Fish Tanks

[Dani]

do you have one? are they a pain to keep clean etc?

My daughter came home with the idea that she wants a fish tank but I am not so excited.

I would much rather have a dog!!

[jenn]

I had a fish tank for years. Every two weeks, I took out all the decorations, cleaned the tank, glass etc. It took a good 45minutes. I only had goldfish. Part of the work of the tank is the type of fish you get. Some fish are very high maintenance and expensive. Some of the more exotic fish are in the $60 to $90.00 range.

Don't you live in a condo?! A dog?! You have to walk it to poop several times a day and carry a little baggie with you to clean up the poop.


Notice I have a cat.
Jenn

[Basketlady]

Dani, DD got one last year from Santa for Christmas. We went through 3 fish in 4 months and the tank now sits empty. We just had one of the little plastic tanks. We started with a beta and went to goldfish because they are only about 20 cents.

Now, in full disclosure I have to say that it was her responsibility to take care of the fish. She was 10 when she had the fish and I put her in charge of the feeding. I did help with changing the water, but I suspect that the poor fish weren't fed properly.

I've repeatedly heard that people have these fish forever. That they never clean the tanks and have never had a problem. I'm not sure if we were really unlucky or they were really lucky!

[Dania]

It's a good way to teach her responsibility. How old is she?

[craftygirl]

We had fish when our boys were much younger. We also started with fancy goldfish and they didn't fare well. I bought the cheap goldfish for 13 cents from Walmart and those things were very hardy. I think it depends on the tank that you get. If it is has a filter it is much easier. Most tanks marketed towards kids don't have filters. We just got gerbils and put them in a 10 gallon aquarium (better at keeping it the bedding than a gerbil cage) and they are much easier to clean, than fish. Good luck.

[Deleted]

We had a fish tank when my daughters were younger, and it was a royal pain...partly because their father thought some more exotic fish could be interesting. Believe me, there's nothing more "interesting" than a fish or two going belly-up at the top of the water...ICK! That grand plan lasted for about 6 months, and then we gave the tank away (a much better plan)!

Stick with the 4-footed pets that don't have to be caged!

[Cat]

Fish tanks with pretty fan tailed fish are awsome.....that is until they get dirty.....water can sour from fish being over fed and of course fish poop......then it's a mess.....cleaning everything all the while making sure the fish are warm enough and the clean water is the right chemical balance. Lots & lots of work ......I know both sides of the story, my family had from 1 to 4 large tanks when I was growing up......Nope no fish for my kids unless you count the Beta fish my son had with Ivy growing in the glass jar. He was in high school and took care of it himself.....(Beta fish with a plant stay cleaner and rarely need to be fed...they eat on the plant and get oxygen from it.....water stays much cleaner....plus you can have only one fish at a time or they fight.....fairly cheap too. If I was you that's what I would get to try out first....to see if you really want to take the tank, filter, etc leap.

Cat

[Susan]

Dani read this article - and then ask your daughter if she'd be happy with one Betta fish as a "try it for 90 days".

hubpages.com/hub/Creating-a-Beautiful-Betta-Fish-Vase


She gets to watch a peace lily bloom and also see the fish upclose and personal, living with the plant.

It's kind of a cool set-up - and pretty cost efficient as a trial. Rose might even have a vase you could use - with all of those new baby flowers you were sending her - right!!!

good luck!

{and of course I vote dog - but I couldn't handle a dog without a yard. Dogs need yards and trees and grass and birds!! LOL}

[pixie]

I vote for the dog.

I had a beta fish at work for three years. I washed his tank out almost every week. I enjoyed him, but a dog or a cat is much more fun.

Barb

[Karen W]

Dani, we had a fish tank and it was alot of work, but I loved it. Once a month I cleaned the sides of the tank, drained the tank about 1/3 to 1/2 and refilled it. The filter needs care as well.

Now our tank was close to the kitchen and we have a special super long hose that drained and refilled the tank.

You have to choose the fish carefully - you can't put aggressive fish in with less aggressive fish.

It was lovely and peaceful to look at for sure, but as with anything nice it requires work!

Karen

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2011 23:17:57 GMT -5 Susan said:

...{and of course I vote dog - but I couldn't handle a dog without a yard. Dogs need yards and trees and grass and birds!! LOL}

And maybe a squirrel or a lizard or two?

[Susan]

Apr 22, 2011 9:14:23 GMT -5 @casunflower said:

Apr 21, 2011 23:17:57 GMT -5 Susan said:

...{and of course I vote dog - but I couldn't handle a dog without a yard. Dogs need yards and trees and grass and birds!! LOL}

And maybe a squirrel or a lizard or two?

lizards - oh YES - gotta have lizards to keep my canine happy!

but we recently installed a new bird feeder - so doves have taken the place of his newest "favorite" afternoon hobby. He just lays in the yard watching, and watching, and watching - his tail twitching. Then ATTACK - he loves the chase! Luckily the birds are almost always faster!

[Basketlady]

I'd forgotten about the lizards! We had them in Virginia the second time we lived there. They would hide under the drain spouts. Big Dog would knock the spouts aside and the lizards would run from one to the other. That was part of evening chores--resetting the drain spouts!

Do you have squirrels, Susan? Those are Big Dog's favorite. She still seems to think she will catch one some day!

And the rabbits. We had tons of those in VA as well. Sandy even caught one once. She just carried it around and put it down when we caught her. The poor bunny ran off under the deck. I still can't believe she didn't kill it.

We had a dog (Casey) when we lived overseas in Korea. But she was older, so she didn't require as much walking to run the energy off. But I still felt bad for her being cooped up in the apt and not being able to just hang out in the back yard. Some condos/townhouses have yards. Ours did the first time we lived in Virginia. And we had an end unit, so the yard was fairly large. That was a nice arrangement and I think Casey did well there.

[Susan]

no squirrels in AZ - well, at least not in the Valley. in the mountains there are squirrels but Mac has never seen one before.

Mac has caught a couple of pigeons - UGH - hate those birds, so he's welcome to them. But he thinks they are rag dolls - he just shakes his head back and forth. Then he kindly deposits his "toy" on the back patio - and he sits over it so proud!! Like he's saying "look momma - I got another one for you!"

LOL!

[Deleted]

We have alligator and blue-belly (smaller) lizards, which our cat loved to chase when she was younger...keep in mind that this is a house cat! We get at least one lizard running in and out of the garage every year, and we're always watching to see that we don't step on it/drive over it/smash it in a descending garage door. Lizards are NOT high on my list of "house pets"!

Some of you may recall that I've said that any critter with more or less feet than me (excluding cats or dogs), or requiring a cage/tank is not going to be a welcome pet in this house!

Sorry, Dani...we're hijacking this thread, but you probably have a pretty good idea about how we feel about fish at this point!

[Noelle]

Having a fish is alot of maintenance and they don't do much just swim eat and poop lol. I think hamsters are a better starter pet for kids just don't let it run loose or escape. I had the same hamster twice because he escaped and was in our attack and my brother found the little teed nibbling in the garage like months later haha eventually after the last one died (my brother who is really tall tried to hand him to me joking around and the poor thing fell to the floor and got a bloody nose and died )or escaped I gave up on that and moved on to bunnies. We had a dog once too and now I have a bunny and a cat now. Hamsters and ferrets I think are Definitely more inexpensive but I'm more of a cat person. I've wanted one my whole life and finally got one after I moved in with my fiancé. I wasn't able to have one at my moms because my stepdad was allergic. So it all depends on how much effort and time you have for your pet. Also the bigger the tank for the fish, the bigger the hassle to clean it. Those tanks and accessories can add up pretty fast too. Just like scrapbooking

[Noelle]

I meant he was in our attic lol not attack. Stupid auto correct I meant little terd too and fiancé but you get the point

[crazy4pink]

We love dogs-

We had a hamster once or rather twice- the first one bit us everytime we stuck our hand in the cage. The second one was cute- a dwarf hamster- but I refused to touch it- too mouse like- the cleaning was totally left to the kid!!! Problem was he died- they only live a few years-sad.

[Dani]

thanks for the comments... I guess there is no easy way around it. As kids we used to have all kinds of living creatures in our house, we had fish tanks, different breeds of dogs, rabbits, ducks, and my father even came home once with a baby goat. I do remember it being so much fun but of course I wasnt doing the cleaning etc.

I sure love salt water fish but those tanks are so expensive to keep and populate.

[Basketlady]

If I were the one doing the cleaning, I'd rethink that goat!

[craftygirl]

No Michelle, you keep the goat outside, then you really don't have to clean much, just watch where you step! [

[Basketlady]

Crafty Girl, you know my opinion of farm animals!

[craftygirl]

Well, even if you don't like farm animals, if you keep them outside, there is less to clean up. I can't imagine having a pig or a goat as an indoor pet. ;D