# Good starter kit (and fish) for a soon-to-be 4 y/o?



## Rockford (Mar 23, 2010)

My daughter will be 4 in a about a week. She has just about every toy known to man and I've been wracking my brain for a birthday gift. We go into the local (Newmarket) Big Al's every so often just to look and on Friday past when we were there it dawned on me: An aquarium!
She'd love it, it would be educational, it would teach her some responsibility and all for less than 100 bucks (I hope) - the perfect gift!
We have nothing now but I was thinking a little start-up kit (20-30 litres, maybe?) would be good.
Any advice in this area? Can you even get a decent all-in-one "kit" or are you better off getting things separately? Remember, it's for a 4 y/o. 
How about fish suggestions?

T(h)anks,

Ryan


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## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Depending on your tank size you could do a school of either tetra, guppy, or platy pretty hardy and colourful. I'd suggest going as big as you can because you have more room for error with the added water volume. Also for example a 5.5g tank my water level drops a good inch in a week.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Larger the takn the better however given she's still young she may be bored out of it after 3 months of so (some experiece with friends cousins of around the same age when they asked me for help with the tanks) a 10-20gal will give you many options of fish to pick from. Pending where the tank will be you may want to go with a 5.5gal in her room and a 10gal in the main room so she can have her own personal fish pet. Also the 10gal won't break the bank as well allowing for head room to buy some extra items like cleaning supplies and such.

You can buy used to save money. I've seen some families drop like $100 bucks on a salesman pitch to buy kits and the kids and family after about 3-6 months lost interest and some regret spending so much on the tanks and stuff when the kids arn't taking care of it anymore.

I would have said a 5.5gal but I think a 10gal would be good for you at her age right now and you can later upgrade to a larger tank if her interest still holds over time/years.

Some live stock suggestions for 5-29gal tanks.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97203


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## w_boughner (Mar 18, 2010)

i would say a 5 gal with live barers to see if she keeps an interest in it then upgrade for christmas or something like that. then you can use the 5 for quarintene.

but if yoy choose to doo this i would buy a tank today and get it cycling so she can have fish on her b day


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## Rockford (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks everyone!

I was actually thinking of the Biorb "bowls". Either 4 or 8 gal. Any thoughts on these? More pricey than a traditional tank of similar size I understand, but other than that is there anything I should be aware of?
One reason I'm thinking this way is if my daughter does indeed tire of the idea of caring for fish, the Biorb - particularly the 4 gal one - would be the sort of thing my wife or I could take to the office. They look pretty nice.
I'm also thinkng fewer fish at this point is better for my daughter (so she could name and keep track of them easily). That might be hard to do with half a dozen or more tetras or similar. I was thinking maybe a betta and...not sure what else, actually. A ghost shrimp, or snail(s), or maybe a couple of other little somethings?
Cycling of the tank prior to populating it: What's that mean? Just running it and allowing some bacteria to grow? I'm not sure I'm clear on this issue yet.
Don't crucify me, but when I had tropical fish years ago. I'd fill the tank put in the requisite amount of water "conditioner", let the fish float around in bags for a while and then cut them loose. If I cleaned the tank once a month that was a lot. In doing a little reading here I can see in hindsight that wasn't the proper way to do things. For what it's worth though I never really had problems with disease or worse in my fish. Anyway, going back to the education and responsibilty thing, if I'm going to do this I want to do it right.
One final thing: Plants or no plants. Big difference? I was thinking no plants just because I assume it's easier and again, it's a 4 y/o we're talking about. Am I wrong? Any guidance you can provide in that area?

Thanks again.


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## Violie (Feb 27, 2010)

Ghost, armano and cherry shrimp can be a lot fun. I hear that that they can be cheeky buggers with plenty of amusing quirks. Also pretty easy to take care of.

Also, a betta with maybe a snail could work, they're hardy fish but have some special things to consider. Like if their tails are too big, they may be prone to biting their tails. They also don't like heavy filtration because the current will push them around. But they're pretty and have fun personalities.

Just pick something, and then do a TON of research. And yes, do fishless cycling. I know what you mean, overwhelming on the first few read-throughs. You need to provide an artificial source of ammonia too. Just read MANY different articles. You get a little hint from everyone, I find.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

$100 is gonna be a little tough to slice.

Do you have a suitable surface that will hold about 150lbs?

15gal tank
Aquaclear 50 filter
Jager 100W heater (no sense going 50W-- 100W holds temp better and is like $1 more)
glass top 
____________
About $115 so far

Sufficient gravel
bottle of Seachem Prime 250mL
Gravel Syphon
(assuming you have large bucket, unused)
_____________
$160

1 large pomacea bridgesii or canaliculata (apple snail)

7 Pearl Danios

______________
$175

Food

______________
$190

That's my suggestion for a setup of stuff that can handle toys dropped in, the odd food spillage, being knocked, tapped on, lots of room activity, screwy temperature fluctuations, etc etc.

The problem with going smaller, especially as a beginner, is that the smaller you get the less stability you're going to be able to guarantee in your tank. Also, your choices of fish are more limited.

This setup does not include a proper light, and a decent 24" dual bulb T5 by coralife will run about $70. Cheaper options are available.

A cheaper setup that affords less fish options down the road:

5.5Gal aquarium
glass top
50W Jager heater
Aquaclear mini filter 
Sufficient gravel
______________
About $80

Paradise fish (macropodus opercularis)
about $5

It's a fun, colorful, interactive fish. Can't really keep a whole lot else with it in that tank. you COULD make that 5.5 gal a cherry shrimp tank, for example.

Even with a cheaper option, you still need a bucket and syphon and food and dechlorinator, you need to learn about the nitrogen cycle, how aquariums generally work, how to keep the animals happy.

It's going to be hard to really do this right for less than $200 IMO. It can be done if you buy used however. Head over to www.kijiji.ca and www.pricenetwork.ca and check their aquarium classifieds. Always good deals.


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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

buying used is a very good price
make sure she gets to choose the fish she wants when you guys shop after you surprise her with the tank
you still have to do most of the work so a bigger tank would still be nice
think of it as a present for yourself and her


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Rock,

1. Where are you located?

2. When is her b-day?

I've just put my filter floss into my Aquaclear 20 and also have another filter I'll be changing soon so I could help out pending where you are by giving that used filter material to help speed up your tanks cycle.

I have seen on Craigslist a 10gal tank with lid, lights, filter, and I think heater for ~$30-40 bucks. Buying used saves you more money to get other things fo rthe tank later. However buying used also means a little elbow work on your side by cleaning the tank with vinegar to clean off the cosmetic white mineral/calcium stains then soaking the tank with a 1:10 part bleach solution for a few hours to make sure everything is sterlized, rinse, soak again in water, rinse, and fill up for use but use 4x the recommended water conditioner dosage (some super paranoid people say to use 10x the dose. Up to you.. most of my fish are hardy specimens so perhaps the people that said 10x are talking hyper sensitive/expensive fish). If you're really lucky in the $40-50 used range you'll find a stand included for the 10gal. Sometimes you'll find a 20gal at thatprice as well.

If you buy new sometimes you may want a quick rinse before using as in the store, dust, products settling into the tanks, etc. No need to wash it other then a quick rinse and fill up for use.

Plants are a nice estethic (sp). Pending the fish you pick some fish will nibbl ethe plants while some don't. Plants not only look nice but serve a few extra purposes. They also biofilter the water removing some nitrates for them to grow. They also release some oxygen back into the water as I've been told by many members her before when I asked about a filterless system. They provide fish with a place to hide or feel secure (from you or other fish by breakingup visual sight for some fish that have some conflicts with each other).

FYI don't mix Dwarf Gourami with a Betta. You'll likely (I'll bet money on this) end up with one surviving at the end. They are fromt he same family. I've seen the dwarf gourami and I like them over the betta myself so check them out. Those d.gourami are around ~$2.99-4.99/fish pending what stores you're in. If you go to Aquapets, (Steeles Ave E & Silver Star Blvd ) across from Pacific Mall almost they do sell nice colored milti color/patterned bettas however expect ~$19 for those select breed ones. I'm sure you could negociate the pricings down some. 

I think a dwarf gourami, 1-2 ghost shrimp (cheap like ~39cents for small feeders), and a snail would work out for your daughter. The d.gourami will b e the center piece which she can ID right away. The snail would probably be visible as well so she can ID that as well. The two ghost shrimp (transparent bodies) she might not see and can be a fun game of 'find the shrimps' and name them something if she wants. Total cost of livestock probably ~$10 or less.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Rock,

Not my ad but bam... $50 for 20gal tank



> I have transfered my fish to a bigger tank. I need to sell this 20 gallon tank with sturdy metal stand,
> lid, light, filter, heater, gravel and plastic plants.
> All for $50.00
> Thanks for looking.


You're pretty much good to go sans the filter cycling time unless the previous owner has a cycled filter and adding the fish. So with fish say ~$70 total invested when you add an air pump and the $30 order pizza for the kids.

EDIT: 
Forgot to post the link http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/pet/1657503557.html


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