Are you setting up your child’s first fish tank? Looking for ideas on the best fish for your child’s fish tank? It’s important when you set up your child’s first aquarium that the fish they are taking care of are hardy and easy to care for. After all, you want your child’s first experience in fishkeeping a success.
When I became a mom, it was important for me to introduce fishkeeping to my kids at an early age. I introduced my daughter to her first pet fish when she was a 2 year old toddler! I set up a 20 gallon tank on a low table in the family room. In the tank, I had one juvenile Oscar. The table was low enough for my toddler daughter to watch the fish without the need of a step stool. She was able to walk to the fish tank on her own to check on the fish and to tap gently on the glass. It was a joy to see how fascinated my daughter was with her very first pet fish!
What to Look for in a Fish for Your Child’s Fish Tank
When you are choosing fish for your child’s fish tank, there are certain attributes to look for in the fish you are selecting for your child’s aquarium. Below are 6 attributes that are important when choosing fish for your child’s fish tank.
1. Hardy Fish
You want easy, low maintenance hardy fish in your child’s fish tank. Fish that can tolerate a wide range of water parameters and temperature. After all, you want to minimize tears! Set your child’s fish tank up for success by choosing hardy, beginner-friendly fish.
As a mom of two kids, throughout the years of fishkeeping with my kids, I only stock hardy fish in my child’s fish tank. It’s heartbreaking to see your child cry when their fish dies!
2. Active Fish
You want active fish in your child’s fish tank. Active fish are more entertaining and fun to watch. You want your child to relate to his/her pet fish. Avoid shy, timid fish that will hide in plants and rocks. You want fish that will interact with your child- the type of fish that gets excited when they see your child nearby!
Our Oscar cichlid was the perfect fish when my daughter was 2 years old. He had endearing puppy-like behavior that was easy for a toddler to bond with. Our Oscar got excited excited whenever he sees my daughter! My daughter loved feeding our Oscar, he was such an active, messy eater- chomping away!
3. Bright colored Fish
When it comes to choosing fish for your child’s fish tank, the brighter the better! Freshwater tropical fish comes in many colors- ranging from colorful, bright vibrant fish to really drab, grey fish. Kids will be more attracted to bright, colorful fish. Especially, if you have a young child. It will be more fun to take care of bright, colorful fish. Avoid grey fish for your child’s fish tank. Although, in many fish species, the female are grey so this may be unavoidable to have some grey fish in your tank.
Our Oscar cichlid was a bright orange, the perfect coloring for my daughter’s pet fish.
4. Size of Fish
The size of fish is an important consideration when choosing fish for your child’s fish tank. Big fish are more relatable, they will be treated like big pets. Kids will name their fish and take care of their fish like the way they take care of land pets.
When my daughter was 2 years old, having one Oscar cichlid in the tank was the best set up. She easily related to our Oscar and treated him like a pet!
5. Quantity of Fish
The quantity of fish matters when setting up your child’s fish tank. Having too many fish in your child’s aquarium makes it hard for kids to name every fish and to relate to the fish. It’s difficult to tell the fish apart when they are grouped in a school of fish, actively swimming around! This makes it hard for children to relate to many little fish as pets. Somehow the personal connection is missing when you have too many fish in your child’s aquarium.
My 9 year old son has a live bearer tank filled with swordtails and guppies. He did not name every single fish since there were too many fish to name but he did pick out a few favorite fish that he named and took care of.
6. Avoid Aggressive Fish
When stocking kids aquarium, I’d avoid overly aggressive fish. I’d also avoid setups that may encourage aggressive behavior, like an all male fish tank! It’s stressful to watch weaker fish being bullied, the experience is definitely not suitable for a child’s fish tank. Plus you don’t want to traumatize your young child with casualties! I’d stick with peaceful fish and stay away from any aggressive fish.
What are the Best Pet Fish for Kids
When choosing the best pet fish for your child’s aquarium, you need to make sure you stock it with kid-friendly fish. Ideally, you want fish that are hardy, colorful, active and not aggressive. And depending on your child’s age, you may want to get a big fish or little fish for your child’s fish tank. In general, younger kids (toddler, preschooler and young elementary school aged kids) will relate better to 1 to 3 big fish while older kids (older elementary school and up) will be more flexible with big and/or little fish. Below is a list of the eight best pet fish for kids. They are also beginner friendly so if it’s your first time fishkeeping then you will not have a hard time taking care of these fish.
1. Swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii)
Swordtails are excellent fish for your child’s fish tank. They are bright orange and active fish. They are also hardy and easy to care for. Plus swordtails are livebearer fish. That means they give birth to live baby fish (no need to wait for eggs to hatch!). If you stock your child’s fish tank with 1 male and 3 females, in no time, you will see pregnant female swordtails and soon enough little baby swordtails darting around! It’s a lot of fun to have swordtails in your child’s fish tank.
Be aware that swordtails have a tendency to get scared easily. I remember when my son first got swordtails, he was very excited and tapped the glass of the fish tank. The loud tapping scared the swordtails, some went into hiding behind plants while another near the surface jumped. Do have a good cover on your child’s aquarium!
Swordtails | |
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Size | Male 4 inches and Female 5 inches |
Diet | Tropical Flakes |
Plants | Live Plants or Plastic Plants |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | At a minimum have one male and one female. Ideal 1 male and 3 females in a 10 gallon. Males have tendency to get aggressive with each other. |
Type of Fish | Live Bearer, Females can give birth to over 80 fry in a month! |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
2. Zebra Danios (Brachydanio rerio)
Zebra Danios are very active schooling fish. They are a lot of fun for kids to watch because they are constantly on the move. Zebra Danios can grow up to 2 inches long. Depending on the size of your fish tank, at a minimum, you should keep 6 to 8 Zebra Danios in a schooling fish. Get 6-8 zebra danios in a 10 gallon tank.
Zebra Danios are easy fish for beginners. They are also easy to breed. If you want the fry to live, set up your tank with gravel or other coarse substrate so the eggs are protected from hungry adult fish! Do beware if you plan to mix your zebra danios with other fish. They like to nip fins, they may nip the fins of guppies, swordtails and angelfish.
Zebra Danios | |
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Size | 2 inches (5 cm) |
Diet | Tropical Flakes |
Plants | Live Plants or Plastic Plants |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | Group of 6-8 |
Type of Fish | Egglayer |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
3. White Cloud Mountain Minnows (Tanichthys albonubes)
White Cloud Mountain minnows are active and sociable fish. They are very resilient and can tolerate a wide range of water condition. They are cold water fish so you don’t need a heater for them (keep water temperature as low as 68F or 20C). They can also be kept in small tanks. If you are new to fishkeeping, this is a great starter fish. You can’t go wrong with these minnows when you want your child’s fish tank a success.
White Cloud Mountain Minnows | |
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Size | 1.5 inches (4 cm) |
Diet | Tropical Flakes |
Plants | Live Plants or Plastic Plants |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | Group of 6-8 |
Type of Fish | Egglayer |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
4. Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
Goldfish are great starter fish for children. What I like about goldfish for a child’s fish tank is that goldfish are big. The big size makes goldfish a better pet fish for younger children. The classic goldfish with the round, orange body is lovable. They love to eat and are messy eaters making feeding time extremely fun for young children.
Even though you often see drawings of goldfish in small fish bowls, you should avoid housing your goldfish in fish bowls. Your goldfish will need a 10 gallon tank at a minimum. Plus you need to have a filter to keep the water clean since goldfish are messy eaters and produce a lot of waste. Goldfish don’t need a heater. They will be happy in water temperature of 66-68F (19-20C). Get 2 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank, it’s the perfect set up for a child’s fish tank.
Goldfish | |
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Size | 12 inches (35 cm) |
Diet | Pellets |
Plants | Plastic |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | 2 |
Type of Fish | Egglayer |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
5. Bronze Corydora (Corydoras aeneus)
Bronze Corydora is a good catfish for a child’s fish tank. It is different from the other fish on this list because Bronze Corydoras will stay at the bottom on the substrate. They are not algae eater but will do a little clean up of uneaten food in your child’s fish tank. It’s a good additional fish to have. You can keep them with any fish on this list except the cold water fish (Goldfish and White Cloud Mountain Minnows) and Oscar. Bronze Corydoras should be kept in a group of 2 to 6 per aquarium. For a 10 gallon tank, you can only keep 2 Bronze Corydoras.
Bronze Cory | |
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Size | 3 inches (7.5 cm) |
Diet | Pellets and Granules |
Plants | Live Plants or Plastic Plants |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | 2 to 6 |
Type of Fish | Egglayer |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
6. Guppies (Peocilia reticulata)
Guppies are great starter fish for a child’s fish tank. They are hardy and active fish. They are not aggressive with each other so you can expect a peaceful tank. The males are more colorful than female guppies. Guppies are live bearer and they breed very easily. A female guppy can produce 20-40 babies every month! I suggest getting the biggest tank you can give your child because once they start breeding you will have a lot of guppies!
Guppies | |
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Size | 2 inches (5 cm) |
Diet | Tropical Flakes |
Plants | Live Plants or Plastic Plants |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | At least one pair |
Type of Fish | Live Bearer |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
7. Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus)
Oscar is the perfect pet fish for kids. They are personable and extremely lovable. It’s the closest thing you have to puppy-like behavior in a fish. Their big size, round eyes and round body makes them adorable. I have even fed my Oscar directly out of my hand (don’t try it, they have sharp teeth!) They are smart fish- they seem to know who you are, they get excited to see you, you and your kids will fall in love with your Oscar!
The only thing about raising Oscar is they are big fish! Oscar are one of the biggest cichlids, they can grow to 14 inches. When you buy Oscar as a juvenile, you can get away with housing one juvenile Oscar in a 20 gallon tank. But be prepared to move your Oscar to a much larger tank soon. You really need at least a 75 gallon tank for your Oscar (some will say you need 100 gallons at least!)
When my daughter was two years old, her first pet fish was an Oscar. He was the perfect pet fish for a toddler. He was very relatable and lovable, perfect for a 2 year old!
Oscar | |
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Size | 14 inches (35 cm) |
Diet | Pellets and Live Foods |
Plants | None |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | 1 or 2 |
Type of Fish | Egglayer |
Minimum Tank Size | 75 Gallons |
8. Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) or Variatus Platy (Xiphophorus variatus)
Platy is an easy fish for your child’s fish tank. They are very easy to breed and is a great live bearer for beginners. Your kids will enjoy seeing the babies and experiencing the breeding process. Platy female can give birth to a few dozen babies while their cousin Variatus Platy can give birth to 100 fry every month! Both types of platy are great for a child’s fish tank. They are also peaceful fish. The males don’t fight each other so you can have multiple males in a tank. If you are trying to decide between swordtails or platy for your child’s tank, platy fish are more peaceful and easier to breed.
Platy and Variatus Platy | |
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Size | Male 1- 1.5 inches (2.5-4cm), Female 2-2.5 inches (5-6.5cm) |
Diet | Tropical Flakes |
Plants | Live Plants or Plastic Plants |
Number of Fish per Aquarium | At least one pair |
Type of Fish | Live Bearer |
Minimum Tank Size | 10 Gallons |
Final Thoughts on Choosing Fish for Your Child’s Fish Tank
When selecting the fish for your child’s tank, you need to take into account your child’s age and how experienced you are with fishkeeping. For young children under 8 years old, I suggest choosing the bigger fish like Oscar, Goldfish and Swordtails. These 3 fish don’t mix well together so I’d choose only one species and have a species only tank. And keep the number of fish at 1-3 fish in your child’s fish tank so your child can tell the fish apart and be able to relate to her pet fish. If you are new to fishkeeping, I’d stick with Goldfish or Swordtails first to gain experience in maintaining a fish tank.
For older kids, 8 years old and up, you can choose any fish on this list. I think older kids will stay engaged whether they have big fish or little fish in their fish tank. Do get your child involved in setting up the aquarium, choosing the decor, choosing the fish and taking care of the fish.
If you and your child are new to fishkeeping, I recommend starting with a guppies-only fish tank. It’s probably one of the easiest fish to care of on the list. Plus it’s a lot of fun to see baby guppies swimming once they start breeding.
Introducing your child to his/her first fish tank is a rewarding experience. There are so many valuable lessons for your child to learn when it comes to taking care of pet fish. For me as a mom, I’m thankful for fishkeeping, it’s just one more thing to keep my kids off their devices and video games!
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