Help me convince my parents

Hey everybody, I'm new to the aquarium game and I want to convince my mom to get me an aquarium. I want a 10 gallon tank with some neon tetras, endlers, mystery snails, and cherry shrimp. I've done a lot of research on what I need for the aquarium and I've got what I want picked out on amazon so I can see how much it will be. It's relatively expensive and I need some convincing ideas to get her on board. My biggest issue with convincing her is I have a succulents that I tend to forget to water on occasion, but only one of them have ever died. I also have a cat that like so jump on everything and is likely to try to knock over the tank or eat the fish. I'm open to all sorts of suggestions.

 

10 gallons is a lot for a cat to move, so if it is on a stable base and has a lid, knocking the tank over or eating fish are far less likely to happen. What is more likely is the tank would be the new kitty water dish!

 

It doesnt have to be expensive - if you shop around and get creative you can trim the budget down.

failing that, go on the full charm offensive!

 

Try buying used tanks and stuff on craigslist or stuff like that. Typically much less that buying it new, but you don't get to pick as much. Also, succulents kinda just sit there, where as fish constantly beg for attention- at least my guppies do, and endlers are pretty much guppies. Also, Amazon is not really a great place for fish tanks, they can be pretty pricey on there.

 

PetSmart 10 gallon TopFin kit May sale $59.99. Includes everything but substrate, water conditioner, and livestock. Throw in a Nicrew LED light tub (grows my plans) for $14.99 from Amazon. Not affiliated. Tell her, a PlayStation 5 or xBox is so much more expensive and doesn't provide for the learning experience as an aquarium does. Tell her, it will even help you to focus better on school sitting in front and doing school work.

 

Do you help out around the house? Better yet, without being asked? Fill and unload the dishwasher, run the vacuum, dust furniture? As a mom and grandma, I'd be more apt to do good things for a helpful child who does things without complaining! I have 6 grandkids and some who do, and some who won't...
As long as you have a place to keep it, and realize there is work involved that must be done, lay it out for her. You need to do many water changes with a 10 gallon, so don't forget a siphon and a food safe white 2 gallon bucket or 2. I buy my buckets at Lowe's for a few dollars. My old water goes into the toilet, but outside is good too. If Mom has a flower or vegetable garden, you can provide amazing fertilizer for it!

 

Before you try to convince your Mom, I want you to sit back and take a long hard look at yourself first.

Remember, these are living things you are talking about. Are you the kind of person who is willing to put the effort into giving them a good life? Not everyone is. The fact that you did the research first and this is not a spur of the moment whim leads me to believe you might be.

That being said, I love to encourage young people with this hobby. I was just a kid when I started this hobby and now more than 50 years later, I'm still doing it. There is always something new to learn and experience so it never gets old.

Here is a suggestion that might convince her to let you start. I often go to goodwill if I need a vase or something and I often see complete set ups very cheap. Most are 10 gallons, but my blue shrimp tank is a 20 gallon I found there and it came with the tank, hood, light and stand and I paid a whopping $26 dollars. If you come across a deal like that, she might be more willing to let you try.

 

You could try saying "I love you" every morning/night. It will be tough, but they have a soft spot.

As for the cat, don't worry! Knocking over a 10g would be almost impossible.

 

Welcome to FishLore!

As a mom, being posed with similar requests when my kids were young, I would ask myself....
Do I feel like, have the time or have the money to take over the responsibility of (fill in the blank) if my kid loses interest.
If the answers was no, I don't want to do any of those things than the answer was no.

Then again, you have a cat. Who feeds it and cleans their litter box, cleans up the fur and dander etc.

Sorry

 

You could try saying "I love you" every morning/night. It will be tough, but they have a soft spot.

Ugh I’d hate that & would see right through it, that’d make me even less inclined to give in.

Honesty is always the best policy, put the tank on hold for now & prove to your parents you can be responsible by taking good care of the plants & whatever else you’re supposed to be looking after.

 

If you are the oldest, you may have a better chance. Our oldest pretty much ruined the chances for the younger kids when it comes to pets.

 

Ugh I’d hate that & would see right through it, that’d make me even less inclined to give in.

Honesty is always the best policy, put the tank on hold for now & prove to your parents you can be responsible by taking good care of the plants & whatever else you’re supposed to be looking after.

Haha really?

I find that many of you had great ideas! I just thought I'd throw that in there!

 

Honestly if I were, you, I'd gain the trust of my parents above anything. The trust of your parents goes a long way in life and it's a win win situation. You have to show that you have common sense and that you're responsible. If you are consistent with both of those things, your parents will have a lot of faith in you, and will even want to do more than you asked for because they trust you. Trust is everything. Hard to build, easy to break.

 

If you are the oldest, you may have a better chance. Our oldest pretty much ruined the chances for the younger kids when it comes to pets.

My oldest always said you never let me do that when I was that age.
My answer.....You were the Test Kid

 

Hey everybody, I'm new to the aquarium game and I want to convince my mom to get me an aquarium. I want a 10 gallon tank with some neon tetras, endlers, mystery snails, and cherry shrimp. I've done a lot of research on what I need for the aquarium and I've got what I want picked out on amazon so I can see how much it will be. It's relatively expensive and I need some convincing ideas to get her on board. My biggest issue with convincing her is I have a succulents that I tend to forget to water on occasion, but only one of them have ever died. I also have a cat that like so jump on everything and is likely to try to knock over the tank or eat the fish. I'm open to all sorts of suggestions.

petco has 10 gallons for $10

 

Maybe you should ask if you can have it if you earn the money yourself by doing extra chores or saving gifted money? Maybe they will match you dollar for dollar towards saving for one. I know my kids were more likely to stay involved with something they paid for themselves as opposed to just giving it to them. If you show that this is seriously something you want they may be more likely to believe you will take care of it.

 

My oldest always said you never let me do that when I was that age.
My answer.....You were the Test Kid

Definitely truth to that. I figure being 21, she should at least do some maintenance for her critters. Her cats barely acknowledge her as they love us toi much lol! The gecko...i asked if she did something for it..."i just worked 40 hrs in the last 3 days" to which my reply was "what about the 8 days before that you didn't work at all?"

 

I was in a similar boat trying to convince my wife

the biggest selling point I had was how much science the kids are learning going through the process with me.

 

My oldest always said you never let me do that when I was that age.
My answer.....You were the Test Kid

LOL as the oldest of 5, you have NO idea how many times I said that to my parents! The youngest is 14 years younger than me, I told him I broke them in for him. I was very restricted as a kid, especially teen. Wow the last 2 had it easy!

Now my kids say that about the grandkids. "Wow Mom, you never let me do that!" Nope, I sure didn't!! There's a whole nuther set of "Grandma Rules!"

 

I am the test kid too, and being the test highschooler is not fun either. When I was 10 I had an 8 o’clock bedtime. My sister is now 10 and her bedtime is 9:30, which isn’t that bad, except for the fact that she is basically uncontrolled and my parents will tell her to go to bed some days and she just won’t. Also unlimited screen time and free reign on the internet for a 10 year old has led to a lot of weird conversations. When I was 10 I still watched my little ponies. She’s 10 and knows tons of different Anime’s. It’s ridiculous since were only 4 years apart.

I was in your same exact situation. One thing is will say is that for a beginner a 10 gallon might be kind of tough to keep parameters steady in. I would say try something bigger like a 20, and don’t put as many fish as you can in there. Keeping numbers of fish low keeps waste and toxins low. Now the tank size starts a while new dilemma, I only got into this because my parents thought a 2.5 gallon betta wouldn’t be a big thing. Well now I am planning to upgrade again to something around 50 gallons. I would say to start with a small tank and you might have a better shot at convincing your parents, but they are harder to maintain. It’s a super tough situation. I don’t mean to complicate your situation anymore, I just wanted to bring attention to those variables. Could you maybe tie it in with your schoolwork somehow? What careers have you expressed interest in to your parents? Could you tie having a fish tank into that, and talk about positive long term impacts? Those might help.

 

I am the test kid too, and being the test highschooler is not fun either. When I was 10 I had an 8 o’clock bedtime. My sister is now 10 and her bedtime is 9:30, which isn’t that bad, except for the fact that she is basically uncontrolled and my parents will tell her to go to bed some days and she just won’t. Also unlimited screen time and free reign on the internet for a 10 year old has led to a lot of weird conversations. When I was 10 I still watched my little ponies. She’s 10 and knows tons of different Anime’s. It’s ridiculous since were only 4 years apart.

I was in your same exact situation. One thing is will say is that for a beginner a 10 gallon might be kind of tough to keep parameters steady in. I would say try something bigger like a 20, and don’t put as many fish as you can in there. Keeping numbers of fish low keeps waste and toxins low. Now the tank size starts a while new dilemma, I only got into this because my parents thought a 2.5 gallon betta wouldn’t be a big thing. Well now I am planning to upgrade again to something around 50 gallons. I would say to start with a small tank and you might have a better shot at convincing your parents, but they are harder to maintain. It’s a super tough situation. I don’t mean to complicate your situation anymore, I just wanted to bring attention to those variables. Could you maybe tie it in with your schoolwork somehow? What careers have you expressed interest in to your parents? Could you tie having a fish tank into that, and talk about positive long term impacts? Those might help.

I'm the test kid as well lol. I'm the oldest in my family.

 

Try to impress them by talking about your research. Also, keep your grades up. That was a huge part of me getting my tank

 

To convince my parents I know what I’m doing I sound really smart when I talk about fishkeeping. I use lots of terminology and I’ll ramble on a bit. This tells them that I’ve got this.

I agree that bonding and behaving will also win them over. This works with me. Getting your parents interested in fish over time will help greatly too!

 

My oldest always said you never let me do that when I was that age.
My answer.....You were the Test Kid

Wow, I haven't laughed so hard in days! XD

To convince my parents I know what I’m doing I sound really smart when I talk about fishkeeping. I use lots of terminology and I’ll ramble on a bit. This tells them that I’ve got this.

I agree that bonding and behaving will also win them over. This works with me. Getting your parents interested in fish over time will help greatly too!

I actually did the same. When I was in the hospital at 8 years old begging for a pet I did my research first. This brought me to Rats, Fish, and Hermit Crabs. I did hours of research every day whether it be in a hotel, the hospital, or our new/old houses. I sounded as smart as I possibly could and although it took me 3 years to convince my Mom that Rats are smarter than Dogs, cleaner than Cats, loyal, gentle, friendly, and that everything on the news about giant baby-eating Rats was bogus it eventually paid off! Since then I've had over 50 when running a small family-owned rescue. After this the pets just became numbers...fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles galore!

 

After this the pets just became numbers...fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles galore!
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I haven’t had that experience. I would say stay safe and assume the size of tank you are getting is what you will keep. I say this because if you don’t want a 20 gal for the next few years don’t get a 20 gal. If you want an angelfish, and you think you can start it in a small tank to actually get it then get your parents to let you get a bigger one once it grows, you have no guarantee. Oh lease don’t do that, I had to help someone who made that decision out of a tough situation.

 

I am the test kid too, and being the test highschooler is not fun either. When I was 10 I had an 8 o’clock bedtime. My sister is now 10 and her bedtime is 9:30, which isn’t that bad, except for the fact that she is basically uncontrolled and my parents will tell her to go to bed some days and she just won’t. Also unlimited screen time and free reign on the internet for a 10 year old has led to a lot of weird conversations. When I was 10 I still watched my little ponies. She’s 10 and knows tons of different Anime’s. It’s ridiculous since were only 4 years apart.

I was in your same exact situation. One thing is will say is that for a beginner a 10 gallon might be kind of tough to keep parameters steady in. I would say try something bigger like a 20, and don’t put as many fish as you can in there. Keeping numbers of fish low keeps waste and toxins low. Now the tank size starts a while new dilemma, I only got into this because my parents thought a 2.5 gallon betta wouldn’t be a big thing. Well now I am planning to upgrade again to something around 50 gallons. I would say to start with a small tank and you might have a better shot at convincing your parents, but they are harder to maintain. It’s a super tough situation. I don’t mean to complicate your situation anymore, I just wanted to bring attention to those variables. Could you maybe tie it in with your schoolwork somehow? What careers have you expressed interest in to your parents? Could you tie having a fish tank into that, and talk about positive long term impacts? Those might help.

You're only 14 but write as though you're at least twice as old - very mature! That's some good advice from someone in the same age range.

I do wonder about the kids who are gaming and disrespecting parents by age 10; your sister isn't alone. Her level of maturity at age 14 will be quite different from yours. I'm not saying she'll be a problem child or isn't a good kid, at all! Parents start out with great intentions with children, but when there are several, they do get more lax about enforcing rules. Parents are only human, too! We learn to pick our battles, and some things you didn't get away with, they've learned aren't so bad after all. They'd rather do battle when it's something more important. This pandemic has changed the dynamics of everything, from education to home life.

Keep doing what you're doing, you're a very wise young lady!

 

I'm sure you've gotten a range of answers already, but if I may offer my point of view.

As someone who started the hobby without money of my own, meaning I was under the decisions and financial status of my parents, they had to approve everything before I got to fulfill my wishes. I had many conversations about specific tanks, fish, and plans for future aquariums with them. I was constantly trying to convince my dad to let me have this filter, or upgrade heaters for whatever reason.

Obviously, nobody on the internet knows exactly what your living situation is like, or how your parents feel exactly as far as planning an aquarium goes. I recommend always being honest, show them the essentials that you will need before doing anything, then discuss your plan and any other extras you wish to include. If you're someone who is normally responsible, and your parents see that in you as well, you shouldn't have too much of an issue keeping a fish. I made promises to my parents whenever I had a desire to do something, and if I were to slack off or break that promise, they could do whatever they felt necessary to punish me for it. I proved to my dad that I was responsible enough to stick to a routine with maintenance and upkeep on the tank, and eventually I gained his trust.

Now, as someone who has their own money, but still living under the roof of their parents, it is a bit easier. I can buy a tank and all the supplies I need without having permission, but I still let my parents know what I will be doing before I go out and do it. Now, that doesn't mean I can set up a hundred gallons worth of tanks in a room, but a small personal tank under 30 gallons is no issue.

I really hope you can get your own tank and fish if you haven't already, good luck!

 

Hey everybody, I'm new to the aquarium game and I want to convince my mom to get me an aquarium. I want a 10 gallon tank with some neon tetras, endlers, mystery snails, and cherry shrimp. I've done a lot of research on what I need for the aquarium and I've got what I want picked out on amazon so I can see how much it will be. It's relatively expensive and I need some convincing ideas to get her on board. My biggest issue with convincing her is I have a succulents that I tend to forget to water on occasion, but only one of them have ever died. I also have a cat that like so jump on everything and is likely to try to knock over the tank or eat the fish. I'm open to all sorts of suggestions.

First off, bravo for doing your research. And secondly, yes it can be expensive. But i was in the same boat. I wanted a 10 gallon for a betta and some neon tetras. When I asked my parents, I asked my dad first si ce he’s more laid back. He was not agai st it but wanted to think about it first so ce I’m not one to be extremely responsible. When I asked my mom, she was skeptical. She tried to convince me to get a 2 gallon but i felt uncomfortable with that. Once i showed her that I really know what I’m talking about, she was good with it as long as I took care of it. NOT them. I ended compromising with the size and went for a 4.5 gallon with a Betta, Amano Shrimp and Nerite Snail. Also be on top of water changes because the moment you skip one or two, not only will your fish suffer, but your parents trust will too. I’ve my tank for about three months and my parents said that they have actually been impressed by me. Not only that, but my mom seems to be enjoying the fish as well (the snail is her favorite lol). And with that im trying to convince them for a community tank lol. But try and do some things i did. And remember, NEVER get too relaxed with responsibilities.

Hey everybody, I'm new to the aquarium game and I want to convince my mom to get me an aquarium. I want a 10 gallon tank with some neon tetras, endlers, mystery snails, and cherry shrimp. I've done a lot of research on what I need for the aquarium and I've got what I want picked out on amazon so I can see how much it will be. It's relatively expensive and I need some convincing ideas to get her on board. My biggest issue with convincing her is I have a succulents that I tend to forget to water on occasion, but only one of them have ever died. I also have a cat that like so jump on everything and is likely to try to knock over the tank or eat the fish. I'm open to all sorts of suggestions.

Btw i suggest going to a Local Fish store for fish and sipplies. They can hep you understand things you might not get. Trust me they are saviors. Yelp has a section where you can find Local Fish Stores