Starter aquariums for a 13yo girl

[purepolly]

My niece would LOVE to get a fish for X-mas. Her mom has multiple allergies to cats and dogs so this would be her very first pet and I need to make sure the entire fish owning process goes well for the whole family or she may just never have another chance.

Can any one suggest an extremely easy to care type of fish (preferably not a goldfish), and aquarium setup.

Multiple thanks in advance, since I have to go to sleep soon (working 3rd shift tonight) and won't have a chance to check the replies til late tomorrow morning.

 

[Raduque]

Tiger Barbs in a 10-20 gallon tank is a good starter fish. Just remember to correctly cycle the tank and perform the monthly water changes, and they'll be fine

Oh and Barbs are a schooling fish. Get two to start cycling the tank with, and once you've got the ph and nitrate counts where they should be, introduce about 3 or 4 more Barbs of the same kind you started with.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Pics of niece?







I'm not really Satan. Two sixes and a nine... just bluffing.

 

[FoBoT]

20 gallon tank and mollies/platys/swordtails

my 13 year old daughter has 29 gallon in her room with mollies and swordtails


add a plecostamus to keep the glass clean and you are all set

mollies can even live in salt water, so add a good amount of aquarium salt to make the water brackish and they'll even survive a tank cycle as Raduque refers to
if you get 2-3 females and one male, you'll end up with a tankful in a few months

 

[Atheus]

My tropical fish ate eachother ...

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
20 gallon tank and mollies/platys/swordtails

my 13 year old daughter has 29 gallon in her room with mollies and swordtails


add a plecostamus to keep the glass clean and you are all set

mollies can even live in salt water, so add a good amount of aquarium salt to make the water brackish and they'll even survive a tank cycle as Raduque refers to
if you get 2-3 females and one male, you'll end up with a tankful in a few months

Just bear in mind that the fry are tiny enough that if you have an outside power filter they will be drawn in and perish on the media causing an ammonia/nitrite spike along with cloudy water.

 

[Howard]

Aquariums require the kind of maintenance a 13-year-old girl can't (or won't want to) do by herself. Depending on the size of the tank and how much food is fed, 25% of the water might have to be changed once a week. The substrate will also have to be sifted with something like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_maintenance_python_products.asp?CartId=

A new aquarium will have to be cycled.
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

One method you can use if you don't have access to "clean" bacteria is to add ammonium hydroxide/aqua ammonia to the tank. Then, in a week, check the ammonia and nitrite levels. If they read 0, you're good to go. How much to add? Somebody could calculate that, I suppose.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn
Just bear in mind that the fry are tiny enough that if you have an outside power filter they will be drawn in and perish on the media causing an ammonia/nitrite spike along with cloudy water.

yes, her tank has an undergravel filter with a power head, so the babies are fairly safe (other than being eaten)

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

yes, her tank has an undergravel filter with a power head, so the babies are fairly safe (other than being eaten)

Oh no not the UGF! :laugh:

Yeah they will eat them too!

 

[rahul]

Originally posted by: Howard
Aquariums require the kind of maintenance a 13-year-old girl can't (or won't want to) do by herself. Depending on the size of the tank and how much food is fed, 25% of the water might have to be changed once a week. The substrate will also have to be sifted with something like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_maintenance_python_products.asp?CartId=

Having maintained aquaria, under parental supervision, since the age of 4 (by myself since I was around 8), I'd say a 13 year old girl is more than capable of looking after a small aquarium. OK, I'm not a girl but, based on experiences with neices/nephews and cousins, I'd say they're more conscientious than boys.

Since this is her first tank, don't go overboard. A 10 gallon tank with a couple of pairs of livebearers (I recommend platies as starter fish) and some fake plants would be a nice start. A sponge filter and aerator will do just fine for a bioload that light. You'll need a heater if it is cold where your niece lives. Platies are also very fry friendly, so you won't have to worry about them eating the fry either.

 

[Kanalua]

I would go Eclipse 25 Gal. or 20 Gal Long with Eclipse 3 Hood. It's not the cheapest, but relatively easy...

 

[Turin39789]

Sea Monkeys

 

[Jack Ryan]

2 Gallon Tank

A STARTER aquarium would be one of those small "all-inclusive" deals. Get 1 Betta and let her have at it.

20+ Gallons is far from starter for a 13 y/o.

 

[TwoMix]

Walmart has a 10 gal starter set for $50 comes with heater, cheesy whisper filter, etc. but gives you more flexibility than a 2.5 gal eclipse and if fish isn't for you then you wont have 29 gal taking up space. Cycle and 1" fish/gal and NO goldfish or plecos!

 

[FoBoT]

smaller tanks are HARDER to take care of due to the smaller volume of water

water chemistry changes are more drastic in a smaller volume of water

that is why a 20 gallon tank is perfect, not too big/too expensive, but easier to get started/not kill so many fish

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
smaller tanks are HARDER to take care of due to the smaller volume of water

water chemistry changes are more drastic in a smaller volume of water

that is why a 20 gallon tank is perfect, not too big/too expensive, but easier to get started/not kill so many fish

I bet she'll get bored of it in a week, then her family will be stuck with a big tank.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: FoBoT
smaller tanks are HARDER to take care of due to the smaller volume of water

water chemistry changes are more drastic in a smaller volume of water

that is why a 20 gallon tank is perfect, not too big/too expensive, but easier to get started/not kill so many fish

I bet she'll get bored of it in a week, then her family will be stuck with a big tank.

A 20 gallon is not a very big tank.

 

[jammur21]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: FoBoT
smaller tanks are HARDER to take care of due to the smaller volume of water

water chemistry changes are more drastic in a smaller volume of water

that is why a 20 gallon tank is perfect, not too big/too expensive, but easier to get started/not kill so many fish

I bet she'll get bored of it in a week, then her family will be stuck with a big tank.

good starter fish and tank combo

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
2 Gallon Tank

A STARTER aquarium would be one of those small "all-inclusive" deals. Get 1 Betta and let her have at it.

20+ Gallons is far from starter for a 13 y/o.

The bigger the aquarium, the easier it is to maintain.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: Leros

The bigger the aquarium, the easier it is to maintain.

Agreed. I would definitely not go smaller than 5 gallons. 10 or 20 gallons is a good starting point. If you can keep it down to 0.5-0.75 fish-inches per gallon you'll be fine.

(IE in a 10 gallon tank you can put in five 1-inch long fish or three 2-inch long fish, or one 7-inch long fish

Maintaining a freshwater tank is EASY and should not be confused with maintaining a salt/marine tank which is a nightmare.

Change 1/4 of the water once a month and you should be fine. All you need is a simple tank, a filter, gravel, and a light.

Ask your local pet store (not a chain, find a mom and pop storefront) for recommendations on fish that are easy to take care of. Once a 20-30 gallon tank is up and running for a year you can pretty much neglect it for months and things will still be okay.

There are a number of all in one tanks these days that are pretty nice. I have a nano cube 12 in addition to my 55 reef tank, and it's a pretty slick all in one package. But you can get a plain old glass tank and a $40 whisper power filter for the back and have everything you need. (honestly you don't even need the airstone)

 

[randay]

If shes that young I would go with bettas or goldfish. Those things never die. Also for the tank go with a small eclipse. Start her off small and simple, then if she takes to it, buy her some books and things and let her decide what kind of fish, tank, plants, etc...

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Do not get a goldfish. Goldfish are nasty fish that create lots of waste. Tiger barbs will be good if they are the only thing kept. They will nip at other fish's fins.

Like mentioned above a platty or mollie is a good starter fish along with a pleco and a apple/turbo snail for algae control. I would suggest a 20 gal as the more water that's in the tank the easier it is to take care of. You can get one of the kits at walmart or Petco/Petsmart for not a lot of $$$. Just don't get the fish at walmart.

 

[BrokenVisage]

USB Aquarium FTW

 

[Howard]

If you feel algae will be a problem, you can simply install a live plant. They reduce the amount of nitrate, which algae require.

One of those magnetic glass scrubbers would be useful too, but not necessary.

 

[Mardeth]

Remember that a smaller one is more prone to go wrong. 30 gallons at least.