I bought the Nemo for my son and the Ariel for my daughter. They both wanted a pet so we figured a fish would be the best for now. We saw these on the disney site (if you catch them at the right time of the month you can get it for half off the retail and cheaper shipping).Great little design, no leaks, filter is cute and relatively functional, however the air pump is not very stable and is prone to falling over and making a loud vibrating noise. It seems to want to follow the hose, so make sure you position the hose well.
The tank includes almost everything you need, EXCEPT gravel. So, when your kids open it up looking for it, you will need to come up with a good excuse (or, after reading this review, buy it and have it ready). Food, water conditioner, decoration, lights, etc., are all included. Make sure to rinse everything very well. Be careful not to use any soap as the residue may kill anything you put into the tank. A good thorough rinse should do the trick. Then, try to fill the tank and let it run for a couple of days before adding a fish (we put one Beta in each tank and they are both doing very well). The acrylic is very clear, and the cover is VERY good for keeping toys, hands, etc., out of the tank. I did not give it five stars because of the pump and the lack of gravel. Even still, I would have given 4.5 stars if it were available, as the gravel is not such a big deal (don't forget to rinse it VERY, VERY well before adding it into the tank).
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This aquarium, along with other small "starter kit" aquariums are inadequate for the needs of most fish (even smaller fish like tetras and danios) and promote impulse buying of fish (particularly goldfish. more on that below).Aquarium "kits" give many people the impression that they can just buy the kit, fill it with dechlorinated water, and dump in the fish. This causes so much heartache for the poor buyer, as they will see their brand new fish go belly up within days or even hours depending on the conditions of the tank and fish. :(
The reason for this is because in a "kit" aquarium, the buyer is not encouraged to CYCLE the tank That is, allow bacteria to build up in the systema process that can take days, but there are treatments that can be added to the water to speed up the process.
If that weren't bad enough, the dimensions of the aquarium here itself (1.7 gallons?) are severely inadequate for most types of fish, as I stated above. Fish need room to swim around, lest they become ill or overly stressed. (with the exception of really slow moving fish, of course...like bettas, etc).
In a large, healthy aquarium, there are many types of beneficial bacteria living in the ceramic media at the bottom of the filter. This is good. It breaks down the toxic fish waste and ammonia and all is well with the aquarium.
A small aquarium is doubly bad for the novice, as problems with the water quality can get deadly to the fish much much faster than they could in a large aquarium. There is no room for error in a tiny 1.7 gallon cube.
Though to a beginner, a large aquarium may seem daunting, the novice hobbyist will have much better luck with a 30 gallon. Water changes are done less frequently, and if the filter goes out in a 30 gallon aquarium, you won't have to drop everything and immediately go out and buy a new one. You can wait a day.
A little word about goldfish: goldfish require a large aquarium to suit their needs. They are very dirty fish, and produce lots of...err...waste, so they would need a larger aquarium as well as a pretty efficient filtration system. Even in a large aquarium (20-30 gallons) just one goldfish would require at least weekly partial water changes.
Goldfish also get HUGE. Some can grow to 8-12 inches. They can also live 20-30 years. So, when a goldfish dies after five years, it didn't die of old age...just so you know.
About my fish: I keep two Oranda goldfish (those are the little guys with puffy red caps on their heads) named Pork and Beans in a 25 gallon rectangular aquarium. When they get too big, I will either sell one, or transfer them to a larger 30-40 gallon.
hope this helps! :)
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Got this tank for a Beta fish for my son. He loves it and it doesn't need to be cleaned very often. We clean it once every 2 weeks. Good product.Want Tetra 29181 Finding Nemo Aquarium Cube, 1.5 Gallons Discount?
This aquarium is a very nice looking addition to my 3 year old son's room. He's been fascinated by fish & aquariums for some time, and now he loves to care for and look at the fish in his own room. The value of this package is excellent, as I've seen just the ornament alone selling for almost the price of this package!A few extras you will need are: gravel, plants, fish food, AquaSafe drops, and a fish (combined additional cost is about $15).
