Gift idea for lonely relative

kittyhazelton

kittyhazelton

I eat sushi
Aug 15, 2005
198
0
0
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Hartford, VT
elfwood.lysator.liu.se
Recently my grandmother (who was living with my aunt) passed away.
2 days later my aunt's cat passed.
My aunt is legally blind, though she can see bright colors.
She has ALWAYS had an aquarium but since taking on the task of careing for my fully blind grandma she did not have the time for aquarium maintainance.

Now I am getting rid of my 55gal aquarium and I want to set it up at her apartment so that she has some kind of company. It will be a basic, low mainanence freshwater setup, no big plants, a basic filter, etc.
I will be helping her in setting up and maintaining the tank and equipment since I live just down the hill from her house, (Plus I think she would really like that excuse to have me visit)

I was orriginally thinking of doing goldfish since they are big, bright and personable fish, but what other kinds of fish could I consider that are big, bright, low mainanece, and personable? I don't want to get her something that requires any really special water requirments, as she will not be able to easily monitor the water quality between cleanings. Ideas? suggestions?
 
Forgive me, but have you thought about getting her a kitten to cuddle in place of the cat that died? A 55 gallon tank takes daily maintenance and overseeing, which may be a bit too much for your aunt. She clearly is used to maintaining a cat ... perhaps along with the kitten you could give her a gift certificate for having the animal neutered ...

Patricia
 
Poor cat. >.> Neutering it as soon as it gets a new home, kinda kills the whole excitement of having a new place to live.
 
well stated patricia, i would have to agree.

but, if you are gung ho on the idea, i might suggest a pair of sexed firemouth cichlids or MAYBE something like a single oscar.

though not recommended, i would think if you put baby fish in the tank, as long as you did two or three waterchanges for the first two weeks, you could not worry about the cycle and just let the fish grow. more so in the case of ONE fish.

give her a feel for what to feed and i bet an adult oscar will provide some pleasurable feedback at feeding time.... MAKE SURE THE LID IS SECURE. some fish like to jump out of the tank, and would be a nightmare for a blind owner... they are for the seeing.

whatever you do, stay waaaay under the guidelines. the single oscar seems like the best choice to me.
 
Unfortunately the apartment she moved into does not allow un-caged pets. (the cat was elderly and her mothers cat, and the only reason they allowed the cat was because it wasn't a kitten) Fish are her favorite animal and always have been. She mentioned wanting to start up an aquarium again, even though she'd need some help with it. She's definitely no stranger to aquarium upkeep. She's actually the one who got me started on it.
I'd definitely be around to help her with it since I am also going to be doing some volunteer computer work in that same apartment complex. on the weekends.
She could probably take care of a smaller aquarium on her own, but then she is limited to smaller fish which become harder for her to really see and enjoy.
 
a 55 gallon is the absolute bare minimum for a single oscar. i'd go with a couple fantail goldfish, maybe 3. oscars get about 12-14 inches long, are very messy, and clumsy. they are like bulls in a china shop. they ram into things, and can hurt themsevles if there's anything sharp in the tank. it may work, since oscars are like dogs with scales and interact with *their* human. the oscar would especially like someone who could spend a lot of time interacting with it, they even like being petted. i dunno, either a single oscar, or a few goldfish, i think is your best bet. but really keep an eye on the oscar of you go that rout.
 
I'm thinking if I do an oscar I'd get her one of those albino oscars with the orange splotches all over it. And then to really make him stand out put in darker substrate and a dark background.
 
i agree that 55 is minimum for one but this sounds like a classic OK case.

maybe an albino breed... might be easier for her to see.
 
hehe, great minds think alike
 
(three posts in a row... a new personal record)

whatever you decide, kitty, let us know... i put a subscription on this thread because i really wanna know how this works out.

i grew up near a town called hazelton.

:cool:
 
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