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Child Friendly Aquascapes?

C

chrism

Member
Joined
3 Mar 2009
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72
Location
North Wales
Hi everyone,

We're in the process of buying a house which means I'm finally able to have a fishtank again. But before I get to work on my ultimate sumped tank, I'm going to do a tank for our (almost) 2 year old.

She LOVES the Octonauts so I'm going to get some 2nd hand figures and try to incorporate those into a planted aquascape.

Obviously the challenge is going to be keeping it on the tasteful side of tacky. I'm just wondering if anyone else has done similar 'scapes for their kids? Not necessarily Octonauts, but any child friendly themed planted tank.

So if you've done a tank for your kids, have seen decent examples of kids tanks or just have ideas, please post below!


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Tropica has done a few tanks in the past - this one features dinosaurs

Oliver Knott has done many tanks with figures - look on his pbase plantella site, eg, theme tanks ... oddly I've read many complaints on various forums over his use of unorthodox materials 😕 - I've always thought them good fun 😀
 
Take a photo every week with them, get them involved, let them choose the fish etc and they love it! You will have the inevitable disney characters etc unfortunately.

I would suggest hiding them in the tank, tell them they're playing hide and seek rofl. Move them about if they are young enough and they will be amazed if they don't catch you haha
 
Or alternatively you could introduce them to nature without the aid of Disney. Nature is fascinating in itself; I don't think it needs plastic to make it appealing to any age...😉
 
Love the idea of moving things around (and dinosaurs) will definitely get her involved and get her learning! Thanks for the links Alto I would normally be one of the ones criticising, but things change when you've got a kid and although I'll do my best to keep it classy, it's just a bit of fun innit


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Come on Tim if my 3 year old girl wants a plastic batman swimming round the tank its her's, its nice to have her interested in the same things as me, even if it comes with a price sometimes😉 We can always try to convince them that batman is not needed to keep the fish safe from bad guys:lol:
 
I do my scapes with my 2 kids (4 and 8 years old)!
Is much fun to do it with them, even when they are fighting for doing the task's!
I try to give simple goals to each one and know their opinion about the layout.
My older one has it's on tank (15l) and is not a 'fantasy' approach...
But i see no reason why not doing it! Fantasy aquascaping can be fun also! :crazy:

Here is a 'fantasy version' of my big tank...
23661972042_82bb1ee757_o.jpg
cheers,
😉
 
Indulge these whims in your child & they grow on from them ... why turn something so trivial into a forbidden "holy grail"
- an aquarium doesn't need to be "natural" for it to be a thriving home for fish & source of wonderment & interest for a child ... who is far more likely to remain interested in aquaria if allowed in the decision-making process.

I've seen loads of heavily planted, beautifully scaped tanks with fish that are struggling to breathe, or Iwagumi's with fish hiding in shadowy corners, or ghosted out to match pale substrates ...
 
tmiravent said:
Here is a 'fantasy version' of my big tank...
23661972042_82bb1ee757_o.jpg
cheers,
😉
Click to expand...

Love it!

The Octonauts are underwater scientists / explorers so it's kind of an educational program too. I'm thinking I'll try to mimic a scene or opening sequence from the show.

It will be a planted tank, and hopefully not too tacky. I think it's going to be in her room and I'll be using my old 3ft tank, medium - heavily planted and lightly stocked.

Glad to see there are others involving their kids. I grew up with the typical goldfish in a small tank. I wish my parents knew that that wasn't cool. At least my daughter will learn about plants, fish and nature in general...
 
alto said:
Indulge these whims in your child & they grow on from them ... why turn something so trivial into a forbidden "holy grail"
- an aquarium doesn't need to be "natural" for it to be a thriving home for fish & source of wonderment & interest for a child ... who is far more likely to remain interested in aquaria if allowed in the decision-making process.

I've seen loads of heavily planted, beautifully scaped tanks with fish that are struggling to breathe, or Iwagumi's with fish hiding in shadowy corners, or ghosted out to match pale substrates ...
Click to expand...
Honestly guys it's all good, and I’m sure Alto is absolutely right but it’s got me thinking about how we inadvertently or intentionally shape our children’s perception of nature, and I don’t just mean using something as “trivial” as a planted tank, I'm also thinking in terms of the wider biophysical environment.

It’s this perception which will ultimately inform their decisions and therefore how they interact with nature. Some perceptions are useful because they embrace reality more accurately, whilst others don't and are therefore less useful.

It's why people interact with the environment in a wide spectrum of different ways; some good, some not so good.
 
😀
my "trivial" was meant for whatever latest commercial whim takes hold of a child's imagination ... whether it's dinosaurs or octonauts or mermaids or ..., bringing it home & allowing it to become part of your child's daily life demystifies it
 
I love this idea, getting the kids involved means they take interest in not only the fish and ornaments, but the whole hobby. I actually have a reef tank but kept many planted. And they love helping make decisions etc.
 
I let my grandaughter choose herself within reason just ensuring suitable fish,for her tank compatability etc You only need to search the internet for retailers supposedly aimed at the dedicated aquascaper, check the hardscape section and be disapointed as I am to see page after page of lighthouses, castles,sunken galleons,plastic rocks so realistic er they actually look like plastic to add insult to injury have a plastic plant on it. Enter Pets At Home and half the place is taken up by (fish aside)by Princess Tanks Mermaid Tanks,garish gravel,etc.But at the end of the day its a part of growing up to choose these if they want and as long as children appreciate fish need looking after and with help learn this.Countryside walks letting them explore ponds and brooks is a good way I think to let them learn.
 
Hi all,
When my children were smaller they didn't show much interest in the tanks (probably because you don't actually see the fish very often) until the Apistogramma cacatuoides had fry, and that fascinated my daughter. She is 16 now and still interested in fish.

cheers Darrel
 
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