Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
Most of you already know that we have two beautiful fish swimming in our bedroom at all times. Flub & Blub were surprise adoptions for us (as all of our little ones have been.)
Over the past few months, I’ve realized how easy it has been to take care of Flub & Blub and how much responsibility they have taught me.
Fish are often looked over by a number of families that are interested in getting their kids pets, but I feel like they come with a great deal of discipline.
*photo from Do All Kitties Look This Cute When They Hide?
Feeding
It’s easy to tell when your kitty hasn’t been fed as they usually tell you whenever they are hungry, however, fish are a bit different… Since they can’t tell you when they are hungry you have to remember to feed them all by yourself. I’ll have to admit, I haven’t always been the best at remembering to feed the fish… but that’s the beauty of having Bettas. It’s best to starve them one day a week and they can survive off of food once a week (although I wouldn’t recommend that). Now, not every fish is the same and some will need to be fed more frequently than others.
If you’re on vacation for a while you don’t have to worry about leaving them behind. There are vacation feeders you can grab that can feed your little ones for up to two weeks. I had absolutely no idea about these until I started working at the pet store. They come in super handy especially if you don’t have a house sitter (or if you’re a forgetful pet parent), but… why not have your kid learn about routine? Have them feed the little swimmers each time, but always remember… ask them if they’ve done it later on in the day! You’re lucky when you have fish because they can be fed at any time during the day and you don’t have to worry about them starving if you don’t feed them exactly every 24-hours.
Cleaning
As mentioned in my article about Betta Care, I usually recommend cleaning your 2.5-3 Gallon tank at least once a week. (If you have a smaller one you may want to clean it more often.) This can be an easy chore to get your kids to do that will teach them about the importance of keeping things clean and tidy! I know growing up my mom used to do most of the chores when we were at school, so when the real responsibilities made an appearance in my life I was insanely ill-prepared and I wish I had some discipline (especially when it comes to cleaning). Try to pick a day of the week where your kid is home (such as Saturday) and get them to clean the fish tank. It shouldn’t take more than a half hour and is probably enough responsibility for them to start learning basic housekeeping skills. It will also get them ready for more pets that need more time invested such as hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs and some day cats/dogs!
Expenses
Fish are honestly one of the most inexpensive pets we’ve owned. We’ve been using the same supplies for the past 7 months and there are no signs of them running out in the near future (even with two fish!) I think we spent around $80 total on our fish (including their tanks), although I got my stuff with a tiny discount. You wouldn’t be looking at more than $50 for one fish really and this should be easily attainable for a child with an allowance (after a few weeks/months of saving up!) It is never too early to teach your little ones fiscal responsibility.
Honestly, I didn’t think keeping fish would feel as rewarding as it really is and again, it has really trained me to remember and discipline myself without having external reminders. It’s done me a lot of good and I’m sure it would be great for a bunch of kids! Get your kiddies pets! 😉
We have never had fish but we sure would like to for sure. It would be fun to watch them swim around. But we might want to catch them. Great post and very informative. Have a good day.
Thanks for stopping by Margaret! As long as you have a lidded top you should be fine 😉 But I know it’s tempting (=^.^=)
I think the best way to teach children to respect life is to show them the love surrounding a pet. I have no experience with fish – so I found this post interesting – I can definitely see the pluses of starting out with fish.
Definitely! Did you have a little one growing up?
I got my daughter a goldfish as her first pet when she was 3 years old. They do make a great first pet.
That’s awesome! Did she take great care of her?
I think I can watch hours at the fishies and maybe sit on top of a aquarium and stick my paw… *gulp* You made me wandering, Johnny 😀 Granny’s daughter had a baby lobster. Not quite a fish, but it was nice watching him and taking care of him. Pawkisses for a Happy Weekend 🙂 <3
Happy Weekend to you and Granny! 🙂 <3 And a LOBSTER! That's so exciting! I've actually never seen a lobster in real life! :O
Common goldfish are very hearty and rather forgiving when it comes to care. They’d make good first pets in terms of teaching care and responsibility. We have 6 Betta tanks (2 currently without fish) and they’re fairly low maintenance.
Agreed! I’m surprised how strong they are since “pet store” training kept telling me that Bettas are super sensitive… *sigh*! I actually can’t wait to get more fishies!
Your fish is beautiful. Fish are beautiful and interesting and soothing to watch.
Yael from Playing In Catnip
Thank you 🙂 We definitely love him 🙂
I had goldfish as a child, and I loved them so much! I replaced their seaweed often, and made sure they didn’t get any ick. I even took care of the snails that showed up from a piece of seaweed, and cared for them until they died. My father didn’t want any animals in the house, so I was the only one with pets, until we inherited a gerbil named Petey. I did not have any other pets until Angel and Chuck came into our lives almost 13 years ago, and neither of us grew up with cats. We are learning as we go!
I definitely feel you on the “learning as we go” thought. All of our little ones have either been surrenders or in Beau’s case… a late night visitor who we really wanted to give a better life to <3
We think they are fun to watch and very calming too!
Yes for sure! 🙂 I love sitting and watching them 🙂
i used to have a beta fish in my office at work. bucky would wag when i arrived in the morning. i miss him.
Aww <3 yeah my little ones are beautiful and they swim up to the front if you call them !
Your Flub and Blub are beautiful! And sounds like a great trainer 🙂 As a child, I had goldfish, turtle, etc. I agree, fish makes great pet for kids!
Thank you 🙂 And that’s awesome! How was the turtle? Did you have an easy time with them?
I had a solitary goldfish as a child…and I took such care of it, that it lived 3+ years. It was much larger after all that time than when I got it:)
Had some fish for my boys when they were small with a specially filtered tank…but alas it was only about for a year…then they just wanted to stick with the felines we had from the get go ..as kitties were here before they were.
We had to cover the tank…well cause the kitties we had then wanted to go fishing! MOL!
When I was in Europe visiting family several years ago, my cousins had a nice fish bowl, and their two kitties drank from it, Eeuw!
That’s awesome! I’ve heard they can get surprisingly big over the years! Spoiled by cats, I totally get that! My little ones definitely spoil me with cuddles and play time 😉
And eeuw!! I wouldn’t let my little ones near. I made sure to have lids on all the tanks just in case!
You make some excellent points and I love the red of that fighting fish! they make lovely decor too!
Yes they do! And Water is my element, so I love having it around <3
We used to have gold fish. They were pretty and fun to watch…. Rey relaxing actually. Our first cat enjoyed them too. A couple of times he quickly stuck his paw in the water to catch them. He removed the gpaw rapidly when he found out that water was wet!
Hahaha! Beau loves watching the fish. He used to swat at the tank, but now he just sits there patiently and watches!
Aunt Pauline has a huge fish tank and has written award-winning articles for AQUATICA Magazine. I wish I had a fish cos I love tuna and salmon.
That’s really awesome!
We had fish as kids and then in university I bought 2 cheap gold fish. One lived a week but Sunny was with us for 3 years and 4 moves!
Wow! That’s a really long living goldfish! Congrats on having one live that long!!
I had goldfish as a kid. They were fun, but never seemed to live long. ~Island Cat Mom
Yeah, goldfish don’t usually live very long. My mom used to have some before I was born, however, I didn’t have fishies until this year!
Good post. Having a fish teaches responsibility.
For sure! Very glad you enjoyed the article!
fish, and small turtle are a great “first” pets for kids. they learn responsibility, pet care, routine, and so much more. Our first pets were turtles, and then we graduated to fish, hamsters, then a dog !! ♥♥
Ah that’s so awesome! I would actually love a turtle! We actually have a perfect tank that would be able to house one. Hmmm…. let’s make this house a zoo 😉