My son loves fish, so my husband would like to give him a fish for his third birthday, which is coming up.
We went to Petsmart, and my son was completely attracted to the goldfish - probably because Elmo has a goldfish, and he kept telling us, "It's just like Dort-ee!" We also looked at betas, tetra, and guppies, although my son wasn't nearly so excited (but I think he would be, probably, if it was his). My husband and I both had betas in college, but it's been a while, and we have not had the other fish before (we had a tank a couple of years ago with platys, yoyo batias, and tetra in it, but nothing without a tank). We don't want to do a tank this time, though, with a heater and a filter and all, because it will take up too much space in my son's room. We'd rather do a bowl or small specialized tank that will fit on his small bookshelf.
We spoke to the "fish expert" at Petsmart, and he told us that goldfish need a filter because they are extremely dirty fish, and even cleaning the bowl every day wouldn't be good enough, but that betas and guppies will both need heaters in OUR house because we keep our house at 68 degrees during the day and drop it down to 64 at night, and betas and guppies need at least 70-degree water.
Buying sets with heaters or filters are both expensive, but my husband still very much wants to give our son a fish. Does anyone have experience with these fish and children? Advice or experiences?
Thank you to everyone for your answers! In the end, we bought him a goldfish, because so many of you recommended them, and that was what he wanted. If it doesn't work out, we got a big enough tank to keep a couple of tetra in there, or let the guppies breed. ^_^ So far, it's a big hit!
We had a goldfish for about 2 years, in a 2 gallon bowl, with gravel and a hiding tunnel and a plastic palm tree. No filter, no bubbles, no frills, etc.
Yes--they are "dirty" fish, but I used to change the water once per week. We bonded. :) 2 years is a pretty good run for a goldfish!
I have successfully had many beta fish with the exact same temperature setting you also have. So, those facts are nonsense.
And a gold fish can survive a week or longer without the water being changed. Yes, they a dirty, just get a larger bowl and don't over fill with junk. Just add a few shiny marbles and a plastic plant.
I vote you get your son what HE wants...a goldfish. When it dies, move onto a Beta Fish.
The plastic gel ones that you freeze and make ice cubes out of!
Ok - all kidding aside but I would try a golfish.
Also - check craigslist for used tanks - we had the whole elmo tank and and figurines that we spent over $100 on (and after killing all our fish and being done with trying to have a fish as a pent we sold it). We sold it on craigslist for $35 :(
Good luck!
My husband was able to find a small tank with a filter and a light at the local thrift store for $7. Added a couple of accessories, food, etc. and the fish themselves and I think it ended up being a total of $20 that we spent. We've had 2 goldfish in there since September and they are both doing great - and our house temps sound about the same as yours. Try checking Craigslist or Salvation Army for aquarium set-ups and maybe you will find something pretty cheap that still works well and will be fine.
My son's first fish was a beta (named Alpha). You can absolutely get away without a heater. IMO they are sturdier than goldfish. My son's fish recognized him, came to the top when he saw him and let him pet him. Sadly he wanted to know what was outside the tank. His successor, Zeta Beta was a very dull fish.
We now have a 58 gallon tank in his room (he is 6 and does not do the upkeep). There are a LOT of little tanks out there now.
We got a $20 tank at WalMart -- it is plastic, about 2 gallons and has a filter and a light. It is about 12"x12"x12". We never used a heater even though our home is set to 65 in the winter when no one is home. Works for one or two goldfish (we have had better luck just keeping one).
I bought a complete tank that had the filter, heater, and bubbler built right into the top, at Petco for a reasonable price. It is small enough to fit on a small end table, but taller, not wider. It looks so much easier to clean than the tank I had as a kid (I haven't set it up yet). I would spend just a few dollars more if it means the fish will do better and I won't have to clean it so often.
If you go with just a bowl, you can buy a stick heater that drops in and keeps the water warmer.
I would buy a goldfish or guppies.
Goldfish are a horrible pain in the @ss!
I love them, but I will never keep them again.
I had some that grew to be big enough to eat for dinner. They lived for years.
Way too much work to keep their tank clean, imo. (And I didn't even have kids back then!)
We have had several betas. They are great little fish.
We have a 2.5 gal. tank (w/ a bubbler) and our current "Snowy" has been happily swimming about for over 2 years. My experience, having kept them in bowls and tanks, they thrive in a small tank.
I keep my house around 65 during the day (unless it is super cold out) and 60 at night.
No problems.
And maintenance is a breeze.
HTH! GL!
As long as you don't keep the betta in one of those tiny plant pots, they make a good and pretty pet. I had one in a tank with some other fish and they did fine, they are only territorial with their own male kind. You can buy a small corner tank in walmart with a filter and hood with light for $10, I have one outside in my shed, and if you lived closer I would give it to you! They hold 1 gallon, big enough for a goldfish and an algae eater or something, and in fact that is exactly what I had in it - a nice 3 inch or so goldfish, and about the same size algae eater. Kids looked at them for about a week, then never looked at them again, so I gave them away about a year ago, to a person with a 4 foot tank - Goldy is now 6 inches! and has a great life!
Just want to clarify (and I don't know why this kind of thing irritates me, but it does!) that the Siamese fighting fish or BETTA splendens, is not called a BETA!! it is pronounced bet uh, not BETA like the greek letter ARGH!
I have a 2yr. old and we bought her a 5 gallon tank. it is a great size.
we had 5 tiger barbs before she was born and they were lovely i liked that they stayed in groups. When she turned two we let her pick she got a angel fish and a rainbow shark. The tank looks better and has lighting and everything you need . if you want a bowl i would recommend a betta
Gold fish are very dirty and and can lead to diseases quickly. You can get a gold fish and clean everyday or you will need to get a tank for diff. fish.I think they also have a 2.5 tank at petco.
keep looking and good luck
Just to warn you about guppies. They are breading machines. My brother has a tank with guppies in it. He started out with 4 or so for his daughter and the fact that he did not want to spend a fortune on fish. Now the tank is full of both adults and babies. However his kids saw that fish will eat thier own babies because they did not have a breeder to put the moms in. Just thought that I would warn you. However at my Petco I can not find females just males and my daughter who wants to have some babies in our tank keeps getting upset that she can only get male guppies.
For us, it seems like we always had goldfish while the kids were young. We had a small bowl and kept them on the kitchen counter for everyone to see. I cleaned the bowl every couple days with no problem. If your son is still into fish as he gets older, then you can invest in a small tank with a filter and heater, etc. I think my son was about 10 when we got him a bigger tank and he's really enjoyed it and always taken care of it. He would even do the research about what fish would get along well together and would go to the pet store and pick out a new one every few weeks using his allowance to buy them.
Fish are great for even young ones to start learning that not everything lives forever. I've never been the type of parent to shield my kids from fish or animals that have died. And PLEASE don't use the word SLEEP when they do die!!! We would have a little funeral for our fish; yes the kids were sad but I think going thru the process helped them deal with it.
Good luck and have fun!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_tetra
These were my first fish, they made the BEST night light a kiddo could ask for! I love that they school, they are small I had a 10gal tank and started with 10 of these fish, then my mom added other types because these guys work so well with many fish but I asked her to not get any others - these were all I wanted :) Ahhh I loved those fish makes me want to get a small tank again.
