Develop my son

[InspiredDad]

hi,

My son is 10 and has always had a distant interest in fish and sea animals (sharks primary), on his birthday he wanted to do a swim with shark experience and loved it and his interest spanned everything sea life related. He had asked for fish for years but I always held of fearing it was a passing interest like his sisters dancing/theatre interest but it has stuck.

Last month I bought him a tank and took time setting it up with him, he now has 4 mollies, 2sailfin mollies and a koi betta. Unfortunately he lost one sailfin due to ammonia levels and now he works diligently to correct it so he doesn't lose any more.

To be honest his passion has inspired me he has moved away from the Xbox to spend days reading about fish and has just asked for his xmas present to be a tank for growing his own plants and almost every conversation turns to fish or marine biology. I've gone so far as to create an excel spreadsheet so he can record all his water test results and fish behaviour so he can track them all - I guess this impressed me a lot too that his interest isn't just pretty fish but the how/why behind it all and the urge to learn it all (including where he can study for a PhD in marine biology and grade requirements lol)

What I came here for though was I have very limited knowledge on the topic and reading his books will teach me the basics but I'm curious from others how best to cultivate his interest. I'm short on space but thinking next year I may look to get a 250l+ tank for the living room for his grown fish to move but I'm curious if there is more I can do or topics I can't point him towards, any help appreciated.

 

[cooledwhip]

Hey man I'm here to help with any questions. First off, betta fish are NOT community fish. They should never be with any fish. What I would recommend, if he wants to grow plants, is DIRT the tank. Don't buy expensive substrates, it's marketed off for beginners like you. I fell for it, and spent $200 for substrate on my 20 gallon long tank... Rip off.

Take some Miracle Gro Organic Potting soil (brown bag) Or any NATURAL and ORGANIC potting soil. Put about 1/4 inch on bottom of tank, and put about half an inch or an inch of sand all over that. Now you are all ready for plants. They need substrate nutrients. For lights, (most expensive part) I recommend Finnex Planted +. That's the only light I recommend, as I have grown SO many plants so much with it. It's a crazy light. About $80, but you aren't losing any money. If he does grow out of it or does upgrade, you can get about $70 back for the light if you sell it online like eBay or on these forums. Again, any questions just ask. I can even sell you some starter plants he can try growing if you'd like.

I've got 12 tanks.

 

[cooledwhip]

If you want to point him towards something, get him on YouTube and subscribed to aquarium channels like Dustin's Fish Tanks, King of DIY, and just other aquarium channels. There is so much information online and it's so easily accessible.

 

[InspiredDad]

Thanks for getting back, when I looked into creating the tank for plants it advised putting a fish in, would it be viable to move the betta over that way separating it from the mollys and producing the waste that benefits the plants?

 

[Keswick]

but I'm curious from others how best to cultivate his interest.

Try to locate and participate in a local aquarium club.

Even if you have to travel a bit, it will be well worth it.....

Most have regular monthly meetings with speakers and auctions.

And do not just attend once, encourage him to attend regularly and get to know people with similar interests.

Wonderful to see the interest of your son in the hobby. My son was the same age as yours when I helped him get started, he turned to other things - I turned it into an obsession... funny how things work

 

[InspiredDad]

Follow up my 10 year old is now mr Hefner after his all male collection of mollys have just given us a baby. Small translucent mostly stuck crawling on the side of the tank. Tried to get a picture but bad resolution.

 

[Munroco]

TBH that doesn't sound like a baby molly, they are born free swimming. Sounds more like planaria.

 

[InspiredDad]

Based on minimal research it sounds like your right, there's only 1 I can see but will have a proper look through the base when I get in from work. Sounds like they feed on the material between the stones which would be beneficial I had considered getting some surface cleaners to help in that area so provided the number isn't too high it's not so negative and reaffirms the fish are all male as we intended.

Starting to see what Keswick said, I find myself more and more engrossed - just bought a 19l tank for growing some plants this morning awaiting for the arrival now lol

Still slightly high ammonia, it was at 6 but we didn't have a test kit as the shop sold us a 5-in-1 telling us it's all we needed til the sailfin died then they said ammonia was high, got levels to 1.5 after a 30/15/15/30 water change and reducing feeding over the course of 10days

 

[InspiredDad]

Came home tonight and one of the mollys is unwell - barely swimming along the bedding and appears to be anchoring, ammonia levels have gone up too.

Decided we need to make a drastic fix so going for a 50% change in water and cleaning the gravel as it appears the bed beneath the rocks is full

However in the process of this I discovered the creature from earlier alongside another that was in one of the ornaments
https://imgur.com/a/uagMG

Any advice greatly appreciated I don't want my lad to be worried all week about these fish need to get tank cycled in the right direction.

 

[cooledwhip]

I believe it could be ammonia spikes. I believe for some it's really common and for others it's really rare. In my 4 years of keeping I have only had 1 ammonia spike in only 1 of my 12 tanks.

Sponge filters are your best bet for filtering. Not sure what kind of filter you have, but sponges are the best for your tank.

Aquarium Solutions sponge filters are like $8, super cheap, and some of the best filters for a small tank.

 

[Byron]

Concerning the ammonia issue and the mollies, this was raised in another separate thread
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/parasite-ammonia-or-both.443214/

and I would recommend you not raise the same issue(s) here. Keeping an issue to one thread means everyone sees the entire thread, and you will get a better discussion and advice. The problems with the molly for instance were covered in the other thread.

Byron.