Are aquariums suitable for children?
Most children are fascinated with animals and want a dog, a cat,
two birds, a horse and some fish. But are fish and aquariums
suitable for children. The answer to this question is to a very
high degree depending on how old your child is. Children under
12-14 years are not suitable to keep an aquarium by themselves
and will need help from their parents or some other adult to
maintain their aquariums. The child can take care of the daily
care such as the feeding of the fish. They will however require
help with larger undertakings such as changing the water in the
aquarium and cleaning the electrical equipment.
Small children under 5-7 years of age should not be entrusted
with the care of any animal including fish. This is not to say
that small animals shouldn't have pets but rather to say that
the parents understand that the pet is their responsibility and
not the child's. A child in this age group can benefit a lot
from being allowed to interact with animal, se fish swim and
feed the fish but is not ready to care for the animal
themselves. As an example can be said that children off this age
group only should be allowed to feed the fish when a parent is
present. It isn't an uncommon event that children tries to be
kind to the fish by feeding them the entire can of fish food
causing a biological disaster, and if not discovered and
corrected the death of all the fish in the aquarium within a
matter of hours.
Small children under 5-7 years should never be allowed to change
water in the aquarium or work with the electric equipment used
in the aquarium due to the risk of injury.
Some parents might think that a fish is a good pet for a child
since it require less care than say a dog and are cheaper. This
is only partly true. A fish requires good care to remain healthy
and the parents should expect that they will have to do a
certain amount of work to keep their child's fish alive and
healthy. True it didn't cost that much but it is still a living
thing and does as such deserve to be threaded with care. Expect
that an aquarium will require 5 minutes of your time each day
for daily care and an hour each week for partial water changes
etc.
Remember that a small aquarium requires more work than a large
one. You should therefore never buy a small goldfish bowl or
other small aquarium for your child. It might seem easier but
requires a lot more work and only experienced aquarists should
keep fish in small aquariums. I recommend an aquarium of at
least 25-30 gallon (around 100 L) as a first aquarium for your
child. Anything smaller will give you a lot of extra work and
most likely more dead fish. A little larger aquarium also allows
you the luxury to choose between more fish for your aquarium. So
what fish should you choose to your child?
Some fish species are more suitable than others for children.
First of, a child should never be allowed to keep toxic or
otherwise potentially harmful fish species. Secondly the fish
should be hardy enough to be easy to take care of, accept flake
food and other easily storable foods and be calm enough not to
be stressed by the children playing near the aquarium, tapping
on the glass etc. Suitable fish includes many livebearers, barbs
and tetras. Always buy fish that are suitable for you aquarium
and don't just let your child by the fish he think is most
beautiful, coolest or otherwise most appealing without
considering their demands.
And don't forget that you as a parent have to do your research
so that you know how to take care of an aquarium before letting
your child get one. It might be your child that is getting an
aquarium but you are getting the responsibility.