All you PetSmart junkies...fish or bird?

[ShoppingCartDiva]

My daughter is 15 months old, and she adores her cousin's "fishies" and "doggie". We even had to buy her a pet bed because she will NOT stay out of the dog's bed when we visit. (Last time, she laid in it, spread her arms across it, and looked at the dog like: "MINE NOW".)

I'd like to get a pet. Allergies to dogs and cats (sadly) prevent either one of these. We were planning on getting a fish aquarium, but now I'm pondering a bird. It's just for the family to enjoy.

Anyone have any thoughts...bird or fish?

[kmmmom]

My vote would be for fish. They are very soothing to watch. They don't bite. They don't squawk. And she isn't likely to hurt them playing with them because she is less likely to try to actually play with them. Plus, she can add to her collection as a special treat because the majority of fish are not too expensive. (someone please correct me if I am wrong, I have not bought any fish in a long time.)

[Merczilla]

Birds are not for small children. They are a lot of work, make a lot of noise and can make a huge mess. They can bite, they can fly (even with clipped wings) and unless you devote time EVERY day to them, they can revert to "wildness". You don't just feed them bird seed. They need a varied diet, too. No chocolate, no avacado. Don't use pans with non-stick finishes. If overheated, they emit fumes that can kill birds. The cage needs to be bigger than you think it should be.

Fish are a little less "trouble", but you have to set it up properly, maintain water levels, ph levels, watch nitrates/nitrites in the water. If you have city water, you have to let it sit out for a few days for all the chloranation to evaporate, or use whatever tablets they have nowadays. I've always had well water and not had to wrry about that. Do not overfeed. Until the tank is actually established, you will probably lose some fish. Also don't get an itty, bitty tank. They are a real pain to maintain. At least a 20 gallon on up is easier to maintain properly. Also don't put too many fish in. They do grow. lol

[derketchup]

FYI, fish carry salmonella, so you'll need to teach your daughter to wash her hands when she's done feeding the fish, playing with the water, helping to clean the tank, etc.

[pedspeech]

duck

[spadesbouncer]

Well i have had both with little children...Neither was a very good choice...LOL... Birds are very time consuming... and merc is right. unless you have time for them everyday they can turn back... Also, even with a big cage i had "shells" from the food all over the place.. And they are very noisy sometimes.. But that was ok with me.. but you have to have a pair if you don't want them to get lonely..

Items you need (Off the top of my head)

BIG cage
food dishes and water dishes
sand paper for the bottom
Beak sticks
Toys.
Fruit sticks
cage cover
Perch sticks
food
water..
scissors for the wings
and an outside perch if you ever want to let it out..
and yes somebirds do bite....


Fish are a great option.. If you can keep your DD from "feeding" them too much.. or when your back in turned , not to feed them "cheetos" or anything else she wants to share with them...And everytime you have to change the water, you do have to buy bottled water or let it sit out like merc said..

Item off the top of my head..

Tank.. with creen cover and solid cover with a light..
replacement bulbs for the light.
pump
filters
plants
"toys", like the little diving guy.. some where for the air tube to go in...
Poster for the back
fish food
Over nnight feeders if you go somewhere
Gallon jugs of water (or water kept under the sink to dissapate the Chlorine)
Alge eating fish to help with the algea..Must be compatable with other fish..
Algea tablets if you get above fish and don't have enough alge yet...Or for whrn yuo clean the tank..
Net..
a smaller clean sterial place for the fish to go when you have to clean the tank.
thero stick to keep check on the H2O temp..
and ph stick to test the water...



Gold fish are "nasty"... LOL... they are cheap but personally i think the are the nastiest fish out there... Cute definatly but very dirty...


BUT here is an idea...
If you DD still takes naps.. you can give her the doggie bed and have her lay in front of the fish and there are very soothing and she can take a "nap" with them....LOL...


I am sad that you can't get other pet.. wish you well...


stephanie

[skw6559]

I would go with the fish. I agree that birds are not meant for small children as pets. They require a lot of attention and can be very messy. We have a cockateil and a McCall and each time the grandchildren visit ( 2 & 3 years old) they go nuts in the same room. Ours have a tendency to want to bang on the cage and stick their little fingers in the cage.

[chitownmelli]

I personally like the fish. I have about a bizillion mollies (which all started with 4 fish) and they are very nice. They reproduce like crazy, which is the same for guppies and other "livebearing" fish. Overall, I don't feel that it is difficult to maintain the tanks (we have 2 10 gallon at this time) I would say that I need to invest about 10 - 15 minutes per week on the upkeep. (we do have a pleco to help with the algae so it doesn't get out of hand, and also mollies are vegetarians (who also enjoy shrimp lol) I believe and they "graze" all day, algae doesn't stand a chance!!!)

If you choose the fish option, I would suggest that you do some online research about whichever kind you would like to raise. You should be aware of some of the requirements that some fish have. For example, my fish require some aquarium salt, but not much, and they do well in a higher temperature, the conditions in my tank would probably kill a goldfish (IMO) and you may want to learn about fish diseases as well. They have additives you can buy in tablet form to help heal your fishies before DD every figures out that they were sick :)

Hope you enjoy whatever pet you choose for your family!

[sdimon]

I would say fish because if you have allergies to dander of cats and dogs you might have the same with bird dander and feathers.

Community tanks are wonderful and studies have proven that having a fish tank in your house can lower your stress level by 25%.

If you are getting community tropical fish try adding an aquatic frog or two just for fun. They are a hoot to watch.

[Merczilla]

Heh. I had a 10 gallon with just pygmy frogs in it. They WILL eat guppies, neons and other small fish. I found that out the hard way and just learned never to put fish in with them. lol We had at one time a 20 gallon, a 55 gallon and a 135 gallon. Not to mention my 10 and other hospital tanks. We had quite the setup and a lot of fish. Had the birds at the same time. 2 Golden Mantle Rosellas, a bunch of various finches and my peachface lovebirds.

My lovebirds were breeders and I ended up with 2-3 clutches a year. That was a lot of handfeeding. I raised a lot of baby birds. But with young children it's very difficult to maintain. Lots of cleaning, lots of feeding, etc.

So yeah, in the long run fish are easier. If you forget to feed them for a day or two, it's not such a biggie. Or if you're gone for a weekend. Oh and Hatchet fish are cool, but they live at the top of the tank. They like to jump out too. lol Don't ask me how I know. lmao

[wheels111]

If it's mostly for the child, what about one of these:

Amazon.com: Aquarium Motion Fish Lamp Night Light - Tropical Fish (Size L): Kitchen & Dining (http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Motion-Fish-Night-Light/dp/B000R1JW8S/ref=pd_sbs_k_title_3)

It's a lot less trouble, but probably still as interesting for a young child.

[pedspeech]

If it's mostly for the child, what about one of these:

Amazon.com: Aquarium Motion Fish Lamp Night Light - Tropical Fish (Size L): Kitchen & Dining (http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Motion-Fish-Night-Light/dp/B000R1JW8S/ref=pd_sbs_k_title_3)

It's a lot less trouble, but probably still as interesting for a young child.

I got one at CVS last summer with ECBs ($10) and my two year old got it for Christmas. He loves it! That is my idea of the perfect pet.

[jigglyjello]

I voted Fish..

unless you have had birds before I woudlnt have them as a pet....they aer somewhat finicky, you have to be careful where they are in your house and what you cook with, be careful with what types of bug sprays etc you use....also they have dander that many are very allergic to. So you may be allergic to the bird and not realize it either.

[ShoppingCartDiva]

We have a gorgeous fish aquarium now. I love it, and my daughter loves watching the fishies. :)

[Jisanne]

I had fish for I don't know how many years before I moved. You really only have the let the tank sit for a week at the initial set up. Fill it up, put in the filter, water and decor then let the filter run for a week. THEN you can put the fish in. This helps set up good bacteria in the filter. After that week you can add fish. Some people only let the filter cycle for 48 hours, I prefer the longer.

After that, when it comes to water changes you only need to change half the water at a time. Sometimes you can go to 3/4 of the tank. There is a bottle of stuff you can buy (I forget the name) that you can add to the new water so that you don't have to let it sit out. It takes the chlorine out and other tap water type stuff.

Oh, and fresh water fish are much easier to keep than salt. If I remember correctly you want no more than 2-4 inches of fish per gallon. So if you buy danios which can get up to 4-5 inches long... you'd need at least 2 gallon tank just for 1 of them. If you get goldfish, you can only keep other goldfish with them. There is something about them that kills off all other fish. I never kept goldfish myself. Mostly I kept danios and when I didn't have them I had guppies, some mollies and such.

Another rule of thumb, keep only like tails in a tank at one time. The danios have a tail shaped like an < and are aggressive. Guppies have a tail that is shaped like a ) and are docile. Aggressives will kill docile. Though, (don't hate me) I did use to keep a male betta in with my guppies for population control. Those livebearers can quickly become overwhelming when they start reproducing.

Algae eaters are good. Beware the of the long brown one those. (I forget their name) Plecostomas or something like that. They look small but I've seen them some very very large ones. We're talking 2ft and up in size sometimes.