Goldfish or no Goldfish?

[LynetteScavo]

Is a goldfish a good birhtday present for my DS who will be 5?

Why not? Does he want one? Obviously its you that's going to be taking care of the cleaning aspect, but if you don't mind, then it sounds fine to me!

DH thinks it will die.

Well yes, it will die within a couple of years. Does he think that DS won't be able to cope with it? If so, get a very ordinary one and replace it as and when necessary! I had a hamster when I was little, well actually I had 3, but I only ever knew it as 1!

We have goldfish and to be honest my dd aged 7 ,isn't really that interested in them. You can't really anything with them.

We had goldfish as kids and my dad did everything for them because we lost all interest very rapidly. And the feckers lived forever (about 10 years!)

They are dull and totally non interactive.
They take up space which could be better employed.
They need claeaning and feeding which is a pain.
They will die or get fin rot.
The pump things waste electricity.

You'd be better taking him to a good aquarium and seeing fish that have space to move and buy him something else to unwrap on the day.

I've given up with them.

We've had 3 lots and done absolutely everything for them and they just die.

I've looked after Tropical fish no problem but goldfish are just something else.

RIP Spongebob 1, 2 and 3
Garry 1, 2 and 3
Mr Squidward 1, 2 and 3
and
Patrick 1, 2 and 3

Get him 2. Replace them before he notices when they die. That's what I do. Ds thinks his goldfish are 5 years old. Well they're not.

Agree with Cornsilk, we're on Dorothy #2. I made the stupid mistake of getting "that lovely one with the black bit at the end of her tail" - cue panic when she kicked the bucket and I had to try and get an identical one. Get a plain orange fish, if you want to avoid the headache of 'matching' or making up stories of how she's changed her looks.

My DD (3) has taken on some of the 'responsibility' i.e. she feeds her every morning and often is the one to remember. She doesn't get much fun out of her, but does tell her stories and speaks to her sometimes.

I think the fishbowl looks nice (I got a nice round glass one), it depends what type you opt for and where you want to put it.

Lynette my ds got two for his 4th birthday. They still alive and i am the one left to look after them ditto the rabbit and dog.
I wouldn't they are really boring!

My DD got 2 fish when she was 2. She loves them and often talks to them. She is now 4. One died a few months ago (it was almost 2) and we bought few more so now we have 5 fish (and a much bigger tank).

They are a nice pet but to look after them properly you need a decent tank and to change the water regularly. Very easy to do but a bit of a bind.