Many people may hesitate in making a home for a pet in a child’s room, but a fish is an entirely different story. Fish tanks have a whole lot of benefits when placed in a living area, and can work as a peaceful addition to a bedroom in particular. Children especially enjoy the addition to their space as it can serve as a soothing source of sound, light, and activity.
Fish aren’t just a great way to help teach children responsibility and care for another living animal, they also are highly beneficial to their overall mental health. It is a learning experience that can inspire conversation, relatable stories, imagination, and research for cognitive development.
Setting up an aquarium provides kids with a sense of ownership and accountability. Combined with the soothing movements of the fish, this can be calming for children struggling with frustration, attention span, and hyperactivity. They also can be used as a means to communicate feelings, as pets are excellent listeners- and many fish will react to your presence (even if it is only because they associate you with food).
The sound of filters can also provide a consistent white noise effect, and help children fall asleep as it blocks other background noises. And the many lighting options you can add to the tank serves as a unique nightlight. Consider blacklight options, changing lights, dimmable features, and led lights for saltwater aquariums to highlight the many features you may have included.
First and foremost, when considering an aquarium for your kid’s room, think about where you are going to place it. It will be most beneficial if it is where they can see it clearly while laying in bed, and if you place it anywhere else, chances are they may want to get out of bed to look at it.
Second, think about the size. You don’t want anything too big and unruly. Save those types of tanks for larger living areas. Instead, look for one to five-gallon tank sizes as they are more compact in size and better fit into bookcase recesses, on top of dressers, and on shelves.
If you are not quite ready to commit to the live aspect of a fish tank but love the idea of the motion and lighting, there are some excellent tank options to consider. These tanks fill with water and have toy fish that mimic the movement of the real thing to provide the soothing movement and lighting for children.
Betta tanks are small and simple, and since they generally hold only one fish (although you can place other small fish with a Betta), easy to maintain. Take a look at this fun design perfect for a little girl who loves imagining herself as a princess!
There are a ton of unexpected shaped fishbowls out there if you know where to look. Tanks that hangover ledges, are shaped like water droplets, or even hang on the wall like this one provides a fun, unexpected addition to your child’s room. Plus, something like this doesn’t even take up any surface space!
Tanks designed to go up, rather than out, take up less surface space and provide a fun way to watch your fish move around. It also allows for cool additions for background interest, plants, and neat lighting at night.
Keep your child’s tank interesting with the fluorescent glow of a blacklight each night with kits, or separate product additions to your existing tank. There are even some fish that you can choose that will glow as well!
If you do decide on a saltwater option, keep it small and easy to maintain. These are awesome choices but do require a bit more knowledge of the fish keeping than freshwater choices. They also open-up cool visual opportunities, such as waving anemones, small crawling crustaceans, and colorful fish.
Orbs and cylinders are also awesome, unique options! They provide 360-degree viewing and are super fun to watch fish swim circles in!
