There would come a time in a parents’ life that children would incessantly ask them for pets of their own. This is a dilemma that parents face - I know I gave them a hard time back in that stage of my childhood - because having a pet for the first time entails a whole other parenting aspect. It requires introducing and guiding kids the responsibility of taking good care of a living thing. While many young children have the cute and cuddly hamsters or fun and baby-like dogs in mind, a pet fish is actually the best choice.
Your child will be just as thrilled with fish as a first pet. It is small, clean, easy and fun to watch it swimming around. Not to mention, it does not take a lot of time in teaching its nutrition basics and trust building to kids.
But what kind of fish should you get?
Well, the goldfish is a common option, but the Betta fish is actually way bettah! Goldfish actually need more attention, while Betta fish are inexpensive, and only needs food, water at room temperature, and a small glass bowl to live in.
It should be noted though, that Betta fish are territorial creatures. Fish are naturally beautiful and relaxing to watch but do not put two Betta’s together in one container because they will end up fighting which might scare your child instead of want to take care of it.
Small and peaceful fish like the neon and cardinal tetras, cory cats, gouramis and zebra danios may also be recommended for your whole family to enjoy. It is a family effort after all, to consider a pet alone and plan ahead on what kind of fish to buy.
If you’re worried that your son or daughter can’t touch a fish, fret not! Parenting with your child having his or her first pet fish only takes a few steps.
Encourage to give little fishy a name; it has to come from him or her.
Prepare its glass bowl or jar together. Ask your kid if he or she can pick it out himself or herself along with some pebbles for the bottom.
Let your child take over in feeding it everyday. But whatever food it is - flakes, pellets, freeze-dried or live treats - remind to not overdo it. Uneaten bits make the glass jar or bowl dirty. Help in measuring the right amount of food.
Clean the bowl together as necessary. It will be a quick job. But when it comes to changing the water, do not take out more than half of it so that the delicate balance of good bacteria for your finned friends to stay healthy will not be disturbed.
You can enjoy the experience of a fish as your child’s first pet with the whole family. It will be such a joy to be able to see your child’s development in the construct of what it means to take care of something, because having a pet fish does not take so much toll on parenting.
What is a good Reef Tank? Let’s take a look at some guidelines in setting up your very own reef tank.
The idea of having a reef tank set-up has grown popular like that of caring for freshwater fish. The reef tank is the proper artificial habitat for saltwater fish. Here are a few basic guidelines you must follow if you want to properly set-up a reef tank of your own. [click to continue…]
Just this weekend, I was surfing the net and looking for some cool new fish tank supplies to test out. Found some awesome equipment from japan (will post about this next time, so stay tuned!). Paid it with my credit card (you can pay for your fish tank supplies with an egg card.) and as I finished with the checkout I saw an infomercial about pet insurance.
Can you believe there is actually such a thing as pet insurance? If you think about it, it doesn’t seem so far fetched. We insure our cars, our homes, our businesses and some even their cellphones.
We love taking care of pets, in fact, I personally know a few people who prefer to have pets over kids! So it isn’t an out of this world idea to actually get pet insurance for your pet. It’s actually a lot like getting life insurance for yourself.
It gives you peace of mind that if something terrible happens you just have to worry about the important stuff and you won’t need to worry about the finances. For a good pet insurance deal go to Tesco.
I can’t wait to get my pets insured, what about about you?
In one of my other articles i talked about the Beta Fish, Betta Fish or the Siamese Fighting Fish, whichever way you want to call it, and how easy it is to care of it.
In this article we will talk about the complete opposite, the Discus Fish. Okay, maybe i was exaggerating a bit, but if you’re a beginner you might have problems taking care of a Discus Fish. Read on and see if you’re up for the challenge.
To give you an introduction to the Discus Fish we take a look at Wikipedia.
According to Wikipedia the Discus (Symphysodon) are from a genus of three species of cichlid freshwater fishes native to the Amazon River basin. These fish have become extremely popular among hobbyist and there are literally hundreds of different color variants available now. This type of fish is very flat and round in shape and can grow up to 6 to 8 inches.
In the wild waters of the Amazon River system the Discus Fish are very sociable fishes and are always in a large group or school. They are most commonly found in dense planted and wooded areas in slow moving water and their natural food is a mix of aquatic inverts, insects, small fish and fry and any other naturally occuring food.
Some pointers on taking care of Discus Fish:
When purchasing any type of fish, be sure to buy a group of them so their characteristics will fully develop through social interaction with their own kind
The Discus Fish are sensitive to stress and disturbance, keep them away in quiet, low traffic areas of your home
They are almost completely defenseless and need plenty of hiding places
They are very slow fish, so when grouping with other fish make sure the Discus Fish can cohabit with them. As these slower Discus Fish might have problems competing with faster more aggressive fishes.
Feed them 2-4 times a day a diet of fresh or frozen bloodworms, brineshrimp, high protein sinking pellet foods, mytis shrimp, high protein flake foods, earthworms and whiteworms.
The Discus is very susceptible to diseases. Make sure water quality is similar to distilled water. Not much minerals and no ammonia presence.
Aquarium water temperatures should be kept within the range of 80-84 deg Farenheit (26-31 deg Celsius)
Aquarium water ph level of 5.5 - 6.5
If you’re interested in breeding them here are some tips:
It’s close to impossible to determine whether a Discus Fish is a male or a female. Males are said to have longer fin extensions and are rounder, but no scientific research has proven this to be true always.
The best way to breed and have Discus Fish mate is to buy a young group of same colored type Discus Fish. When they do pair up, this usually is for their whole life.
Discus spawn their eggs on a vertical surface
It takes 50-60 hours for the fertilized eggs to hatch
Another 36-48 hours for the small fry to be free swimming
After 2-3 weeks from the fry reaching the free swimming stage, the fry should be removed and placed in a different tank from the parents.
The fry should be fed newly hatched brine shrimp and chopped blood worms, six or more times a day.
As for the parents, they will most like spawn again in a few days.
I was visiting a friend of mine in london, he had an aquarium setup near where we were sitting in his living room. It was a moderately mid-sized aquarium with a good handful of freshwater fishies to go along with it. So we were talking and drinking some nice english tea and his kid walks in the room and starts playing with the aquarium lights. He switches it on then off then on then off then… well… you get the point. This continues for about 20 on and off cycles and i’m sitting there trying to contain myself from jumping out the chair and start spanking the kid. Good thing my friend finally took notice and told him to stop. [click to continue…]
Hi! I'm Penelope Darcy and welcome to my Fish Tank Pet blog! This is where I share my experiences on being a fish hobbyist and enthusiast. For exciting stories, articles and bits of wisdom read on.
Learn the tried and tested methods to keeping your Oscar Fish, diet, fish tank maintenance, breeding, how to look after Oscar fry and many more.
Stuffed with expert information! Keeping an Oscar Fish doesn't have to be difficult any longer! Grab your copy now!
Guide to Beta Fish care, breeding and keeping them healthy and happy!
With easy to understand expert instructions and guides and everything you need to know about keeping healthy and breeding your own Beta Fish. Grab your copy now!
The ultimate guide to Discus Fish care, breeding and keeping them healthy and happy.
Loaded with expert instructions, guides and pictures on everything you need to know Discus Fish. So what are you waiting for? Keeping Discus Fish doesn't have to be hard any longer! Grab your copy now!
There would come a time in a parents’ life that children would incessantly ask them for pets of their own. This is a dilemma that parents face - I know I gave them a hard time back in that stage of my childhood - because having a pet for the first time entails a whole other parenting aspect. It requires introducing and guiding kids the responsibility of taking good care of a living thing. While many young children have the cute and cuddly hamsters or fun and baby-like dogs in mind, a pet fish is actually the best choice.
It should be noted though, that Betta fish are territorial creatures. Fish are naturally beautiful and relaxing to watch but do not put two Betta’s together in one container because they will end up fighting which might scare your child instead of want to take care of it.
Just this weekend, I was surfing the net and looking for some cool new fish tank supplies to test out. Found some awesome equipment from japan (will post about this next time, so stay tuned!). Paid it with my credit card (you can pay for your fish tank supplies with an 
Hi! I'm 
