My wife is inheriting an 80 gal tank for her 2nd grade classroom. The tank has a leak, but my in-laws own a glass company (big blessing) and will professionally repair it for free. My wife and I both think that when we stock the tank, we should put some rather interesting creatures in there for her second graders. She likes the idea of some "aggressive, pretty fish that would be fund to watch" (cichllids), a pleco, as well as some interesting "critters" such as frogs, crayfish snails, crabs, clams, etc. We are also considering putting in something like angels or other interesting fish instead of cichlids. Obviously, we can't put everything in there, so we are exploring our options and looking for suggestions. What do you think would be fun and interesting in an 80 gal tank for 2nd grade children? BTW, we want to avoid guppies or goldfish.
New tank in classroom - suggestions?
- Thread starter gforster
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I know that some people like aggressive fish, I like peaceful fish myself. I have platies and they are very hardy, social, and excitable to watch. Platies come in a variety of colors too. The down fall to platies are that they are livebearers, so if don't want fry in your tank then you should go w/ all males or all females. In another tank I have swordtails, they are livebearers also, but they are fun to watch too.
I also have an angelfish; I got her when she was small and so she is pretty much used to the platies darting all over the tank.
Then I have a bristlenose algae eater. When my daughters friends come over they think he is the coolest because he has "whiskers". Bristlenose's don't grow to outstanding size either, and I have been successful in housing them in my aquariums and they keep the aquarium extremely clean.
Hope that helps.
I also have an angelfish; I got her when she was small and so she is pretty much used to the platies darting all over the tank.
Then I have a bristlenose algae eater. When my daughters friends come over they think he is the coolest because he has "whiskers". Bristlenose's don't grow to outstanding size either, and I have been successful in housing them in my aquariums and they keep the aquarium extremely clean.
Hope that helps.
Have a read here before getting into the "agressive" fish. For that tank, I would put about 20 buenos aires tetras in there, not the prettiest, but really fun to watch(try feeding them and leaving the lid open).
If that doesn't fit your taste, click here to find a huge species profile database to chose some fish from.Make sure to chech out the adult sizes, a lot of fish will grow into giants, including the majority of plecos. Also, be sure to read and find out if the fish you want will be compatible, not only in behavior but in water quality as well.
An aquarium is a bit more complicated than add fish and water, most newbies don't know that, so have a read here before moving on and setting up your tank.
If that doesn't fit your taste, click here to find a huge species profile database to chose some fish from.Make sure to chech out the adult sizes, a lot of fish will grow into giants, including the majority of plecos. Also, be sure to read and find out if the fish you want will be compatible, not only in behavior but in water quality as well.
An aquarium is a bit more complicated than add fish and water, most newbies don't know that, so have a read here before moving on and setting up your tank.
Frankly, for a second grade class I'd stay away from aggressive fish totally.
Young kids can be very sensitive to how animals react to one another and the last thing you would need is a kid going home to their parents crying about how this cichlid killed that cichlid, or that the angelfish ate all the tetras.
A teacher in my child's school set up a 55g tank for her 3rd grade class. She didn't have a clue as to what she was doing. She didn't cycle the tank, she threw this fish in with that fish and all the fish died. The kids were devastated. She finally got the thing going and had fish in there that lived and didn't kill each other, but it took her most of the school year to do so.
I know that, as a parent with a child in the 3rd grade, I would not appreciate my kid coming home and telling me that their favorite fish was killed by another fish. It's my job to educate my children on death and dying, even when it comes to animals. I watch Animal Planet all the time with my kids and I take care on which shows they watch. If there is anything "brutal" going on, I either say no to watching it or I watch it with them.
That doesn't mean to say that "community" fish don't kill each other. Sometimes they do. However, there is a marked difference between populating a tank with community fish that generally get along well and fish that are naturally aggressive to other fish.
If the kids were older, say fifth or sixth grade, that would be a tad different.
IMO stick with colorful community fish like platys, mollies, swordtails or go with a nice tank full of colorful peaceful tetras.
Just my opinion as a parent,
Roan
Young kids can be very sensitive to how animals react to one another and the last thing you would need is a kid going home to their parents crying about how this cichlid killed that cichlid, or that the angelfish ate all the tetras.
A teacher in my child's school set up a 55g tank for her 3rd grade class. She didn't have a clue as to what she was doing. She didn't cycle the tank, she threw this fish in with that fish and all the fish died. The kids were devastated. She finally got the thing going and had fish in there that lived and didn't kill each other, but it took her most of the school year to do so.
I know that, as a parent with a child in the 3rd grade, I would not appreciate my kid coming home and telling me that their favorite fish was killed by another fish. It's my job to educate my children on death and dying, even when it comes to animals. I watch Animal Planet all the time with my kids and I take care on which shows they watch. If there is anything "brutal" going on, I either say no to watching it or I watch it with them.
That doesn't mean to say that "community" fish don't kill each other. Sometimes they do. However, there is a marked difference between populating a tank with community fish that generally get along well and fish that are naturally aggressive to other fish.
If the kids were older, say fifth or sixth grade, that would be a tad different.
IMO stick with colorful community fish like platys, mollies, swordtails or go with a nice tank full of colorful peaceful tetras.
Just my opinion as a parent,
Roan
Thank you for your replies. Those links really help. I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a newbie when it comes to keeping fish, I am when it comes to aggressive fish like cichllids.
Our goal is to provide something intersting for young children that they could learn from. Not all kids have pets at home, and most children really like watching fish. Plus, my wife can incorporate the aquarium into many of her lessons.
I think the only reason we were thinking cishlids is the initial thought of "pretty and interesting." Of course, there are many peaceful & semi-aggressive fish that are pretty and interesting too.
Has anyone here ever planned a large tank with young children in mind? What types of critters did you put in there? We have a few months until school starts up again to get this tank going. Thanks for your help thus far.
***didn't see the post above as I was in the process of writing this. Thank you for your opinion, it means alot. Liek I said, we want to shoot for intersting, not boring.
Our goal is to provide something intersting for young children that they could learn from. Not all kids have pets at home, and most children really like watching fish. Plus, my wife can incorporate the aquarium into many of her lessons.
I think the only reason we were thinking cishlids is the initial thought of "pretty and interesting." Of course, there are many peaceful & semi-aggressive fish that are pretty and interesting too.
Has anyone here ever planned a large tank with young children in mind? What types of critters did you put in there? We have a few months until school starts up again to get this tank going. Thanks for your help thus far.
***didn't see the post above as I was in the process of writing this. Thank you for your opinion, it means alot. Liek I said, we want to shoot for intersting, not boring.
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Yes, actually, I have.
My 4 year old son has a 65g** tank in his bedroom. It is populated with schools of:
7 silver dollars (Finny, Silver, Copper, Penny, Little Silver, dunno the names of the rest)
7 rummy nose tetras
7 rasboras
Mystery snails
a Hammer's Cobalt Blue Lobster named Mr. Cleaner (these invertebrates *can* be aggressive to other fish, ours isn't)
My son LOVES the silver dollars. They are big and flashy, they are also very shy, retiring and skittish, but they come out when they see him and are very friendly. They have lots of places to hide in the tank which they need since they are skittish. However, with lots of hiding places they are always out and about. They are herbivores, so he puts pieces of Romaine lettuce in the tank and other veggies (kids could bring some from home and help "feed" the fish).
My daughter, going into Grade 4, also loves these fish and it's her job to feed Finny (the biggest dollar) every night.
**The 65g is too small, btw, we are moving them to a 75g+ tank in a few months.
Roan
My 4 year old son has a 65g** tank in his bedroom. It is populated with schools of:
7 silver dollars (Finny, Silver, Copper, Penny, Little Silver, dunno the names of the rest)
7 rummy nose tetras
7 rasboras
Mystery snails
a Hammer's Cobalt Blue Lobster named Mr. Cleaner (these invertebrates *can* be aggressive to other fish, ours isn't)
My son LOVES the silver dollars. They are big and flashy, they are also very shy, retiring and skittish, but they come out when they see him and are very friendly. They have lots of places to hide in the tank which they need since they are skittish. However, with lots of hiding places they are always out and about. They are herbivores, so he puts pieces of Romaine lettuce in the tank and other veggies (kids could bring some from home and help "feed" the fish).
My daughter, going into Grade 4, also loves these fish and it's her job to feed Finny (the biggest dollar) every night.
**The 65g is too small, btw, we are moving them to a 75g+ tank in a few months.
Roan
Hi,
May I suggest malawi cichlids? there colors rival salt water fish( very pretty and bright) and they are very active. I think that the children would enjoy malawi cichlids for there color and all the action that goes on in the tank.
It is also interesting when the breed, first, to attract there mate the vibrate there whole bodies like they're having a spasm, very cool to watch. then when the do lay there eggs the female holds the eggs in her mouth until the babies are fully developed. I think that would be really cool for kids to see.
You could then add some catfish, like any kind of synodontis or pictus cats.
If you do decide to go with malawi cichlids, just do your research. some fish have different aggression levels and you wouldn't want any fish to get killed as mentioned before. I would suggest looking into some of the less aggressive mbuna and haps.
Some of the mbuna you could look into are: yellow labs, Melenchromis CYANEORHABDOS (aka maingano), red zebras, and rusties. All of these can be mixed, and most are probably compatible with some Haps.
You could also do a big group of one fish like Melenchromis Johanni. the females are yellow and the males are blue, so just that one species would make a nice contrasting tank.
Just make sure that whatever you get, you get at least 3-4 females per male of each species, or the male will pester the females to death, or the males will fight amongst each other for mating rights of only a few males. (e.g. 1m/4f or 2m/6-8f, etc)
If the malawi cichlids sound like something your interested in, post your questions in the cichlid forum, for a better response.
This is just my opinion, hope you find what your looking for.
May I suggest malawi cichlids? there colors rival salt water fish( very pretty and bright) and they are very active. I think that the children would enjoy malawi cichlids for there color and all the action that goes on in the tank.
It is also interesting when the breed, first, to attract there mate the vibrate there whole bodies like they're having a spasm, very cool to watch. then when the do lay there eggs the female holds the eggs in her mouth until the babies are fully developed. I think that would be really cool for kids to see.
You could then add some catfish, like any kind of synodontis or pictus cats.
If you do decide to go with malawi cichlids, just do your research. some fish have different aggression levels and you wouldn't want any fish to get killed as mentioned before. I would suggest looking into some of the less aggressive mbuna and haps.
Some of the mbuna you could look into are: yellow labs, Melenchromis CYANEORHABDOS (aka maingano), red zebras, and rusties. All of these can be mixed, and most are probably compatible with some Haps.
You could also do a big group of one fish like Melenchromis Johanni. the females are yellow and the males are blue, so just that one species would make a nice contrasting tank.
Just make sure that whatever you get, you get at least 3-4 females per male of each species, or the male will pester the females to death, or the males will fight amongst each other for mating rights of only a few males. (e.g. 1m/4f or 2m/6-8f, etc)
If the malawi cichlids sound like something your interested in, post your questions in the cichlid forum, for a better response.
This is just my opinion, hope you find what your looking for.
how about an Oscar?
I think 2nd graders might be interested in an oscar -- a single big friendly fish that will swim right up to the glass and interact with them. I've never kept them, but have heard stories of owners being able to pet and even play catch with a ping pong ball with their Oscars.
Again, never kept them, so this might be a terrible idea -- but I think it certainly would hold their interest.
I think 2nd graders might be interested in an oscar -- a single big friendly fish that will swim right up to the glass and interact with them. I've never kept them, but have heard stories of owners being able to pet and even play catch with a ping pong ball with their Oscars.
Again, never kept them, so this might be a terrible idea -- but I think it certainly would hold their interest.
The tank will have to be moved twice a year, so I don't think a huge (they get huge really fast, will reach 12" in about a year if properly kept) fish will be the best thing for this setup.
maybe you could do some drawf gouramis(1 male to several females), about 20 guppies (start with a pair or two and let them reproduce to this number), 5 bronze corys and a bristle nose pleco? maybe some FW shrimps and larger snails as well?
maybe you could do some drawf gouramis(1 male to several females), about 20 guppies (start with a pair or two and let them reproduce to this number), 5 bronze corys and a bristle nose pleco? maybe some FW shrimps and larger snails as well?
Your wife is very lucky to get suck a great tank for her class.
Regardless of what type of fish you get I would recommend taking the class through the process of setting up the tank. They do not need to know about different chemicals, or totally understand the process. But seeing how long it takes to set up a tank and seeing your wife test the water every week could be a valuable lesson. They will see that there is more to keeping fish than feeding them. Maybe the class could even chart the chemical levels in the tank. All the early elementary teachers I know love charts.
When the tank is ready to go maybe she could let the class vote on one of two or three fish options. It will make the class feel like the fish are their fish.
Regardless of what type of fish you get I would recommend taking the class through the process of setting up the tank. They do not need to know about different chemicals, or totally understand the process. But seeing how long it takes to set up a tank and seeing your wife test the water every week could be a valuable lesson. They will see that there is more to keeping fish than feeding them. Maybe the class could even chart the chemical levels in the tank. All the early elementary teachers I know love charts.
When the tank is ready to go maybe she could let the class vote on one of two or three fish options. It will make the class feel like the fish are their fish.