Written by: Jude Bokovoy
Having a pet fish seems to be a right of passage for early students at Western. A pet fish gives students the ability to keep them in their dorm rooms, being seemingly low maintenance and relatively inexpensive. As the owner of two fish and two frogs, there is much advice to give.
Research — Before purchasing a fish, research the fish one would like to get. I know that may sound over the top, but it’s just too easy to get the first appealing fish one sees without knowing the consequences. Things to look for are what kind of water and lighting is required as well as the aggressiveness and average lifespan of the fish. This could even be done while in the pet store seeing what the options are.
Tanks — There is a wide range when it comes to fish tanks. Each fish requires a specific amount of room to live — be sure to consider how much it will grow or whether one plans on geting it some friends. This is one of the bigger purchases that comes with owning a fish. Make sure that it is big enough or even bigger than necessary to prevent buying another in the future. Something to keep in mind is how one is planning to clean it. How will it be carried and where will it be sanitized?
Products — There is a wide range of products when it comes to owning a sea creature. One can be a minimalist, having a plant or two in the tank, or a maximalist with a house and lots of other decor. But that’s not all. One needs to find food that will be nourishing for their specific breed, rocks for the bottom of the tank and water conditioner. There are a whole lot more products one could choose to buy, these are just the essentials.
Time commitment — Even though people’s first thoughts when choosing a fish as a pet is the low time commitment, turns out that isn’t completely true. To assure the fish is comfortable, one should feed it at around the same time every day, or twice depending on the type, clean the tank regularly and notice if something is bothering the fish. When one leaves for the weekend, one must bring their fish with them or have a friend feed them at the same time when gone. Something to really think about is how much one trusts the person because the fish could die in someone else’s hands… it happens. Lastly, fish actually can live for a long time. It’s not unheard of to have the same fish throughout one’s entire four years of college.
Cleaning — This might be the last thing one thinks about when first getting the fish. Once having it, the task will weigh on one’s head every few weeks. Consider getting a filter, this will help the longevity of the tanks cleanliness between cleans. It’s also good to have a miniature back up tank just in case the normal one breaks in the process of transporting or cleaning it. Now that is a catastrophe.
Consider getting a frog or two — African Dwarf Frogs, on the other hand, are pretty low maintenance. They produce very little waste, leading one to clean their tank considerably less often. Their main focus when swimming is going up and down so there isn’t a need to get a huge expensive tank that’s hard to carry. They also do fine with another frog so one is able to get their pet friends down the road. Lastly, they only need to be fed three times a week when they are more than a year old.
Contact the author at howllifestyle@mail.wou.edu
