Age limit for buying pets?

busiscoming2

My DS who is 15 wants to go and buy a goldfish from Dobbies. Will they sell him one? He is a bit worried they will refuse him.

mountainofdebt

think the age is 16

DylanO

Do you have the appropriate set up for a goldfish? A tiny bowl won't cut it.

Spendless

The age to buy a pet was raised to 16 from 12 a few years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4339406.stm

busiscoming2

DylanO wrote: »

Do you have the appropriate set up for a goldfish? A tiny bowl won't cut it.

Yes we do. We had goldfish a few years ago.

thegirlintheattic

16 minimum but I doubt they check.

themull1

Could you not just go with him to get it?

busiscoming2

themull1 wrote: »

Could you not just go with him to get it?

Yes obviously will as it seems he is under age to buy on his own. It was just that he had wanted to go on his own

krlyr

As others have said, 16, but they may not check. I worked in a couple of petshops, one was quite stringent and would ID if unsure, the other didn't particularly care.
You may already know from your previous fish but it is better to have the tank set up "cycling" for a while before adding fish to it so bear that in mind. Some petshops and aquatic stores will insist on having a water sample taken in to be tested before they will sell you any fish as they don't want the fish to go into an unsuitable tank. It may seem pedantic but it may save your son a wasted trip, a few quid and the disappointment of his new fish dying within a few days, I'd actually recommend he looks into proper aquatic centers to buy his fish from rather than any old little petshop. From my experience in petshops, the generic ones tend to be "jack of all, master of none" with no real specialities (unless the staff have a personal interest) and you're more likely to end up with a dud (and then dead!) fish. Haven't heard of Dobbies to know what they're like but I worked in the petshop section of a garden centre and I know from my experience that the fish weren't the best quality/health - I got in at 7.30 before we opened so was often the one who had to go around scooping all the dead fish out before the customers arrived.

lisawood78

Dobbies is a garden centre with a pet section.

eskimo26

busiscoming2 wrote: »

Yes we do. We had goldfish a few years ago.

Unless you have a huge tank please do reconsider letting him get a goldfish, an adult goldfish needs, roughly a 150 litre tank to remain healthy.

They really are more suited as pond fish because they are huge waste producers compared to other fish.

Unfortunately they are also big sellers so most petshops will sell on evidence of a small cycled tank that meets there CURRENT needs. [when they are small.]

Which is frankly a disgrace, so unless you have a large tank be prepared to upgrade it to accommodate a Goldfish. For what it's worth their are other options out there:
http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-62837.html

Hope he enjoys the hobby being an aquarist is a wonderful thing.