# aquarium for babies room?



## rewindthelies (Dec 14, 2010)

my husband and i want a fish tank in the babies room. we have a spare 55 g. bow front we want to place in there. we have experience as we are both in the tropical fish business. the only problem we are having is what and how many to put. they need to be something active and pretty. im not a huge fan of platies and guppies and tetras. i want something a little bigger and maybe cichlid like. they need to be colorful.

does anyone else have a tank in their child room?


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

My daughter could climb out of her crib and go across the room and climb up furniture at 6 months of age. I would have needed a fence around the tank. Risky if you ask me.


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## Amelia26 (Aug 6, 2011)

my 4 year old daughter does. its just a 5gal hex tank though. good luck. im sure your baby will enjoy watching all the fishies!! i know my daughter does!!


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

55 gallon, something colorful and active. Sounds like a good candidate for rainbows. Maybe some denison barb's like I have only, one's that live.

Or there's brighter schooling fish, almost any and every type of tetra, brilliant rasbora's, giant danio's (one of my fav's because they are always active), zebra danio's, clown loaches, red tail black sharks. Look at any schooling fish if you're in the business as you'll know what combinations you can and cannot do. The brightest and best cichlids will be electric blue jack dempsey's. They are a rather peaceful species of cichlids. Rainbows are a good size, as well as the denison's. 

There's plenty of options and honestly as long as the stand is secure I wouldn't have a worry in the world about it being in a kids room. 55g with stand, tank, deco, water should weigh in over 600 pounds. Far too much for a kid to knock over until they are 5-6. Because it's really the height and stability that makes the difference. Kid pushing it over from the top is fairly easy, but if the stand is secure and hard to move on its own, no problems with the weight behind it.


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

I feel it's risky having fish tanks in the same house as my kids, much less in their room. :lol: 

Good luck!


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## Amelia26 (Aug 6, 2011)

my daughter KNOWS to NOT TOUCH the fish tanks, unless im there with her. ive made it VERY CLEAR that if she messes with the tanks, something bad may happen(tank falls or brakes) and she could get hurt. plus it helps that she is 4 and understands what im saying!


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Rams and cackatoos are awesome


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

tetras are good. Angel fish are good to. If you're experienced, then discus might work.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I would say discus if it were me. They are big, come in many colors, and are very cool to watch. They might be a bit sensitive to dirty water, but you said you knew how to take care of a tank (they aren't as difficult as everyone makes them sound). 

Also, I would still mount the tank to the wall if it were me. I know toddlers can sometimes misbehave. Its a super simple process, and will give you peace of mind knowing that the aquarium will never fall on your kid. First you just mount the stand to the wall, so it doesn't move. Make sure to hit a stud. Then set up the aquarium on the stand. They sell U shaped brackets in the hardware stores. Mount one end of it to the wall, and put the other end in the tank. This will prevent any possibility that the tank will move away from the wall. Finally I would put a hood on it. Little kids can be unpredictable, and I would hate to think your child, or one of your child's friends dumped something in the water.

I know its a lot to childproof an aquarium, but I would hate to hear your child, your child's friends or your fish were hurt due to some unfortunate accident. Better safe then sorry.

Oh yeah, suggestions for fish..... I am sticking with discus. They are fun, big and colorful.


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## rewindthelies (Dec 14, 2010)

bmlbytes said:


> I would say discus if it were me. They are big, come in many colors, and are very cool to watch. They might be a bit sensitive to dirty water, but you said you knew how to take care of a tank (they aren't as difficult as everyone makes them sound).
> 
> Also, I would still mount the tank to the wall if it were me. I know toddlers can sometimes misbehave. Its a super simple process, and will give you peace of mind knowing that the aquarium will never fall on your kid. First you just mount the stand to the wall, so it doesn't move. Make sure to hit a stud. Then set up the aquarium on the stand. They sell U shaped brackets in the hardware stores. Mount one end of it to the wall, and put the other end in the tank. This will prevent any possibility that the tank will move away from the wall. Finally I would put a hood on it. Little kids can be unpredictable, and I would hate to think your child, or one of your child's friends dumped something in the water.
> 
> ...


my husband wants to do discus as i want to do them as well, but i am curious to know how many i can put in a 55 bow. i would drill a hole in the stand for the cords to fit through so little one couldnt get at them. 

we have northern/central american cichlids piranhas puffers and a flower horn. any particular type of discus? hubby can get them for wholesale price  
(let the googling of discus research begin!)


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Not only climbing on/in, the child will be 10 before you know it. Thrown toys hitting the glass. Hanging on the glass and a seam separates. Baby brother or a friend at a sleep-over. Honestly, I don't think i'd put anything larger than a 20-gallon tank into a room where a kid under the age of 12 sleeps.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Do you think a child has the upper body strength to crack the glass of a 55 bowfront? They make those of thicker tempered glass. Although if you were concerned about it, an acrylic aquarium might be best. It might receive a few scratches, but it will certainly hold together.

As for type of discus, go with what ever you think looks best. You could probably keep 2 or 3 adult discus in a 55 gallon tank. If you want more fish, add a few german rams to it.


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## rewindthelies (Dec 14, 2010)

i understand saftey risks but if i mount it to the wall and implement safety in my parenting im hoping things will turn out. 
do you have any articles that are recommended for discus? 
has any one found the tanks to help their babies?


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## spectrecat (Apr 15, 2005)

Our boys have always had a least a small betta tank in their rooms(s). It was kept up high when they were young, and for our second child (the climber) we made sure his room and furniture was secure before leaving him alone with a tank (even just a small one.) Eventually we moved the boys in together, and they know nothing goes into the tank and they do not touch it. I think we had one instance of the younger boy 'giving' the fish one of his toys to play with, but it was made clear that this is NOT okay and could hurt the fish, etc. We upgraded their 1 gal to a 3 gal recently, with no issues, aside from the filter sounding different. 

I don't have experience with tanks larger than a 10 gal (for specific reasons) but as long as it the tank was secure and not a temptation, I would think it would be fun in a child's room. My younger son's preschool has a large, beautiful tank of cichlids in the lobby as you enter the school, and the kids ADORE it!


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2012)

My 55 gallon tank was in a daycare for years. The kids enjoyed watching the fish that were in the tank. I had to get rid of my clown loaches in 2007 when I moved out of my mom's, they were in a 20 gallon tank. Moved them to the 55 gallon at the daycare where my mom worked before it got shutdown. The kids enjoyed the fish. They knew that nothing goes into the tank and that the fish were delicate.

When the daycare got shutdown, the director let my mom have the 55 gallon tank because she took care of it. So my mom had it for about a year and a half until I moved out of Westpark, lived there from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, my mom gave me the 55 gallon tank and I had it ever since. But my niece knew that the fish tank was to be left alone and only to view the fish in the tank.

If you set ground rules for the tank, I would say that the tank can be in the child's room. Maybe supervise the child, when old enough, feeding the fish. It would be a great way to teach responsibility to your child.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Why not a 55G with about 10-15 regular Gouramis or 15-20 Dwarf Gouramis? They come in several vibrant colors and you would still have room for bottom feeders such as Cories.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

I also ran a 55 gallon in a daycare for 5 years. It was my mother's licensed at home daycare. The tank for more then half that time was a high tech planted tank with pressurized CO2. Really very very little issues to speak of. Worse thing that ever happened was the quick release to the canister filter was pulled twice and cause minor flooding. I think that is a pretty good record for 5 years and a few dozen different kids from newborns to 7-8. Canister is too big to fit under tank but some duck tape probably would of avoided those issues.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You must lock up food and maybe even the lid, (kids will feed fish cheerioes, etc), but otherwise I don't see an issue unless the kid has mold allergies (keep the lid and filter clean). I did break a dresser when I was about five trying to climb up the drawers, so I agree with the attach to the wall advice. For any cichlid, I would only do one pair of any, so you have room if they make fry. 

Maybe a pair of angels and a pair of apistos. Or a pair of Hemichromis christatus, the smallest and mildest of the red jewel cichlids. Very colorful, intelligent, and interesting fish. The only problem is what to do with all the babies.


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

Yeah my mom has fixed the 55 gallon tank numerous times and kept it running because no one else cared for it. I am so glad I have it now. I love watching my fish grow and swim around the tank.

The 55 gallon tank has had leaks but my mom fixed those leaks every time the leaks started. I just realized, the 55 gallon tank I have is really old. Not sure how old but it is old.


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