Yay and Boo! Looking for 5 or 10 gallon tank for my daughter :) and :(

[ericatdallas]

Well, it started out that my wife suggested that we get our daughter a 1-2 gallon tank because my daughter loves to watch my fish so much. She asks to go see them and she cries when we pull her away.

I talked my wife into a 10 gallon, but it has requirements... if it were up to me, I would aim to put at least a 20G but hey, you pick and choose your battles right.

So, my wife thinks we should buy a MiniBow 5 gallon. She is dead set on getting something pink and that looks nice ... :(

Fair enough, if it means I nurture my daughter's interest in this hobby, I'll have to make some compromises. I did say that I'm totally against overstocking the tank though, so if a fish has to suffer, it'll only be ONE and -MAYBE two (upon my approval - i.e. no oscars in a 5 gallon).

Knowing that I would get some crazy and obnoxious answers on the general aquaria sites, just curious if any of you had ideas.

I suggested (my wife is considering) that I buy a standard 10G and spray paint it with safe pink paint.

The other leading contenders are the,...

- Aqueon Red minibow (couldn't find pink).
- Painting a Hawkeye 5 gallon pink
- Painting a regular standard 10G pink w/ hood (i.e. Tetra kit)
- Frameless Aquarium and painting the hood pink

I know, not the best options, but thinking of ways to nurture this interest in my daughter. My hope isn't so much that she stays with aquariums for life (that would be fine), but I'm hoping she picks up a lot of skills. Heck, my understanding of Aquarium filtration systems actually helped me understand water treatment when I was Iraq --- that was a big surprise. So you never know and it would be great to have something to share with her as she grows up.

[ericatdallas]

Hmm, this didn't come up last week when I was looking ...
http://www.amazon.com/Marina-Cool-Goldfish-Small-1-77-Gallon/dp/B003RDTCQA

but has poor reviews and is too small :/

[Skip]

that 15gallon tank set is still on sale at petco..

[ericatdallas]

I checked it out on Petco... it says expired :(

I think it was a local ad too...

[Skip]

ooh.. its what i saw at my petco store.. till 1/21..

[BaileyF]

even if you get a normal tank couldn't she just fill it with pink fake plants and pink rocks, why would the tank itself have to be pink? i'd started getting into keeping fish when i won a feeder gold fish at a church Christmas bazaar i was like 7, i kept the darn think alive for 6 years, and moved up to tropical fish from there i've always had a tank in my bedroom ever since .

[ericatdallas]

those are my wife's requirements... :(

Anyway, she wants it to match the white and pink furniture in my daughter's room. I'd like to add, that before we had our daughter, she said, "I am not going to be one of those women that make my daughter have everything pink!"

...she became one of those women, but my daughter does seem to prefer the color.

[Darrell Ward]

Easy. Get a 15 or 20 gal. "tall" tank, and standard top and light. Much cheaper than the fancy mini tanks, small footprint, but with extra water volume to keep fish happier, and water cleaner. Use pink Krylon Fusion to paint the tank frame, and plastic light housing, add some pink gravel, and decor of her choice. Your pink loving wife will no doubt approve.

[BaileyF]

those are my wife's requirements... :(

Anyway, she wants it to match the white and pink furniture in my daughter's room. I'd like to add, that before we had our daughter, she said, "I am not going to be one of those women that make my daughter have everything pink!"

...she became one of those women, but my daughter does seem to prefer the color.



sadly i'm one too... the new nursery is all pink and white, never though i'd do that to my kid....

[Darrell Ward]

Well, at least pink is not as bad as purple. Yuck!

[Second Hand Pat]

Easy. Get a 15 or 20 gal. "tall" tank, and standard top and light. Much cheaper than the fancy mini tanks, small footprint, but with extra water volume to keep fish happier, and water cleaner. Use pink Krylon Fusion to paint the tank frame, and plastic light housing, add some pink gravel, and decor of her choice. Your pink loving wife will no doubt approve.

OK, I like Darrell's 15/20 "tall" tank idea but do the tank frame, etc in white, not pink and make the decor pink. Reason for this is if your daughter really likes the tank she most likely will grow out of the pink (my daughter did thank goodness) and the decor can be swapped out for a different color or even something more natural. Your wife may even go for that since it's logical and is flexible in the long run.

[ericatdallas]

I was thinking Krylon too :)

I found a cheap 10G hood and I have a 10G in basement, so I'll do it with that. If I can find a 20G hood, I might convince my wife on that.

We discussed it last night and I assured my wife I am not going to interfere with my daughter's taste b/c that's a sure fire way of destroying the 'fun' and her interest in the hobby. Heck, I remembered when I was 7 and I convinced my parents to buy me the castle with the bubble draw bridge.

I do like the white frame idea. I suggested that, but I'll paint the hood and reapproach when I'm done with that. Her Desk is white (where we're putting the tank since she doesn't actually need a desk but we use the drawers for her clothes --- the desk was actually an old aquarium stand for me that we re-purposed and re-painted).

[JenTN]

Don't tell your wife this...but I have kept my daughter in an explosion of pink since day 1( bubblegum pink walls). Shes 9 now-the kid begs me for a freakin mudskipper tank in her room. Bleh!

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[brewmaster15]

I don't know about these pink themes...My daughters been in lime green and psychedelic yellow room for years...her favorite colors... luckily that didn't translate to a fish tank theme. You haven't decided on fish yet... You know, a light blue background and Pink Zebra danios may satisfy ... Throw in some dark substrate and they'd Pop I am sure... heck make it interesting and get some Fluorescent ones too,:)

-al

[ericatdallas]

Don't tell your wife this...but I have kept my daughter in an explosion of pink since day 1( bubblegum pink walls). Shes 9 now-the kid begs me for a freakin mudskipper tank in her room. Bleh!

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The first time I ever heard of a mudskipper was actually a couple of weeks ago. Those are neat. I don't think they're for me, but if my kids wanted one, I might get into it.



I don't know about these pink themes...My daughters been in lime green and psychedelic yellow room for years...her favorite colors... luckily that didn't translate to a fish tank theme. You haven't decided on fish yet... You know, a light blue background and Pink Zebra danios may satisfy ... Throw in some dark substrate and they'd Pop I am sure... heck make it interesting and get some Fluorescent ones too,:)


I would prefer to make it an all shrimp tank, but my wife wants actual fish (since they're super low maintenance), but our plan is that we take her to the LFS and she gets to pick out anything she wants (but I have veto power to make sure it makes sense). Heck, since all the feeder and cheep fish are at the bottom, there's a good chance she might end up picking a feeder goldfish :)

[JenTN]

Depending on her age, Id be willing to bet you five dollars you will return home with a trio of guppies or a betta. Or cardinals. If it were a boy, any kind of "suckerfish". Lol.

[ericatdallas]

If she chose pleco would be awesome, I have a ton in the basement with two babies too...

She's two... so hard to say. She just likes staring at my fish, so hopefully she doesn't get upset about not having a Discus. No way I'm putting any of my Discus in a 10G :)

[Darrell Ward]

I wouldn't get anything easy to breed. For example, live bearers can be a parents curse. I remember as a small child having literally hundreds of guppies. My mom hated it!

[JenTN]

I have a funny pleco story...we got my son an albino bn for our 55 community when he was three. It was tiny, the tank it was in had no place to hide, you know...So he went on and on about how he wanted this "suckerfish to hang on the side of the tank". I explained to him that it wouldnt at home, that we had driftwood, rocks, plants and a bigger tank- that we would most likely not see it often. Keep in mind, my last pleco experience was a clown, who promptly disappeared for 6 months after plopping him in. He kept arguing that it would, indeed, hang on the tank. So home we go, and the kid is in the backseat, proudly & carefully clutching that prized plastic bag containing "Goldie", going on and on about how hes going to hang on the tank, and my heart sank. We put Goldie in...he not only hung on the tank, he shimmied across it, laid on the dirt...Yup, bested by a 3 yo & a pleco...who still hangs on the tank occasionaly 2 yrs later, lays on the dirt, digs holes, and grew to be the biggest ugliest bn with the most bristles on his head I just wonder if my son said a special prayer in the backseat that day..or if it was my prayer that did it lol!

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[JenTN]

Also..my niece is two..she loves bettas!

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[ericatdallas]

well, if she picks out a livebearer, I'll make sure to ask for a male :)

Worst case, our neighbor is a big saltwater tank guy, so he might appreciate some livefood for his tanks.