Fish hunting on a budget

[medoitmama]

My dd is desperate for another pet, (2 cats and 2 chickens at mo). It's her 5th b-day in a few months and thought of getting her a fish which she would be thrilled with. With a busy life I haven't got much time to devote to a new pet, we're also feeling the credit crunch in a big way!

So I'm wondering if there's such thing as a low maintanance fish which is cheap to keep. I would look for a tank 2nd hand - car boot probably.

Thanks in advance!

[EauRouge]

Er, nope, sorry! Fish are expensive and fairly high maintenance. They are quite sciencey too and they don't do much so they are not ideal pets for children.

The cheapest set up I could think of would be a small-ish tank approx 12 gallon (yes, this is small in real terms, those little toy plastic tanks are rubbish and cruel for keeping fish in), with a small box filter and a small shoal of minnows which don't need a heater.

All that would set you back around £60 just for the tank and filter if you bought brand new but there's a lot of second hand stuff knocking around like you say at car boots. Freecycle usually has plenty of fish tanks up for grabs too.

Along with a tank and filter, you'd need a water testing kit, dechlorinater, basic meds, food, lighting and decor. It all adds up! Plus there's the running cost of the filter which cannot be switched off unless you are cleaning it.

How about some insects or other invertebrates? I'm looking into getting some stick insects at the moment, they are really, really cheap and easy compared to fish and your DD will be able to pick them up if she wants to.

If you're dead set on the fish then I can give you loads of advice and links but have a good think on it, they are really not as cheap and easy as pet shops would have you believe!

[medoitmama]

Thanks sooo much Euerouge. Think I might give it a miss this year then (unless I find an amasing bargain at a car boot and get carried away!) I love the idea of stick insects. Ill run it past DH. Any other invertebrates you'd recommend?

[EauRouge]

I'm not an invert expert but I've been researching some different ones for a while to find out which I can afford (not many!). Beetles work out quite expensive because you need to buy leaf mould for them but there are quite a few stick insects that don't need a heater and they can eat brambles which are pretty easy to find in most places.

I found this which has loads of good ideas on how to make your own stick insect enclosure on the cheap!

Not sure about other inverts, I think a lot of them need heating but you could maybe have a look at millipedes as they look fairly cheap to keep.