do fish make good pets for kids?

Answer 1

If you're not going to be helping them with their tanks, then no. A fish tank needs weekly water changes of 20%. Plus kids tend to overfeed the fish if you're not watching them (or, they don't feed them at all). You should also be keeping an eye on your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH levels, which young kids shouldn't do (as the ammonia and nitrate kits contain corrosive ingredients).

If you're going to be taking total care of the fish, then yes. I'm sure your children will appreciate watching the behaviors of your fish.

Answer 2

They are not really pets. It is something nice to look at You would have to take care of the aqaurium. If you have had a fish tank before then u know what u have to do. It is not a care free thing their is a lot of things to learn and do. We had them when we were growing up Really big tanks but our Dad took care of them. Fish are like any other animals they can get sick to. Before you go on this adventure get a good book on it so u can see what u are in for Fresh or Salt.

Answer 3

fish are great pets for kids. buy cheap ones though if the kids are young so you arent always paying an arm and a leg when you replace nemo every week because they wanted to pet him. start off with a gold fish or guppies. theyre pretty easy to take care of and usually can handle a little stress. i honestly like goldfish because they can live a long time if you take care of them. ive had the same carnival gold fish for 11 years

Answer 4

Depends, if you have a kid who is responsible, and is willing to give up time to do maintance, yes. But we live in america, so most likely no. Anyway, i'd say a fish is a great pet, however, id start out by doing the maintanance. A simple tank needs a mere weekly 25% water change, some algae scraping, and some weekly testing. With the advent of new products like the python no spill, water changes are easy, and take maybe 30 minutes of you time weekly. Feeding is surprisingly easy, as fish can miss many meal, weeks worth actually, before actually starving, and who doesnt like watching animals pig out? Just feed very less, as more food equals more waste, and waste is bad when you live in it

For simple maintanace, you should go for a freshwater general community tank. Planted tanks can get a lot more complicated, but arent hard. Reef or just any marine tank is out of the question. Contrary to popular beleif, a larger tank is easier to maintain than a smaller one. However, just starting out, i have to admit some tanks are a bit frightining in size. For a medium size, and price, try out a 55 or 75 gal tank. These tanks can stock a plethora of fish, and maintain stability much better, like less temp drop, or more time before the next water change. For a begginer, there are a few things to pay attention to. First, before rushing in and buying fish, you need to cycle the tank. This is building up beneficial bacteria to deal with fish waste. Not cycling the tank results in a host of problems, and is the reason why many give up fish keeping. you can look it up here http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=141946
Also, try to keep fish stock under 1 inch per gallon, of tropical, slim bodied fish under 4 inches. Any other fish need more room This also applies to adult sizes, so research the full size of fish. Also, try getting hardy fish

Also, NO BOWLS, these bowls are bad. They have almost no surface area (also stick with rectangular tanks), are very small (id go with a 30 gal min), and have no filter(overfilter). I mean really overfilter. I like aquaclear power filters, and get one or better yet 2, that put out a flow of at least 10 your tank size every hour. ALso, cannister are great, though you'll need much less, especially in the case of filters like the ehiem that are rated at actual output, not theoretical pump flow.
A fish community is a great way to teach children respect for nature, as well as providing a good piece of furniture that calms people better than hypnosis! Just get a begginers book, and use this forum http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?act=idx to get the best start possible

Answer 5

Yes they do. I've fed fish for 3 yrs since I was 9. It's really exciting once U know what to do & having fish living happily for the longest time U've ever expected. However, it's sad to see all Ur fish die. I still remember I cried when my little fish came to heaven without saying good-bye.

Answer 6

yes, but make sure they dont take it out of the water and play with it, or make sure they dont stnad under it and the bowl crashes on them. they might get bored of the pet fish and so a dog might be beta. fish are jus easy pets that dont need much mantennace

Answer 7

Sure do.. My daughter had a gold fish, darn thing almost became part of the family.. she would sit there and talk to it for hours . Dont laugh but I think the thing knew her.My wife said it kept her out of her hair alot..When we went camping over a week end GUESS WHO CAME ?? Right FISHY... Buy some fish mom LOL ROB

Answer 8

Goldfishes are fine, freshwater fishes. Thought taking care of a fish requires alot of cleaning. Other then that, their great as first pet experence.

Answer 9

Yes, but they have to clean the aquarium atleast once every 2 weeks if not more often which I doubt most kids will enjoy. From experience it took me about 30-45 minutes to clean a small 2 gallon aquarium properly. Just please do not get fish unless you are willing to clean the aquarium becuase they get so gross so fast (even if you have algae eater fish too).

Answer 10

i think fish are perfect pet for kids of all ages. they are cool to look at and they are a learning tool they help a child learn how to love and take care of something else.