lilstorm

Hello all!

I need some tips on how to keep my 2 1/2 year olds little hands out of the tank, I have a hood with covers/ doors or whatever you call them... I have found that she can even peel back duct tape to get into the tank. SO... I need a SMART BABY proofing way to keep her out! Otherwise she rearranges the plants and terrorizes the fish with a net!

I have a 30 gallon but I would like to swich out for a 50/55 gallon,
Any thoughts on what would make the swich EASY?

I only have one Texas Ciclid in there right now, but I want more... more, more more!!! (I am addicted too fish! and this hobby!)

Thanks

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!

put it up higher on a stand so she cant reach it

put some extra filter media in your established 30 gal now and after a couple weeks, it will be ready to put into the new tank filter to seed it and cycle it immediately~

goodluck!

Dozey

Welcome to FishLore

That is a bit of a problem. Reasoning with a 2 ½ year old certainly can be difficult. You could try getting him/her a little more involved in the tank and therefore having a better understanding of the fish’s needs by letting them add the food to the tank. Although keep the food well out of his/her reach or she/he will be constantly feeding your cichlid.

Try your best to get your child involved and educating him/her in fish care. 2 is not too young to learn. Best of luck with that.

As for upgrading tank… start early and plan on a fishless cycle. It takes time but is the absolute best method for getting a tank ready for fish. The instructions are here…
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Start researching now what fish you would like to have and what fish will best suit your tank and what their needs will be.

And do NOT take any advice from the salesperson at your LFS (local fish store). They don’t care about your tank or your fish. Their primary goal is to sell you as much as they possibly can.

You have found the very best place to get advice. FishLore is an amazing community of very wonderful people who do care and have a vast knowledge of everything fishy.

outlaw

I have a 3 and 4 yr old and they don't seem to be as bad although they do open the top and put there fingers in the tank. I would agree with trying to get them more involved with feeding any anything they can assist with (Make sure they wash their hands when done!). Our children are always wanting to help when I clean the tanks or moving the fry to another tank.. etc.

lilstorm

I already have the tank on a 55 gallon wood stand that has doors in it... I have tried to let her feed the fish on numerous occasions and all she wants too do is ask me for more pellets to put in the fish tank... "fishy eat" she say's. I try to explain that we can give the fish too much food, but she dos'nt care! I was thinking about putting a "child lock" on the top of the tank, one that would normally be used for say a refridgerator with the double sided sticky tape on it, other than looking a bit better than the duct tape, I am not sure what else too use.

Dumb question, whats filter media?

I've also heard that you can get a "feeder fish" from the LPS (local pet store), like a guppie or tetra (something cheep) and put that in the tank once the water has reached a fair livable tempature and seed a tank that way. After the water has had 24 - 48 hours to circulate... is this true?

Shawnie

no question is stupid the spongy part in the inside of your filter...go buy some extras and stick them in there with the others so they can seed the new tank ...

lilstorm

So hears a clarifying question for you...
I would assume that I should get the same kind of spongy part for the new fish tank filter, not the old fish tank filter, because I wont be using the old fish tank filter set up in the new tank, I will be using a higher capacity filter system.

Also, I have a undergravel tank set up, but instead of your typical air stones going down the plastic tube I have a filter pro that takes and sucks the water (or pushes it down) out of the tube and into the tank, plus a 16 inch long air stone, with a whisper filteration system is this over kill?

kacie

As far as your toddler goes there is no reasoning with them. I am sooo thankful after reading your post that my youngest hasn't taken to messing with the fish. But I react very strongly to any wild behavior anywhere near the tank. Things could be worse, a child put yogurt in the tank at my library!

Plecolover12

Wow! That is very naughty! My little sister tears everything apart and screams for no reason sometimes. Luckilly, she cannot reach the fish tank at all other than getting on a chair.

Minnow

If it's possible, you could put up a baby gate or some sort of fence around the tank to keep the little one out. It might make it hard for you to do maintenance and whatnot, but it will keep the fishies safe from toddlers.

Also, about the feeder fish... cycling with fish is harmful to the fish, harder for you, and takes longer. Fishless is the way to go: Ammonia instructions for a fishless cycle

Cycling usually takes around a month. If you seed the tank with media and gravel from your established tank, it should be quicker than that.

Good luck!

bluealuefish

I would also suggest a fishless cycle. "Feeder fish" are no different from any other fish and will suffer through a cycling process. In fact, many keep guppies, tetras, minnows and goldfish as pets so it doesn't matter if they're cheap. They're still living beings. My two cents. Thanks.

Use the type of sponge for your new tank's filter and place it in the old tank. That way the beneficial bacteria will grow on the new filter and your tank will cycle much faster. You can also use gravel from your old tank to seed the new tank.

I'm not sure what to do about childproofing.. perhaps just forbid her to open the lid.. but I guess if she doesn't understand the tape then I don't think she will listen to reason. Maybe tell her the fish will die if she keeps messing with them. Good luck!

Dozey

One concern to consider with this option would be her temperament. Will this get her really frustrated and mad? Will she start banging on the tank or lid in frustration?

If you come up with something let me know… I’m having a similar problem with my 41 year old.

CarinaJo

This is a really interesting problem. I have a 5g tank in my classroom..... I teach 19 energetic and insatiably curious 4 year olds! Before I brought the fish in, we had some very long talks about what was going to go into the tank. We talked about what kinds of behavior were "nice" and "polite" for the fish. We talked about how the fish need us to help them be happy and we talked about the things that made us happy about our houses. Of course, there are a few major differences. 1- I have a paraprofessional in the room also, so there's always a second pair of eyes watching the little ones! 2- We talked about the fish for about three weeks, every morning, before I brought them in.

So, don't be discouraged if your daughter isn't getting it just yet. Keep talking to her about the "rules of fish" on a 2 year old level. Maybe use getting to feed or closely observe the fish as a reward? And most importantly, try to be consistent with what you would like her to do. If you can, redirect her attention when she's bothering the tank.

I hope this helps! Good luck

CHoffman

..That is too funny Dozey.

Dozey

Very nice advice CarinaJo

lilstorm

My daughter, is the queen of climbing, so... even IF I had the room or the ability to put up a gate around the tank she would climb over it.
She can even climb out of her crib, and the bed for the crib had too be specially rigged to be almost sitting on the floor!!

Brat!


I have been putting her in time out if I catch her with her fingers in it or if I catch her trying to mess with it.
I take time every day now to sit with her and make up stories about the fish and what they do when we are not looking, she really likes that and she has cut down on the amount of re-decorating of the tank.

I also instituted a rule that says she can feed the fish every tuesday and friday if she keeps her hands out of the tank the other days of the week!

SO FAR SO GOOD, no messing with it!




"Just keep swimming!"

lilstorm

http://www.fishlore.com/fishpicture/...php/photo/7104
check her our!
Old pic, but love the feet on the table

Lucy

Too funny Dozey! You may be asking me to delete some posts in addition to your thread.


lilstorm Have you tried getting your daughter her own little tank with some decorations and water.....no fish.
She can decorate and re-decorate all she wants.

inuyasha_lover_21

Why not little plastic fish? That way she can catch them and hold them as long as she wants and throw them back in. It will keep her busy. Maybe teach her how to take care of fish with what lucy said and the plastic fish. Pretend to give them fish food. I hope things work out

jdhef

Maybe even teach her to but some drops of ammonia in that tank. Buy the time it finishes cycling, she'll be old enough for fish of her own.

Lucy

I thought of the plastic fish after I posted. Thanks for adding it.

Speaking from experience, John?

jdhef

If only I got that much help!

Jess

Be careful with little ones around the larger tanks. If they climb, they could fall in. This is a tough one. I think I would put one of those expanding gates around it and make it off limits if she's refusing to listen. You know what would be fun to do? I'm not sure if you're near an aquarium, like say. . .Boston Aquarium? It would be amazing to show her how they are cared for. How amazing the fish look in a larger setting. She may see it less as a play toy but a very important thing and precious to her mom too.

dukeofnada

My ex brother-in-law had the same problem with his son Devon. He walked in and found Devon with his hands in the tank. The light fixture had fallen in to. Rob the former brother-in-law in question was scared to death. Devon was alright, but Rob took down the tank. He later put it back up with a piece of 3/4" plywood in between the tank and stand. It stuck out on three sides about 12" could have been more or less. It's been years ago. The plywood was hinged at the front so it could be folded down when needed. He had metal rails that went along the sides of the plywood. The rails was riveted to the back piece of wood. On the front were the kind of pins that drag racers use to hold down there hoods. It didn't look bad at all, and he had nice selfs on the sides. Wish I had a picture of it. The tank was large, I don't know if it would work on a smaller one. There would be a danger of the child pulling the tank over on him or her self.

CHoffman

IF it is a bigger tank that would work perfectly..That is a great idea dukeofnada..I see its your first post. Welcome to Fishlore.

dukeofnada

Thank you, glad to be here.

lilstorm

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone, My only thought on the plastic fish idea is that it could just encourage her more to want to 'pet the fishies', but instead of messing with her plastic fish pulling out the real ones!

I got her a little 5 gallon tank of her own with a gold fish in it. So far so good, it has generally kept her out of my tanks! I think the consistent 'time out's' for putting her fingers in the tank worked, and when she had not been caught putting ANYTHING in the tank for a couple of weeks, that's when I got her a tank of her own.

Gave her something too work for and she really likes "Phishey" or "Goldie" as we named him. I am really glad that she learned to respect the fish and my tanks alot faster than I thought she would!

Minnow

It's smart of you to get her a fish of her own to teach her about caring for them, but you may want to rethink the goldfish. A 5 gallon tank is too small for goldies, the rule is 20 gallons for the first one and 10 gallons for each additional one. A 5 gallon tank is the perfect size for a betta, though. Maybe you could explain to her that the goldfish is moving away to a bigger tank where he will be happier, and a new fishy is going to move in? You can let her pick out the betta, the long, pretty fins are sure to appeal to a little girl.