fish? Good idea?

[gingernutlover]

my dd turns five in sept and is fascinated by fish. They have them at nursery and also my brother has some.

Anyone a fish owner and can say whether a small tank and a few fish would be a good or bad idea for her birthday.

I was thinking cold water.

Also we do have a cat but they can live in a room which shuts.

Hi gingernutlover, I too am thinking of getting some fish for my dd, so will lurk here with interest.

how old is your dd sarf?

Fish are great pets but it is not as simple as getting a small tank and putting some water weed and a couple of fish in there. The biggest problem is due to water quality issues and a bigger tank will allow you a little more leeway than a small one where the environment for the fish can deteriorate much more quickly. You will need to get a tank and get it set up and cycled for usually several weeks before you add fish in - that means getting the healthy bacteria established that help to break down the fish waste products. Several ways to do this and some great fish forums to be found that explain this well if you google. Once the fish are there you will need to ensure regular water changes and that hygiene is kept good in the tank - thinks like stone vacuuming/filter changing/not overfeeding etc.

The other thing to think about is that goldfish are not well suited to tanks unless you have huge ones. They start small but can get far too big for their environment in the longer term. You would probably be better to consider a freshwater tropical tank actually - all you need is a heater and thermometer on top of the other tank bits you should have for cold water fish anyway. Some really beautiful fish to be had from the tropical ranges.

Please be careful not to accept all advice from fish shops as correct. Many of these give really poor advice to new fish owners especially about how soon they can add fish - they will try and sell you "fancy" products telling you that you can add fish instantly as these are the bacteria needed to cycle the tank, but these products just aren't up to the job they claim.

There are a few other fishy people who post here so I'm sure there will be plenty of good advice here if you need it.

My DD is going to be 3 gingernutlover, and thanks for the excellent advice Beautifulgirls I love the idea of tropical fish too, I wonder if you can get a nice man to come round to set it up? I would hate to get it wrong and for them all to die.

Will stop hijacking now GNL

SarfEasticated, try joining a fish forum and seeing if you can get a local fish enthusiast to help you out. I'd gladly do it but I'm not near you. I bet there would be loads of other fishkeepers that would jump at the chance to tinker about with a new tank though especially if they're like me and they don't have room for any more of their own!

gingernutlover, you have been given some brilliant advice. Don't be put off but there is a lot more to fishkeeping than meets the eye. You've plenty of time to do some research and cycle the tank so there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get DD some fish. Have a read of these and they should give you some ideas on what it all entails-

How to choose a fish

How to choose a tank

thanks for all the advice - will think on some more and check out those links. I dont want to get them unless I am sure they can be well looked after.