Advice on getting a Betta for younger child

So...uh.
The fish gods will probably frown upon me for doing this.
no, seriously.
but my little sisters (she's 6) lives fish. Like, in creepy excess. She will sit and stare at my goldfish tank, silent, just watching them, for hours If I let her. So...I want to get her a betta fish for Christmas. *ducks against the tomato thrown at her*
I know my luck with fish and younger siblings sucks big moss balls! but I've had a betta before! and he was a fragile thing! but he still lasted over a year. In less than half a gallon of water, with regular water changes. So....yeah.
I have a 1/2g bowl, colored gravel and..that's about it. I'm not gonna use a filter or heater because..it's a betta...and......a small child. She will be entertained, the betta will get it's water changed weekly by me.

So...advice, in the conditions it'll be living in? No, I won't be getting a huge tank for a tiny little betta fish. Just... What to feed it, how often to change the water, what TYPE of betta? I've had a veil tail, and a halfmoon rosetail. The rosetail lasted a year, the veil tail a few months (he died via fungus after finrot, then I got the rosetail.)

 

So...uh.
The fish gods will probably frown upon me for doing this.
no, seriously.
but my little sisters (she's 6) lives fish. Like, in creepy excess. She will sit and stare at my goldfish tank, silent, just watching them, for hours If I let her. So...I want to get her a betta fish for Christmas. *ducks against the tomato thrown at her*
I know my luck with fish and younger siblings sucks big moss balls! but I've had a betta before! and he was a fragile thing! but he still lasted over a year. In less than half a gallon of water, with regular water changes. So....yeah.
I have a 1/2g bowl, colored gravel and..that's about it. I'm not gonna use a filter or heater because..it's a betta...and......a small child. She will be entertained, the betta will get it's water changed weekly by me.

So...advice, in the conditions it'll be living in? No, I won't be getting a huge tank for a tiny little betta fish. Just... What to feed it, how often to change the water, what TYPE of betta? I've had a veil tail, and a halfmoon rosetail. The rosetail lasted a year, the veil tail a few months (he died via fungus after finrot, then I got the rosetail.)

I would definitely not get a betta if you can't get it proper living conditions. Sorry to be blunt, but keeping a betta in unsuitable conditions for the pleasure of a child is selfish.

I'd wait until you get rid of the guppies, and then set the 5 gal up for a betta.

 

+1
A 5 g isn't that big of a tank and it's a perfect size for a Betta. If you're going to get a fish for a kid, make sure they understand that it's a living being and the stuff you're putting in the tank is what is needed to take care of the fish.

If your bettas aren't lasting very long, it might be the time to look into a proper setup.

Sent from my 0PM92 using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

I disagree. Putting my precious Kain kn the five gallon killed him. I will never trust that again. Ever. He was fine in the 1/2 gallon, died three-four days after being moved over, with no warning.

 

I disagree. Putting my precious Kain kn the five gallon killed him. I will never trust that again. Ever. He was fine in the 1/2 gallon, died three-four days after being moved over, with no warning.

I highly doubt it was the tank size. There were other issues going on.

 

He was active and healthy until the day of his demise.. Nothing had been wrong, but when I came home from school be was pale, and belly up.

 

I wouldn't ask how large your goldfish tank, bowl, or piercing is, because I would rather not know.
However, you might wish to look into you sister's staring at them for hours, silently.
As you say, that is rather creepy for this site, gill flukes included.
I think that perhaps you might get her something like a children's book on fish this Christmas, and maybe let her help you with your tank, explaining to her why each thing is done. rick

 

You kept a betta in an 0.5 gal uncycled bowl. I doubt it was the bigger size. It could have been a myriad of things, and simply the stress of moving to another environment could have killed it since it was likely stressed and/or sick before the move (he could have been sick from being in an uncycled tank with infrequent water changes, which can lead to ammonia and nitrite poisoning issues).

 

Correct me if I'm wrong here and I do a lot of random deep dig research.

Bettas native land is a small very small less than a gallon swath of rice patty area that they thrive in in South Asia. It's not ideal and while they live happy lives there it's much different in captivity.

I would bet that severe temperature swings in a region like New York could throw a betta into shock on a regular basis. We can have 30-40 degree temperature swings on any given day.

Additionally in a temperature controlled environment you can increase greatly the chances of long term survival. Imagine locking yourself out of the house in the winter and having to freeze for an hour until someone gets home to let you in? Depending on how cold it is would depend on frost bite or death.

Feed and change water and avoid very large temperature swings and he should live a happy solo life

 

I really think this is a bad decision. You are having a great deal of issues with your guppies AND goldfish, now you are going to add a Betta to the mix. I believe you should do more research on fish keeping, then think about getting a Betta once you can provide the proper habitat for it. Your attitude towards fish and fish keeping is what seems to be hindering keeping a proper aquarium and keeping your fish happy/healthy. Sorry, but you were just on here a week ago saying you were giving up and now you are talking about adding more fish. It is a bit frustrating.

 

I think the others are right, even if somewhat harsh. You want to make the betta's life miserable just because "it's a betta" and "she's a small child". No. You teach her how to properly care for animals, and how to make them happy. Believe it or not, keeping a fish would teach her about responsibilities and how she would take care of her first child! It sounds weird, but what she learns from caring for others now will take her through her life.

Either give her a betta with a good home, or don't get her a betta. As others have said, you have gotten frustrated with your fish before, often due to inadequate conditions. Do you really want to add another fish to the mix? Especially since your sister probably won't understand how to truly take good care of the betta, and you will be doing all the work (lest the fish get neglected)...

 

Not to mention how much money it would take to get the proper setup for the betta, could get your goldfish and guppies in a much better environment.
Not even bringing her age into play, but I seriously doubt your grandparents want to deal with anymore fish in the house. Or trips to lfs.

I highly agree with rick's response in getting something fish related, but not a live fish. A live fish is not a good idea.

Also I would like to add, its not 'just a betta' it is a living animal.
It will need a filter and a heater. It needs atleast a 2.5g minimum and it should be a cycled tank.

Whatever you do, I hope you do the right thing...

 

If you want to gift your sister with a fish, how about transferring ownership of one of the goldfish to her? She gets to re-name it or whatever, but he/she stays in the tank with the others & you care for them; maybe you can hand her a pre-measured pinch of food, & she could help feed, or she could help put some veggies on a clip for them or something. Plus a guide to fish or a fish coloring book. Not only do you want to set a good example for her, I don't know if bringing in more fish & more work for you is a good idea. I used to not know anything about bettas, & kept them in small, unheated containers, where they only lived a year or so & often had problems - then when I learned more about them, I did better. My current betta is so much peppier & happier looking than my previous fish; he's in a heated 10 gallon.

 

I think the others are right, even if somewhat harsh. You want to make the betta's life miserable just because "it's a betta" and "she's a small child". No. You teach her how to properly care for animals, and how to make them happy. Believe it or not, keeping a fish would teach her about responsibilities and how she would take care of her first child! It sounds weird, but what she learns from caring for others now will take her through her life.

Either give her a betta with a good home, or don't get her a betta. As others have said, you have gotten frustrated with your fish before, often due to inadequate conditions. Do you really want to add another fish to the mix? Especially since your sister probably won't understand how to truly take good care of the betta, and you will be doing all the work (lest the fish get neglected)...

Hey, we only seem harsh because you are always so nice. Smile aside, you are, but anyway, at 3 years of age, I really do believe that having her help as best she can is the way to go, mentoring I think it is called.
That's the way my elder brother trained me when I was 5-6 years old, getting me to do any grunt work that I could do and that he didn't feel like doing. In my next life I'll be an eldest rather than youngest brother. Of course he also taught me little things like how to keep an aquarium and a love of doing so. rick
And BTW, Peacefantasy, thank you, I've never had anyone but my cats highly agree with me before. I must say that my cats view me as a god, as they are in awe of my napping abilities.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong here and I do a lot of random deep dig research.

Bettas native land is a small very small less than a gallon swath of rice patty area that they thrive in in South Asia. It's not ideal and while they live happy lives there it's much different in captivity.

Actually this is a common misconception. They actually live in much more water. When the water dries up to small puddles, they are able to survive for a short amount of time because of a unique organ they have (forgive me, I forget the name).
Again this is for a **short period of time** The need to get back to a bigger body of water is the reason they are such fantastic jumpers. In their natural habitat, they NEED to be.
Which is why the Betta is one of the most neglected misunderstood aquatic pets.

 

Thanks for clarification. I'm certainly no expert in that area but are trying to become a responsible Betta owner also. In fact scouring for deals on the net for tanks for them

 

they are able to survive for a short amount of time because of a unique organ they have (forgive me, I forget the name).

That would be a labyrinth organ.

 

I agree with everyone else. You've posted a lot of stuff asking about euthanizing fish because you can't keep them all, and say your grandparents really dislike the whole hobby anyway. Why add another fish into that?

And bettas really do need more than half a gallon, and they really should have a heater. They're tropical fish- being in cold water is not good for their health. And while a lot of people put bettas in tiny containers because "they're lazy fish who never do anything anyway"- let me tell you, when you give a betta more room, they use it. My betta has a 10 gallon and he never stops swimming around the tank.

As someone else suggested, maybe just "gift" her one of your goldfish, or get her a book or toy or something. If she really likes the fish that much, encourage her to help you feed them or do water changes or something.