I think my baby needs her own tank???

[Johnd651]

So we have a 9 month old baby girl, and I have come to realize, that as dad prepares to build his big tank, I think she needs her own little AIO.

I was reading some books to her, and about every third or fourth book is about sea creatures or the ocean (and she has about 120 books already). Sea Creatures, The Pout Pout Fish Series, Rainbow Fish, Oceans series, even the Roku screensaver is a reef tank. Now we don't go out and purposefully buy fish items... which I find kind of interesting as well.

But on to the main question. How old should she be to get a tank? I mean I know the answer is the younger the better, but at what point do you think she might really start to understand what it is? Learn to appreciate the little ecosystem? Start to use it as a learning tool when it comes to general development, science, e.t.c?

I was thinking of something small, AIO, that could go on her dresser. But at the same time my wife thinks it's a bad idea for now. Partly cause of current events, partly cause it's just something else that will need to be cleaned and fed, and partly cause she's says she'll just have to enjoy dads 150.

Anyone have a tank in there kids room? How does lighting affect there sleep? Toi much noise?

 

[TriggerFinger]

My daughter is three and very interested in moms “shish tank”. I started this tank when she was 1.5. She tries to touch it any chance she can get. She hasn’t dumped a whole can of food in (yet ) but I’ve found legos, a Barbie shoe, a marker cap and a toy baby bottle all in the sump. She’s very interested in the fish, crabs, snails, rocks and algae. She wants to know what everything is doing in there. Personally, my daughter couldn’t be trusted with a tank in her room but your baby is much younger and isn’t into all the things..yet. One thing to think about would be water changing and water spilling in her (carpeted?) bedroom. Good luck, your daughter will love all the fish tanks if mom and dad show interest. It’s fun trying to teach her things about the ecosystem even if a lot of it is still over her head. I have an order coming in today from reef cleaners and she will be stoked to see all the new critters inside. I had another at the beginning of this year and it’s sweet seeing and hearing her tell baby brother things about the tank I’ve told her before.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

I don’t think it’s ever too early to encourage something like this. I’ve followed the whims of my kids with these things, but they need to put in more work as they get older. We lived in Hawaii until my daughter turned 3 and she was always out on the paddle board with me to go see the turtles and looking for crabs in the tide pools, so we didn’t really need a fish tank to keep her interested. Then we moved to Colorado. We went to a store when she was 3 and wanted to hold a ball python hatchling. She loved it and named it in the store so we got it (mom was super happy when we came home with a snake!) and have had Mr Snake for 10 years now. Next was dart frogs, then my son won a goldfish at Oktoberfest two years ago which, with the slippery slope of Craigslist and fishkeeping, led us to having a reef tank. They’re both incredibly curious about wildlife, are constantly getting wildlife and science books from the library at school instead of pop culture type things. They love being in the outdoors and going on “critter checks” back in the woods. I hope cultivating this fascination creates something in them that lasts and leads them down an awesome road later in life. Go for it.

 

[Mrtakeoff53]

I had fish tank in my own room when I was about 8 that I took care of all by myself. It was a small 10 gal tank with under gravel filter. I’ve had a tank pretty much my whole time since then save for High School and College. Keep it simple and it pro analog won’t bother them. Never bothered me any.

 

[Phildago]

My son is 6 months old and he already loves the tank. I'm not sure when he'll really begin to understand it, but I suspect it won't be long until he can appreciate what it is. I can tell that already he understands that dogs are his family. He chases after then and makes eye contact, smiling to try to get them to smile back lol. Of course they can't smile back, but he knows they aren't just furry toys.

Anyway, I was thinking about getting gin a seahorse rank, or a predetor tank. Something that I could hook into my system to minimize maintenance and maximize water quality. Also, I figured he'd have a lot of fun feeding those fish and watching them eat. I'll probably end up setting it up for his 1st birthday or so. He's growing and learning so quickly it may have to be earlier

 

[Peace River]

Everyone is different, but often time the water flow or bubbles can make nice white noise. IMO involvement is the key - explain what is going on, make it part of the conversation, and let her be part of the decision making as soon as she can. Good luck!

 

[kyleThatGuy]

I had a single Zebra angelfish in a standard 29g as a kid my mother showed me how to feed it and how to change the water and as a 5 year old I kept that fish alive for about eight years all on my own so I’d say if you teach them right a kid can take care of a tank at a pretty young age

 

[Timmtom49]

My daughter is 16 months.. I too am starting to build a 240 and I figure the time it is done she'll be 2 years old lol and will have something to occupy a few mins of the day ... and then as she gets old will be able to pick out different fish and enjoy the tank more grow with her pets

 

[flsalty]

When my daughter was born I had 10 or 11 tanks. She loved them. Her favorite fish was a pacu. She would always point at it and we'd say, "pacu". That was her first word lol. Sadly, it didn't take and she has no interest in fish now that she is in her 20's.

I began keeping fish on my own when I was 6. I started with a big cooler in the garage and kept fish I caught in the creek out back. Then I somehow got my hands on a 20 gallon. My parents were no help in any of this lol. When I was a kid all my pets were things I caught myself.

 

[Desert Sea]

My daughter was about 8 when she started to show an interest in the aquarium. She understood the need to cycle the tank and that the water tests would let us know when it was safe to add fish. Of course as a kid she loved the glofish and kept after me to get some for our planted tank. My wife and I thought she was ready for a tank of her own so for her birthday she got a tank complete with the fluorescent plants and decorative gravel that glow under the blue lighting to go along with her own glofish.

I would mention that my daughter was old enough to be beyond the age for climbing on furniture but if you decide to get a tank for your little one, make sure what ever is acting as the stand is fastened securely to the wall. Kids will inevitably climb up to get a better look and it would be horrible if the tank toppled over on them. I mention this as my twin bothers did this with a dresser when they were toddlers trapping one in an open drawer that closed shut as the bureau fell over. Giving a whole new meaning to the term, ”roll with it”. No fish tank was involved thankfully.

 

[smiley28]

My daughter helps me feed my tank everyday. She’s 20mo? Almost 2.. she demands that I hold her the entire time and if I miss a particular part of the feeding process she lets me know.

 

[Johnd651]

Love all the responses. I think for now I will hold off and see what she thinks of daddy's tank. But based on the replys I have a different fear.

Will she climb and pull down the 150 (60*24*24, About 38" stand)????

 

[TriggerFinger]

I would say a toddler isn’t heavy enough to cause that much weight to topple over. With that being said, I have the same fear of my daughter leaning on my 90g tank and everything crashing down. My stand was built so the middle of my tank is eye level for me, I’m 5ft 7”. My tank/stand is top heavy. Highly unlikely because it’s so heavy but...an AIO on a lightweight mdf dresser is more likely to topple than a 150g on a stand. I’m rambling....I get the fear though.
Edited to add: I found her “jewels” (cheaply plastic rings that look like “jewels”) in my filter sock last night. “The shish wanted to be beau-ful” like her.

 

[smlarson72]

I always had fresh water growing up because it was easier for my mom, who was active duty Air Force and moved every 4 years. She always encouraged my love of fish and animals. (I used to sell tadpoles for .10 to the other kids lol). When I became an adult I had fresh water because I was active duty Air Force and then had kids. With their busy schedules and sports I just didn’t feel that I had the time for saltwater. Now that we are empty nesters it has come the right time. Love my fish and now have 2 saltwater tanks and if I can convince my husband I would have more!

 

[Desert Sea]

I would say a toddler isn’t heavy enough to cause that much weight to topple over. With that being said, I have the same fear of my daughter leaning on my 90g tank and everything crashing down. My stand was built so the middle of my tank is eye level for me, I’m 5ft 7”. My tank/stand is top heavy. Highly unlikely because it’s so heavy but...an AIO on a lightweight mdf dresser is more likely to topple than a 150g on a stand. I’m rambling....I get the fear though.
Edited to add: I found her “jewels” (cheaply plastic rings that look like “jewels”) in my filter sock last night. “The shish wanted to be beau-ful” like her.

Not to derail the post, but since we are talking about kids and tanks, you finding “jewels” in your filter sock reminded me of an episode one of our reef club members went through. Had his tank crash suddenly. Couldn’t figure out what the issue was until he broke his system down. Seems his little one got into the cabinet stand and deposited some loose change consisting of a handful of pennies into his sump. He figures the copper leached from the pennies and caused the crash.

Take away here, if you have little ones, put those cabinet door safety latches on your stands. Besides kids dropping stuff in the sump, most of us keep aquarium chemicals and testing reagents in the stand. Some of those testing reagents are very poisonous.

 

[Waterislife]

So we have a 9 month old baby girl, and I have come to realize, that as dad prepares to build his big tank, I think she needs her own little AIO.

I was reading some books to her, and about every third or fourth book is about sea creatures or the ocean (and she has about 120 books already). Sea Creatures, The Pout Pout Fish Series, Rainbow Fish, Oceans series, even the Roku screensaver is a reef tank. Now we don't go out and purposefully buy fish items... which I find kind of interesting as well.

But on to the main question. How old should she be to get a tank? I mean I know the answer is the younger the better, but at what point do you think she might really start to understand what it is? Learn to appreciate the little ecosystem? Start to use it as a learning tool when it comes to general development, science, e.t.c?

I was thinking of something small, AIO, that could go on her dresser. But at the same time my wife thinks it's a bad idea for now. Partly cause of current events, partly cause it's just something else that will need to be cleaned and fed, and partly cause she's says she'll just have to enjoy dads 150.

Anyone have a tank in there kids room? How does lighting affect there sleep? Toi much noise?

Don't get someone a fish tank until they can take care of it themself

 

[Johnd651]

Not to derail the post, but since we are talking about kids and tanks, you finding “jewels” in your filter sock reminded me of an episode one of our reef club members went through. Had his tank crash suddenly. Couldn’t figure out what the issue was until he broke his system down. Seems his little one got into the cabinet stand and deposited some loose change consisting of a handful of pennies into his sump. He figures the copper leached from the pennies and caused the crash.

Take away here, if you have little ones, put those cabinet door safety latches on your stands. Besides kids dropping stuff in the sump, most of us keep aquarium chemicals and testing reagents in the stand. Some of those testing reagents are very poisonous.

I do plan on making the doors lock or have some sort of hidden release. Anyone else done this?

 

[Johnd651]

Don't get someone a fish tank until they can take care of it themself

I mean obviously this would be a second tank for me. Unless I'm missing something I don't think a child can afford to buy the equipment for a reef tank, or stock it. I mean if someone gives that big of an allowance, I would also like to be your child .

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Is anyone concerned about the blue light affecting their child? Not trying to raise an alarm or parent shame at all, just curious if you do anything about it.

I'd go ahead and bite the bullet on an Innovative Marine/Waterbox 10 in her room. You'll love it, she'll love it, it's a win-win.

 

[Timmtom49]

My daughter would never sleep unless its pitch black