Photo: HkW2008 / Flickr

Taking care of a pet is part of almost everyone’s experience of growing up, and fish seem to hold a special appeal for many children. Often, however, the experience ends traumatically when kids without much knowledge of their new underwater friends don’t know how to take care of them or parents try to house the pets in the wrong environment. Find out more about setting up an aquarium to make the experience more pleasant for you, your child, and the fish.

Go big

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the perfect aquarium for a child is a little one that looks cute and easy to maintain. The opposite is actually true: larger aquariums are actually far easier to maintain. You’ll need to choose whether to go for a glass or acrylic aquarium – keep in mind that acrylic is less like to chip or break and is therefore possibly safer, but glass is less expensive.

Keep it natural

Brightly coloured ornaments or gravel can be stressful for fish, so get your children involved in making their fish’s home as true to a natural environment as possible. This certainly doesn’t have to look boring – get creative with the plants, stones and other ornaments available, as long as they’re in neutral colours and not harmful to the fish.

Something fishy

Photo: altopower

When you’re selecting fish for your kids’ aquarium, you’ll want to look for the hardiest ones you can find, so read about types of fish and get as much advice as you can. As a general rule, the smallest fish are the hardiest.

Set it up

Your aquarium will take a while to grow the helpful organisms that remove the fish’s waste and keep the tank clean and healthy. During this time, you’ll only be able to keep a few fish in your tank, so you and your child should enjoy the process of ‘getting to know’ a few fish at a time. Take advantage of the educational opportunities presented by aquariums, and have fun with your child and the new pets.

Tags: fish, fish tank