Maybe Your Child's First Aquarium Should Not Be a Fish Bowl

Your childs first aquarium should probably not be a fish bowl. This is contrary to the advice of many but there are a few compelling reasons why a bowl is a bad idea.

A fish bowl is the absolute worst environment a person could put a fish in. A Bowl is usually to small for a good ecosystem. There is no filtration in most cases. The volume of water is not enough for the fish to swim comfortably. There is no easy way to clean the water without changing nearly all of it. Because the bowl is small it must be cleaned very often. This is not
pleasant for the child, the parent, or the fish. Because of all the factors mentioned above a fish bowl is a recipe for failure. Your child's first fish keeping experience should be a positive one. If your child's first fish dies it will probably discourage her from wanting any more pet fish in the future. It is better to start the right way with a real aquarium.

This first aquarium can be on the small side.
The most popular starter tank is the ten gallon size. While this sounds like a huge aquarium, you will see that it is quite manageable. This is the perfect size for learning the aquarium hobby. A ten gallon aquarium has adequate room for a few fish and there is room for cleaning as well as proper water circulation and filtration. Showing your child how to perform the proper aquarium maintenance tasks will educate her about responsible pet ownership. It will also educate her on the science of the aquarium ecosystem. Most kids find this interesting as well as fun.

One of the most popular fish choices for the first aquarium is the guppy. Guppies are a great starter fish because they are very hardy and are tolerant to a wide range of water chemistries. One may also choose from the many varieties of community fish such as mollies, platys, and swordtails. These fish are called community fish because they get along great with most other fish. If your child only wants one fish, a common choice is the betta fish. These are very colorful, and while they can survive in a bowl they do much better in a proper aquarium.