Fish for Christmas?

Funny you ask we just got 3 fish, a algea eater and a snail over the weekend and my boys LOVE them. They are 4, 2, & 1 so they are still little but they love to help feed them and they love to just watch them. I was not to keen on getting stinky fish but my boys love them so I guess they will stay! hope this helps!

You are going to be the one taking care of the fish - feeding, cleaning the tank, etc. Then, when the fish dies, you have to explain. I'd wait on the pet idea and let him torment the cats (that's what my 2 year old does).

My kids were about 1 and 4 when we got a fish tank with 3 goldfish. It was a very good thing and they took turns feeding. I had to do the suction clean as it takes quite a bit of effort and water could go everywhere. The kids and I could stare at those fish for hours just watching them swim back and forth, up and down. Very therapeutic.

V.

As a mom of a three-year old and a five-year old and a pet owner to two dogs, five cats, a guinea pig, and (our latest) a tree frog; I think pets are great for kids! Just so long as the parents do not expect the child to actually be the pet's caregiver, I think it's wonderful to begin teaching children at a young age how to take care of pets.

K.

My son isn't quite 2 yet and I got him a Beta for hie first birthday. Part of our morning routine is feeding 'Fishy.' Our local pet store had small tanks that came with rocks and a plant in various colors. I think all together I spent maybe $20 including the fish and tax. I think it's a great idea and it's easy for a small child to give just a pinch of food.

I hope you're getting him something else,too. The fish interest thing isn't exactly the kind of active play thing that a 2 year-old needs.

we had fish when our kids were babies and toddlers. we took care of them but the kids did enjoy watching the fish swim and the water noise in the background is very calming. We cleaned our tanks out about every 6 months so even though they are fairly easy to take care of you still have work when cleaning the fish tanks unless you get some algae eater fish which we didn't have good luck with for some reason. We mainly had goldfish and kissing fish.

Hi Carrie,

speaking from experience and observing others, two is too young to be able to properly take care of a pet of any kind. What will probably happen (at least to everyone else I know who has tried this), the parents end up taking care of the pet. Is this really teaching him responsibility? Wait a couple more years to make it his full responsibility. Have him help out with the cats until he is older.

Best Wishes,

J. H.

I thought the same thing, and let me son spend his money from his birthday last year (when he turned 7) on a fish tank and fish etc... But guess who ended up with the whole cleaning the tank process and maintaing the water ph levels and all that other junk! Depending what size tank you get, it's a chore to maintain it all! We ended up giving the fish to a friend, and adopting a Guinea Pig (from either petco or Petsmart, you can adopt unwanted/returned small pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs etc for free or you can donate if you want, we donated a lil money) anyhow, way easier to take care of then fish! We recycle our newspaper by shredding it up for him, and my 2.5y/o helps my now 8y/o with the feeding (supervised of course). You might try a small hamster or gerbil. You can buy a ball he can watch him roll around in, and a wheel... More fun to watch, and a tad easier then fish almost! Good Luck!
P.S. We had a Beta, Danios, gupies (those lil suckers breed like crazy, avoid those!LOL), a snail, algae eater, there was a shark type fish.... Anyhow we tried all of those, and of course lost some a long the way... Some fish just don't live to long! Be careful where you buy them, make sure there aren't a bunch of dead fish there etc...

I think fish is a great pet for kids of all ages. You have to change the water on a regular basis but they are still easier to take care of then most pets and if they die, they are much easier to get rid of and replace. The water is also EXCELLENT for your plants if you have any. Instead of dumping the water when you change it, save it and water any plants you have with it and they will grow like never before. We did this with an aloe plant once and could not keep up with the thing. Beta fish are also really good since they don't need a lot of room and they are much cleaner then goldfish. If you get two and put them in separate bowls beside eachother, they will put on a pretty good show or you can just put a small mirror on the side of the bowl.

Fish are excellent pets. At our house last year Santa left a gift certificate for fish at a pet store as well as an aquarium. He left a note that he didn't want the water freezing during the sleigh ride. We had the tank and then picked out a beta at the pet store. They are SOOO easy. My kids love fish, and I don't remember a time not having at least gold fish or guppies. Gold fish don't live very long in captivity, but beta's are supposed to live about 2 years in captivity. If you get a small cheap aquarium (ours was about $25), you won't have to change the water very often. It's so worth it. With bowls, you are changing them once a week.

I think I would forget about a fish for a 2 year old...I dont see anything that he can connect with...and it is just a lot of work for you. Why cant he learn to help care for the cats??? Let him help feed them and you could even start helping him comb them. They would love it if he gave them an occassional treat!! I am all for children learning to be kind and nurturing to pets but I dont think that a fish is the way to start. He can't interact with a fish...he is too young to understand the concept of just watching and not touching...I think he would just ends up frustrated.

This is funny. We got rid of our dog because she kept "going" in our new house and we didnt have a fence. I felt kinda bad that my daughter didnt have a pet so we got her a fish. The first one died in two days so we did a little switch-a-roo while she wasnt looking. She was excited about it at first but then kinda forgot about it. When I would remind her of it she was interested. I always had to feed it. Well for some reason I cannot keep these things alive and Goldie II passed away. I wanted to see how long it took my daughter to notice it was gone.....3 weeks and then she finally said something! But at first she did love it and I bought that kit at petsmart and it was very cute. I think he will love it at first but it will wear off just like anything really. I think he will always like to look at it. And I think its cute the names they come up with for the fish. And if I could if you real advice now, get a coy (sp?) fish instead of a gold fish, they have small gold ones that look just like goldfish, but they are much stronger and live longer. Our goldfish died after two days but the coy lived several months. We probably will get another because I spent the money on the tank and its so darn cute, it matches her room. Good Luck, I think its a good idea!

We are looking at getting fish for Christmas too. I think we are going to get the tank and everything for it and then let the kids go pick out the fish after Christmas. This website below has info. on good fish for beginners.

http://faq.thekrib.com/fish-popular.html

Good luck!

M.

Not at all! Two isnt too young. My daughter has a fish and shes 27 months =)
She loves the "fishy" and wants me to feed it all the time!! I tell her only in the mornings and in the evenings when she eats at home! She likes to "pinch" the food and put it in the bowl. The key is watching her so she doesnt dump the whole jar of food into the bowl. Just a suggestion, I wouldnt get a goldfish because they die pretty easily. A beta is what I got my daughter and they are low maintenance (no filter required, no expensive fish tank) and dont die easily. I hope this helps!! My parents even got me a dog when I was 2. She was my best friend but I did have to deal with her dying when I was 13. It was very tough losing my "best friend" that I had known my whole life. Keep that in mind but I wouldnt give up having her for the world, even if it was hard on me when she went. So maybe if there are plans in the future for a place where you can get a dog it might be an option and your kiddo would be older too. Good luck!

He would probably enjoy it but I would suggest a Beta. They are a little heartier in my opinion. And it's hard on a kid to lose their pet. Fish just don't last long in our experience.

Let me start by saying that we got our son his first fish and fish tank at age two thinking it was a great, fun gift. However, even though fish are small and seem like an easy pet they really arent! No matter what kind of filter you get, you will still have to empty the tank for a thorough cleaning at least once every two months or so. And before you do that you have to remember to have an extra bowl with steralized water (water that sat for 24 hours so it doesn't shock the fish) ready to hold the fish while you clean. It seems like no matter what or how I cleaned the rocks always remained a little dirty and therefore the new water was never as clear as I liked which again must sit for 24 hours. The only thing you really can do with fish is feed them and a two year old doesn't quite remember that after the first month so it's just another thing on your to-do list! So, not to bring you down, but just from my experience, fish may not be exactly what you are looking for. If you do decide, I recommend getting the more expensive filter, it will save you time and patience in the long run! Good luck!

You've gotten all kinds of different responses. Mine would be to forego the fish. We had goldfish that died within hours of bringing them home. Went back and got Beta fish. They lasted about 4 months. My children are older and other than feeding them once a day, didn't really do much with them as it is hard to play with a fish.

I like the idea someone suggested of getting more involved with your cats. Ours are extremely attached to me but my children can play with them, fill the water, clean the little box, etc. and have to think of someone/thing other than themselves each day. Back to 2 being pretty young for all of that, though. Maybe just checking their food dishes and finding a toy that they would like to play with ...we bought a laser cat toy that they love chasing around.

Good luck on whatever decision you make.