickens (hence being used to the regular cleaning and maintenance aspect of animals!)

We had a full aquarium and a cat.

The big issue is overfeeding so dont leave food in there if you go with it.

I have found with fish the bigger the tank the lesser the work.

I cant comment if 5 year olds. Mine would have dont things like decide there fish wanted a toy and just put the toy in there. But others are very sensible.

@Fisharefriendsnotfood1 Yes. Totally deluded.
Your DC is 5. They're not old enough to care for a fish/some fish.
Also...
If you have cats you really are just asking for trouble.😺😺

OK. X posted re the cats.
Don't you think at the age of 5, your child has enough animals in their life?

The fish tank I am looking at is 90L

As I said in my OP, I'm not expecting 5yo to care for the fish.

No cats either!

Not opposed to putting the tank elsewhere in the house.

My main concern was getting them and then finding out they are actually a lot harder work than you'd think 😅 I have asked Google but I'm interested in real experiences from MNetters too.

You will need to do the maintenance, but an aquarium is perfect for a child’s bedroom. Just supervise feeding.

Fine.

Because it will be you.

And you'l be the one trying to track down a matching one to the one that died one afternoon before DC comes home (my cousin did this).

I think it's something they'll grow out of.

The bigger the tank, the bigger the goldfish grows.

We me and my dad looked after a neighbours goldfish while they were away (admittedly a few decades ago). It kept trying to escape leaping out of the water so my dad put an old oven shelf over the top...
When the neighbours returned, they explained that Moby Dick had chucked himself out of the tank a couple of times previously...
How that thing didn't end up as food for the neighbours 😺 hungry feline, I'll never know!

Be prepared for a burial if there's anything left.

I don’t think they will care beyond the first day or two… novelty wears off with things you can’t really interact with.

I think with 90 litres you do a small water change weekly, like 10%. Its just big enough to not be lot of hassle keeping the levels right, especially with a good filter

Not meaning to sound snarky but it seems unnecessary to me to have glass, water and living creatures in a 5 year olds bedroom.

Mine had an aquarium for a few years at around the same age. Honestly it was a ballache all the cleaning and maintenance and obviously I did it all. We now no longer have fish!

he can have them again when he’s old enough to be fully responsible!

we are an experienced animal family so I’m well versed in all of the care and management side of things but I just didn’t want the faff of having fish anymore

Yeah. They're a bit difficult to cuddle...slippery fuckers. 🐟

In terms of maintenance a 90l with a good filter and not a huge stocking density should be easy to keep well-maintained. I'd be more worried if wherever you're planning to put it would be able to hold the weight of the tank and the water. And I wouldn't want a tank in a carpeted room myself (spillages etc) but that's total preference and probably more a reflection on my clumsiness (I've currently got a 120l on a stand in a hard floor room, for context!)

They're quite sensitive and die easily - to look after them properly you can't just add tap water in, you have to let water stand so the chlorine evaporates, put it in a bag submerged so the water comes up to the same temp... if you don't keep it perfectly ph balanced and clean then you get planaria worms, and then after doing your best the fish might die anyway.

They're quite hard work. And it's upsetting when they die.

The filters/ air pumps are noisy so it depends partly on whether that would keep her awake. We got a lock down goldfish. It was a lot of work and I was pretty fed up with it by the time it passed on last year.

Also depending on the tank you usually need a oxygenating bubbling thing on 24-7 and the constant sound of that can be irritating.
(Posted at the exact same time as the comment above!)

Why do you need more pets?

Get the 5 year old more involved in caring for the pets you have.

Would the noise of the filter pump keep them awake?

No one needs pets. I don't think there is anything wrong with having them though providing you can care for them well.

She does help where she can with our other animals.

Appreciate everyone's replies thank you, some more things to look at.

If you do get fish make sure you don’t get ones that eat each other.