What age did your kids start to take responsibility for their own tanks?

My son has been super eager to help with care for the fish and so far I have let him only on a very small, controlled level (like I would premeasure some food into a little fish and he got to sprinkle it into the tank) but I am thinking about allowing him on a very small scale to take on some aspects of maintenance soon. How did you all go about turning those jobs over to your kids? A separate tank with something hardy like a betta is one suggestion I've gotten but I'm not sure MORE fish is the best answer either (and besides, if we did another tank, it would most likely be a tropical or converting our 10 gallon to a tropical so that obviously presents different issues and care requirements than a betta would).

When my parents had their big old common goldfish, I would let him help with water changes because if nothing else, it was way too big to accidentally suck up with the gravel vacc but when he passed on and we got the baby Goldies instead, I took over again. I will be doing all adjustment of water chemistry and parameters until he is older but could use some ideas on how others let their kitties get in on the fishy fun. My son will be 8 soon and is so excited to get up in the mornings or come home from school and see what funny stuff his fishies are doing now.

 

I'm not that sure, I started at 5 but I was really bad at it and my poor betta never lasted a day. Yes, give him a 15 gal. That's a good starter size. I am not a father though, but tell him that he will need to learn more things than just filtration, water and looks. He needs to about the nitrogen cycle, water levels, overstocking, minimum tank size, brackish waters, etc. Having a fish tank is like having a bunch of anything.
If he is turning eight, a 15 gal is a good small scale. But a bunch of community fish, or easy care for fish like platies, mollies, tetras and danios. They are very hardy. Maybe a school of cories. I would not suggest cichlids like angelfishes, nor would I suggest goldfish. Cichlids are too aggressive(If he wants cichlids, he can't. Not even a GBR or Keyhole because a 15 gal and below is too small.) Goldfish are messy, but he can try a couple comets or commons, not the fancies though. I would not suggest bettas because they are nore sophisticated than you think. Barbs , no. Just cherry and rosy barbs would work. BN plecos are hard to care for, so for an algae eater, maybe an otto , SAE or GAE .


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

Yes, you can do the water changes, but you have to make him watch you, and explain cycling, water levels AND nitrogen cycle.


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

 

When I hold my 6 month old near our 55 gallon tank she tries hard to get inside of it. I'm assuming it's to help me clean it!

 

It's great you want to get your son into aquatics! Just remember, fish are living creatures, and not just a toy you can just "get bored of and forget about" - so long as you emphasize and teach your son that, you shouldn't have a problem

I'm sure you'll be all to eager to lend a hand though

 

I think hed really like a betta and as long as you supervise him when it comes to water changes he'll be fine... Its really going to depend on the type of kid he is though... some are just not cut out to remember that there is a little life in that tank and he needs to make sure he doesn't over feed it and make sure he will feed it in general. I know when I was 8 I don't think I could handle a betta.

 

Cacret - our current stock in one tank (a 55 gallon) includes danios, dojo loaches, 3 fancy goldfish, an adolescent Sailfin Pleco and a baby BN pleco. (The sailfin to be rehomed in the spring or summer to a local heated pond) our other tank is a 10 gallon with a ghost shrimp, guppies, and Rasboras. I am hesitant to let him practice with that since the smaller fish and the shrimp risk being sucked up by the gravel vacc. If it wasn't for the whole "too stressful to the fish to be done routinely" aspect, I would net them out and put them in a bucket or other container to just keep them out of harms way entirely during that part of maintaining the tank.

 

Ok Just remember easy care fish, since he is a beginner. It is in a way good that he experiences troubles in the tank so he can learn more through experience. Perhaps if he really wants betta, give a 15 gal. It should give enough space to house 1 male and 2 females, as long as there are lots of bushy , tall and sleek plants as well as caves, or just have a betta male, with a bunch of tetras in a 15 gal. Like I said, 15 gal is a good starter size


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

 

It's great you want to get your son into aquatics! Just remember, fish are living creatures, and not just a toy you can just "get bored of and forget about" - so long as you emphasize and teach your son that, you shouldn't have a problem

I'm sure you'll be all to eager to lend a hand though

Kind of hard to just forget about his fish considering almost one entire wall of his room is currently tanks! His room is the fish room, he has always been told they were "his tanks" and "his fish" or "our tanks" and "our fish" not "my fish" even if I probably could say so since I do all care and all maintenance for them.

He is a bit like a child sized version of Sheldon Cooper, and fish seemed to have a therapeutic affect for him in calming him when nothing else would so when my parents old goldfish died and he was so devastated he basically shut down, I built the new tank in his room - a 55 gallon for "his" goldfish. The tanks are quite literally the first thing he sees in the mornings, the last thing he sees before bed at night and whenever he comes in the door from anywhere as soon as he has greeted our dogs he goes to sit on his chair next to the bigger of the two tanks or his bed across from them and watch what his fish are up to. Makes it a bit hard to get bored and forget about them when they take up almost an entire length of the wall in his bedroom between the two tanks

 

^ awesome lol now make him start saying bazinga

 

For the record, I suspect him to be a a future FishLorian and full-fledged MTS victI'm in the making! My husband noticed after we were gone that quite a few of our fish were missing (all of missing ones were of the smaller types we have: danios, Rasboras and guppies) Since the neighbor in charge of their care in our absence never reported finding any dead ones my husband wondered out loud if the plecos or loaches could have a hidden predatory streak and decided to help themselves to a few feeders. This prompted my son to start in about converting the 10 gallon into a guppy breeder so we could get some females and once they started having babies we would have our one supply of feeders for whoever was eating the others!

(More likely, I think some major over-feeding was happening and a skipped water change combined with some stress from the change in routine meant some of the weaker ones went belly up and were scavenged before they were found)

 

^ awesome lol now make him start saying bazinga

I can do one better! He routinely sings to our fish. When he does, it's always "Soft Fishy," a song of his own adaptation to the tune Soft Kitty. And yes, he does make me sing him Soft Kitty when he is sick.

 

ha!

 

HI Waterlily,

My son is about to turn 8 and here's how he's helping me. (HIS fish tanks by the way ) He holds the lid open for me during water changes and makes sure I'm not overfilling the bucket. He stirs the water after I add prime. He tells me where there needs to be more vacuuming. When we test the water he checks the color for me. He feeds as long as I'm there to watch. He does a fish count every morning. I figure if he's doing all of this he might be able to take over when he's much older. For now he feels like he's taking responsibility for his fish and I'm glad he's interested in that.

 

Ok Just remember easy care fish, since he is a beginner. It is in a way good that he experiences troubles in the tank so he can learn more through experience. Perhaps if he really wants betta, give a 15 gal. It should give enough space to house 1 male and 2 females, as long as there are lots of bushy , tall and sleek plants as well as caves, or just have a betta male, with a bunch of tetras in a 15 gal. Like I said, 15 gal is a good starter size


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

Uh... this is not exactly the best advice. You can not house bettas together (disregarding sororities, which I won't get into but is definitely not for beginners) under any circumstances, especially not 1 male and 2 females! I could understand if you were suggesting a wild betta like Betta imbellis but you made no mention of it. Tetras are also not good tankmates, and I believe a 20 gal is the minimum for a betta community, which I still don't recommend, as bettas are most often very vicious towards fish tankmates.

I think the best way of seeing if he is ready for his own tank is to have him cycle his own tank. If he can stay interested long enough for a cycle, he's probably ready for fish. I think a 10 gallon with a single betta is a great starter setup with a hardy fish that still has room for an invert or two. If you want to go for a starter tropical community, I would go for a 20 gal, maybe with zebra danios, some cories, and a honey gourami.

 

Uh... this is not exactly the best advice. You can not house bettas together (disregarding sororities, which I won't get into but is definitely not for beginners) under any circumstances, especially not 1 male and 2 females! I could understand if you were suggesting a wild betta like Betta imbellis but you made no mention of it. Tetras are also not good tankmates, and I believe a 20 gal is the minimum for a betta community, which I still don't recommend, as bettas are most often very vicious towards fish tankmates.

I think the best way of seeing if he is ready for his own tank is to have him cycle his own tank. If he can stay interested long enough for a cycle, he's probably ready for fish. I think a 10 gallon with a single betta is a great starter setup with a hardy fish that still has room for an invert or two. If you want to go for a starter tropical community, I would go for a 20 gal, maybe with zebra danios, some cories, and a honey gourami.

He will get help from his parents, and they are expert at fish keeping. Its to be honest his choice. Maybe ALL females perhaps


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

 

Why do you like testing the boundaries of betta behavior so much Cacret . My Betta is quite happy alone . Fortunately fish aren't people not all of them are social and to force one of these known antI social fish to be in an enclosed social space is asking for trouble

 

Hahaahahahahaha!!' I love how bettas have BIG personality, and unless a male, I like know you never know what happens


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

PS, how do I know I the difference of a male twintail and female twintail? My female died due to disease.


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

 

At least you have your reasons

 

Ya others can be like "I just want."


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

 

Uh... this is not exactly the best advice. You can not house bettas together (disregarding sororities, which I won't get into but is definitely not for beginners) under any circumstances, especially not 1 male and 2 females! I could understand if you were suggesting a wild betta like Betta imbellis but you made no mention of it. Tetras are also not good tankmates, and I believe a 20 gal is the minimum for a betta community, which I still don't recommend, as bettas are most often very vicious towards fish tankmates.

I think the best way of seeing if he is ready for his own tank is to have him cycle his own tank. If he can stay interested long enough for a cycle, he's probably ready for fish. I think a 10 gallon with a single betta is a great starter setup with a hardy fish that still has room for an invert or two. If you want to go for a starter tropical community, I would go for a 20 gal, maybe with zebra danios, some cories, and a honey gourami.

I'm actually debating between the two methods at this point: either a betta (notice it is betta - singular since we aren't THAT experienced to want to try mixing potentially highly reactive fish, especially when a highly 'sensitive' kid is involved) or a tropical tank on a small scale.

He actually already knows about the nitrogen cycle, believe it or not, and while I don't know that he has a firm enough of a grasp of what levels nitrates vs. nitrites vs. ammonia mean at any given point during cycling or how to do it, he can tell you "it is getting the good kind of bacteria be happy enough to move into the tank and like there so they can help to break down the bad stuff like fish poop and food waste in the water so it's not going to go rotten and turn into poisonous water and make my fishies sick." (One of a run on sentence but he got the gist of it)

 

He will get help from his parents, and they are expert at fish keeping. Its to be honest his choice. Maybe ALL females perhaps


"Loving a pet is not enough, you have to discipline it, feed it and treat them when they are sick."
-Cacret

Flattering but I am by no means an expert. Haha. I have had my share of tank troubles as well. More to the point, I will be learning along with him since I have always had cold water fish, with the exception of my parents keeping a bunch of neon tetras when I was a kid. (My mom was convinced I somehow introduced parasites simply by adjusting the heater and adjusted it back, blamed me when all the fish died off that was the end of that)

It's the same with bettas. I attempted keeping a betta once years ago when my son was maybe a year or two old but it ended badly within the first few days of getting the betta. Anthony figured out how to leave his crib one day while I was in the shower, I didn't even know he was awake until I heard him calling for me. He had decided to give the betta a hug. At the time, he was too young to understand that fish need to stay in the water, much less that they don't appreciate hugs (as nice as he was trying to be toward our new fishy friend by welcoming him quite literally with open arms) We decided after that to put the bettas on hold until he was old enough to not pull them out again and since I'm "pretty sure" (sarcasm!) we are there age-wise. Like I said, his birthday is coming up and if he chooses to do this with his birthday money rather than buy some new toy or gadget then that's what we'll do. He can have his choice of tropical fish or betta and we'll guide him from there.

 

Sorry for three consecutive posts. I'm thinking if he does choose to go this route (meaning spending birthday money on fish and not toys or gadgets) a desktop aquarium for our shared study space? Homework is a challenge mainly because he doesn't want to stay put so maybe if a little fishy friend were there to lend a relaxed atmosphere it might go over easier. As if any FishLore member needs an excuse to build yet another tank, right? That and we are running out of horizontal surfaces in Anthony's room so the desk is the next logical step beyond a tank stand along with the additional tank.

Thoughts? Opinions? Since this is still a yet-to-be-built tank, we aren't really decided on size, scale or anything and obviously everything is still flexible.

 

Hello, I have moved your thread to the general discussion section of the forum. Thanks.

 

Cacret - We can't assume that all members of this forum are experts... And if we were, I don't think that we would be recommending betta community tanks at all. Sororities, while debated frequently, really aren't for someone who is doing a beginner setup for their child. BGKFan is right, why would we put these antI social fish together in a social situation they can't escape from? And why would we recommend it to a beginner?

waterlilykarI - Cool to hear that about him reading up on the nitrogen cycle! I remember that being a big thing in high school biology... he'll have a great head start! Most adults still don't know what it is

I think the idea of getting him to spend his own money is great. Whether you go for a betta or small tropical community, I find that all fish are very relaxing to watch for me. A lot of people describe them as almost 'zen'. The main thing now would be to find a place to put the tank - measuring and seeing how much weight the desk or wherever you put it can hold. Seeing what can actually fit in the study space and then deciding what you want to go into the tank should be the way to go.

 

omg about the betta story T-T.

 

I took care of a shared tank when I was 8 but got my own betta tank set it up myself and took care of a single betta when I was 10

 

waterlilykarI - Cool to hear that about him reading up on the nitrogen cycle! I remember that being a big thing in high school biology... he'll have a great head start! Most adults still don't know what it is

I think the idea of getting him to spend his own money is great. Whether you go for a betta or small tropical community, I find that all fish are very relaxing to watch for me. A lot of people describe them as almost 'zen'. The main thing now would be to find a place to put the tank - measuring and seeing how much weight the desk or wherever you put it can hold. Seeing what can actually fit in the study space and then deciding what you want to go into the tank should be the way to go.

The learning about the nitrogen cycle is actually from him listening to me trying to educate some of the less informed members of the family that frequently ask "why can't you just add water, maybe a decoration or two and toss some fish in there? I don't get what all this nonsense and worry over nothing is about!" At random, someone in the LPS said almost exactly that the other day to the guy we our fish from and my son piped up with the response I gave earlier about what the nitrogen cycle is and why it's important. I kid you not, her jaw literally dropped! It took her several moments of stunned silence (in which she did an award winning impression of a fish out of water herself) then said, "Well, if he can learn and understand it, I suppose I could put a little more effort into studying up on this stuff to," agreed NOT to take the fish at the same time as the brand new aquarium she was buying and left, promising to be back only once she "figured her way through this whole cycle." (Talk about a proud Mommy moment!)

 

^pro

 

^pro

It's probably a good thing that for once he did not ask for more fish because had he asked me for literally ANYTHING in the store that day, I would have bought it all for him and then some. Usually I am against spoiling him for every little thing but in my book, he earned it that day.

We have until the 12th or just afterwards before we know what he wants to do with any birthday money he receives (I am not telling him in advance so I don't risk skewing it in the direction of fish if that isn't already what he would pick) Is it sad that I am actually looking forward to hearing his answer to "so what do you want to do with your birthday money?" Almost as much as he probably is?

 

Is it sad that I am actually looking forward to hearing his answer to "so what do you want to do with your birthday money?" Almost as much as he probably is?

no lol that's really cool

 

Is it sad that I am actually looking forward to hearing his answer to "so what do you want to do with your birthday money?" Almost as much as he probably is?

Not at all, I would be curious to see what he does as well Lol

 

I'm only 13 but I have been taking care of my bettas since I was 10

 

I started at 9/half 10 gallon betta by 11 I had 2 29gallons I'm 13\half and have a 55 now

 

And we have a verdict! He will be "trading in" some of the existing fish we have in our 10 gallon to make room, do some work on the tank, and once everything is perfect he wants to get a betta. It was a close call between a betta and a school of something small and colorful but it sounds like the betta won out in the end. Haha, I wouldn't be surprised if he changes his mind back yet again several more times before we get there to pick one out.

Actually, he asked a question I don't have a definite answer to, although I suspect I know how it will go. He wants to know if he could still keep his ghost shrimp in the 10 gallon to keep the betta company or if they wouldn't get along. If he thought he could get away with half the fish in the store in that tank together, I'm sure he would be quite happy to take them all home with him but he is very attached to his little shrimps and doesn't want to trade her in with the others, even saying if it was going to mean not getting a betta so they wouldn't argue (his phrasing, not mine) Anyone have any experience either way with trying it?

 

And we have a verdict! He will be "trading in" some of the existing fish we have in our 10 gallon to make room, do some work on the tank, and once everything is perfect he wants to get a betta. It was a close call between a betta and a school of something small and colorful but it sounds like the betta won out in the end although it's not exactly set in stone yet. Haha, I wouldn't be surprised if he changes his mind back and forth then back yet again several more times before we get there to pick one out in the next few days after working on the tanks.

Actually, he asked a question I don't have a definite answer to, although I suspect I know how it will go. He wants to know if he could still keep his ghost shrimp in the 10 gallon to keep the betta company or if they wouldn't get along. If he thought he could get away with half the fish in the store in that tank together, I'm sure he would be quite happy to take them all home with him but he is very attached to his little shrimps and doesn't want to trade her in with the others, saying "even if it means not getting a betta so they wouldn't argue but will stick with some other type of fishy instead."

Anyone have any experience either way with trying it?

 

Glad to hear it! A future aquarist in the making

I've only had one experience with ghost shrimp and bettas, and they didn't get along very well (I moved the shrimps to their own tank after). However it really does jut depend on the betta - some will tolerate them and some won't. You can try to put a lot of ground cover and places for them to hide but there's no guarantee you'll get a betta that tolerates them. If he wants to keep them I'd suggest keeping an extra tank on hand to move the shrimp into if things get aggressive. Make sure you have Palaemonetes paludosus for your ghost shrimp, as another species of ghost shrimp is known to be aggressive. If they have 2 red dots on the tail they are the peaceful kind.

Ember tetras, celestial pearl danios, and chilI rasboras are small schooling fish that can work in a 10. They should be fine with ghost shrimp. However they are pretty uncommon to find in chain stores or the LFS, unless you can order them in. You could order them online as well. I think you could also do platys, but I'm not too well versed on them.

 

For the record, my LPS sells ember tetras and can get the others if we requested them but as my son is, if possible, a little overly enthusiastic when trying to help I was crossing my fingers for something bigger than, let's say, neons he also wanted that could potentially lead to gravel vac catastrophes if isn't careful where he points the end.

As it is, he chose to go the betta route instead which in my book is better because the first few times he does any maintenence himself, I can put a divider up and let him practice on one side while the soon-to-be occupant of his 10 gallon tank is safe on the other or even 5-10 minutes in a bowl (the only time a betta in a bowl is a good thing is when it is not in their best interest otherwise such as cleaning! I had one I HAD to do this for because he would go all kamikaze on the gravel vac and nearly got sucked up several times, even jumping out of a breeder net to do so and while I managed to break suction just in time to avoid any permanant damage, I was worried enough back then that one day I wouldn't save him in time so from then on he got to take a BREIF "vacation" in a clean, aerated, decorated with stress reducing hiding spots and pre-warmed, dechlorinated 2 gallon bowl for the 5 or 10 minutes it took me to do the gravel vac and refill) so I may do the same here if absolutely necessary until he can safely go back into the tank.Much harder to do that with a bunch of little schooling fish although I suppose still potentially possible.

 

May I present "Jay" (as in Bluejay)

 

May I present "Jay" (as in Bluejay)

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Betta love new life spectrum fish food

 

He's so pretty! He'll be so happy in his new home