Keeping Kids Out Of Tanks

[michaelh]

Hi guys. I have recently set up a 3' tank for my mum at her place.
Problem arose first thing this morning. Got a phone call to tell me her 3 youngest kids (1,3,5) were stiring the tank with wooden spoons....
Any ideas on how i can stop this? How do you guys keep kiddies out of fish tanks? Lol. Any ideas would be really appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Cichlid Warrior]

Erm I would of thought you would tell them off the first time, threaten to take something away from them if it happens again.
Since its such a young age, they may be oblivious to what they are doing, just tell them the consequences if it happens again.

 

[KrazyKuhli]

Put some piranha in there....

Seriously I think you just got to keep telling them not to touch it or if its new they will loose interest soon..

 

[snake007]

But remember if you just tell them to stop and they do it again when theirs fish, it could be fatal so I think you should make a point the first time so there will be no future 'accidents'.

 

[Lufbramatt]

put it somewhere higher?

 

[michaelh]

Ye... 2 of them (3&5) are autistic... Telling doesnt work.
I thought of lending them 1 of my oscars @ 6" for a couple days as he will definatly nip them to scare them but thats alot of stress for him.

put it somewhere higher?

My mum wants it in the living room as a "centrepiece" / otherwise it could go upstairs in a locked room or somthing lol.

 

[riffraff]

surely at that age their quite small and i`m thinking they must be standing on something to reach in and stir the water? could be very dangerous.
if its got a lid with a flap is there anyway of getting some sort of catch/lock on it, maybe they would try and open it once or twice and realise they couldnt and just stop?

or
barbed wire round the tank?

riffraff

 

[michaelh]

I supose what im after is either a phisical way or real reason why they shouldnt (reason to them not just the fish will die). Not to keep on padlocking the lid down as it really wont look nice.

 

[Raf485]

Ye... 2 of them (3&5) are autistic... Telling doesnt work.
I thought of lending them 1 of my oscars @ 6" for a couple days as he will definatly nip them to scare them but thats alot of stress for him.

put it somewhere higher?

My mum wants it in the living room as a "centrepiece" / otherwise it could go upstairs in a locked room or somthing lol.

I would also say higher.

But by higher, doesnt mean a different room but higher off the ground so the kids dont get access to the top of the tank.

I am constantly cleaning the front glass on my tank cos of my 2 year old, but you have to be 4-5 ft tall to get to the lid. Also keep any stools away from it so they dont use it to reach the top.

 

[michaelh]

surely at that age their quite small and i`m thinking they must be standing on something to reach in and stir the water? could be very dangerous.
if its got a lid with a flap is there anyway of getting some sort of catch/lock on it, maybe they would try and open it once or twice and realise they couldnt and just stop?

or
barbed wire round the tank?

riffraff

Haha! +1 on barbed wire.
They stand on the sofa and lean on the cabinet... Im sure if a fish nipped them they would back of but how bad for my oscar would this be? Being moved there for a day or so then back? Its only a 5 min car trip but the bagging up ect. Then probably being chased by hand... Not sure i like the idea tbh... But what do you think?

Ye... 2 of them (3&5) are autistic... Telling doesnt work.
I thought of lending them 1 of my oscars @ 6" for a couple days as he will definatly nip them to scare them but thats alot of stress for him.

put it somewhere higher?

My mum wants it in the living room as a "centrepiece" / otherwise it could go upstairs in a locked room or somthing lol.

I would also say higher.

But by higher, doesnt mean a different room but higher off the ground so the kids dont get access to the top of the tank.

I am constantly cleaning the front glass on my tank cos of my 2 year old, but you have to be 4-5 ft tall to get to the lid. Also keep any stools away from it so they dont use it to reach the top.

What about yellow pages under the tank but on the cabinet?

 

[Raf485]

How about moving the sofa away from the tank, or placing the tank somewhere else in that room. The way i have set mine up, the sofa's are opposite the tank. And nothing near the tank that my daughter can climb on. (well she hasnt tried at the moment) i think once fish are in there, they may be more interested in the fish swimming around then stirring the water.

 

[Man of fish]

Send them on an adventure inside the tank! With your Oscar you'd be a devil to do that lol.
Hmm try moving the sofa or the tank so they cannot reach the tank.

 

[parker313]

For safety, it NEEDS to be moved to where they can't reach it. If they're having to climb to get to it, chances are they are leaning and pulling on it too. I know tanks are heavy, but if they tip it over, it will be disastrous.

Sometimes, being a mom means sacrificing things we want for the safety of our kids. (Mom of 2, now 6 and 8, the 8yr old dumped an entire bottle of fish food in my nano reef when he was 3 so I know how hard that choice can be).

Tank needs to be moved to a more inaccessible location, or removed.

 

[soybean]

How about teaching them positive interactions with the tank, such as allowing them to feed them at certain times and it being their responsibility, rather than teaching them that their going near the tank will result in a telling off?

I can't work out how you'd manage to put a padlock on the lid but it can't be impossible.

 

[soybean]

Plead don't use the oscar to teach them a lesson, the tiny one could get a nasty nip and they may decide to retaliate somehow.

They're just interacting with a new thing - if you make too much of a big deal out of them messing with it, they'll do it more for the attention it gets them.