Yeah, Betta fish.
You might want to pick one up for your kid for Christmas, a birthday, or just for a pet. You know, instead of a puppy. Our 6 yr old wanted a fish. I wanted him to have a fish too.
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I thought he might learn some responsibility.
Why Betta Fish make good pets for kids.
Earlier this year I picked up a couple goldfish at Walmart and they didn’t last very long. We might have gotten a few days- maybe three days for the first fish; then, the other passed on to better seas not long thereafter.
Next attempt, the Betta. Some Betta fish are beautiful! I found a couple at a real pet store and got one for each of our boys. Of course Betta’s have to be separated or they’ll fight, so I’m told. I have seen the bully-like-stare that seems to happen when they meet fish to fish (their tanks are side by side).
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I do keep them separated…but I’ll admit, the last time time I was cleaning out their fish tanks I wondered what a Betta Fish fight would look like. I was tempted to put them in the same dish to witness it firsthand. Don’t worry, I didn’t 😉
This Beta fish, not so pretty.
So, why do I think Betta Fish make good pets ? Well, I can tell you it isn’t because they automatically guarantee to teach “responsibility”. That’s the parent’s responsibility. There are books on how to care for Betta Fish available, too.
Here’s what I like about Betta fish.
- Betta fish are more interesting to look at. Some are kinda pretty-at least compared to goldfish.
- Bettas somehow manage to keep their tanks pretty clean, longer than the goldfish did. Way longer! This translates into less tank cleaning for mom.
- The fact that Betta fish are pretty hardy fish make them a good pet for kids, too. So far ours have lasted since Sept 30th in a tap water tank (no filter). And, I don’t boil the water first. I try to do a somewhat lukewarm/cool tap water. (But you might want this for an office desk set up.)
- Our Betta fish have personality. I don’t know if they all do or if we just got *ahem, lucky? They seem to look at us when its time to feed them. Its our cue to question: who fed the fish last and when? Kinda weird maybe, but its entertaining. Makes them a bit more part of the family I think.
And, that about sums it up.
Oh wait, one more! They’re cheap and easy to care for- however, you may want to spend more on a really nice looking tank or one with a filter.
very good pet you are very good at these keep up the work you are amazing at doing this thanks now i got a perfect pet for my 8 kids to have so perfect 🙂 :0
it is both i think but still best for kids BEST!
Thanks, Cindy. It’s been awhile since we had our Betas. We kept them separated and I think what really did them in was that we lost power in the winter for maybe a day and I think the cold was too much. I can’t remember if we had one or two Betas at that time. I end up being the one to take care of little critters like that and I think I was done with fish for the time.
We recently got a 3-compartment tank for Beta fish, 2 of them died within a week. They are pretty but ours don’t swim around like ordinary fish, do you Beta fish? This is a new experience for us, we have a couple other tanks with tropical fish but Beta fish seem to be a lot different for us. Great article!
Great article Tracy! Beta fish are great beginner pets. They are easy to maintain, handsome, and hardy. “Tanks” Samantha for mentioning Teddy Tank as an engaging Beta Fish Tank for kids. beta fish
Betta Fish are definitely the best pets for kids! I just purchased a Teddy Tank for my five year old son, who has always wanted a pet. As a working mother I do not have time to take care of animals. However, the Betta Fish is super easy to care for and the Teddy Tank keeps my son super engaged. I love to watch him feed the Teddy Tank through the mouth- very cute! I am glad that I purchased the Teddy Tank for my son and he enjoys caring for his Betta Fish.
Oddly enough, before I had kids, I had bettas all the time! I’ve tried a lot of other supposedly easy fish (tetras, mollies, etc.) but bettas are definitely the easiest. And since you can only have one in a tank at a time, so much the better!
When the girls were little we always had fish as pets. They are cheaper than any other type of pet and not demanding 🙂 We stopped buying our fish from the ‘super store’ because they died within days but couldn’t return them because we didn’t keep our receipt.
Good luck with your fish!
Definetly the best kid fish!! They are nearly impossible to kill, very resilant fish. My 2 yr old has dumped all kinds of objects and liquids into our fishes tank and my friend has a 2 yr old that has done the same antics to theirs and they till swim on! We’ve had ours for almost a year. They don’t eat much and are fun to watch. Ours made a cave out of it’s stones on the bottom of the tank. I usually have to add water before I have to clean it out. Very nice article =)