I will admit this- I am not a fish lover. Let me rephrase that. I am not a pet fish lover. I adore animals and am amazed by dolphins. (I fulfilled my dream of swimming with them on vacation with my husband, but that is a different story.) I have never had a desire to own fish as pets though. When asked to do a review and giveaway for My BFF, I thought I would give it a shot since the science behind this intrigued me. Grow my own fish? How is that possible?
Unlike any other product in the market place, My Best Fish Friend, also known as My BFF is a cool science kit. You drop the magical “miracle pouch” in non chlorinated water and within 24 hours real live baby fish hatch and grow into beautiful colorful fish. Being able to watch the growth process of these fish is amazing. My Best Fish Friend brings new surprises every day, as they grow and change color. It is impossible to compare a live pet, which kids can learn such valuable lessons by taking care of these fish from birth onto adulthood to any other toy product.
Through innovative scientific technology, rare fish eggs are bred, fortified, and preserved. This allows the live organic embryos to be reconstructed once placed in water. The product has been intuitively designed and tested for easy use and has up to 8-10 fish eggs per bag. The kit contains all that is needed, including 30 days of food, feeding tools, and detailed instructions. Extensive testing and development of the product has been done to ensure consumer satisfaction (if instructions are followed correctly).
My BFF is the incredible new way to raise your own pet, and it’s as easy as 1-2-3, Miracle Pouch + Water = My BFF. My Best Fish Friend is ideal for the home, the classroom, the office or as a special gift.
It’s fun, it’s cool science, it’s AMAZING.
Here is the process I have gone through so far:
Your My BFF Kit comes with all the necessary tools to grow your fish. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with uniodized salt or a fish tank/bowl. A fish bowl would have been nice. I luckily had one I used to have a plant and marbles in, but I am not sure what I am going to do when it’s time to transfer them.
Before you begin the process of hatching your eggs you most first grow their food. The fish eat brine shrimp (I had never heard of these, so I was afraid I was going to see shrimp kind of like what I eat. Luckily, it’s not like that at all). It took our shrimp at least 2 days for them to be ready to be eaten as fish food. You receive two small containers in which you add some bottled water, salt and a pinch of the shrimp. They are ready when they are “floating” below the water level.
There is a bag full of fish eggs that is poured in an 8-12 oz. container filled with room temperature bottled water. Eggs will hatch between hours and days. We had little fish swimming within the first day. The fish like to live in the brown part so tipping the container a little will bring them out. We quickly gained at least 20 fish. I am not sure what I am going to do with all of these fish.
I actually have a “funny” story. My 4 year old got ahold of the container while I was feeding the baby. She carried it in the bedroom (with my 2 year old by her side). I swiftly told her to put it back. When I checked on the fish, the water was brown as could be and there was water on the floor. I could only picture the movie Nemo where Darla shakes the fish. I thought they had killed them! Luckily, it seems we have all the fish and then some.
It has been about a week and a half. The fish are growing, but they are still pretty translucent. The fish are fed everyday and then after 1-2 weeks the water should be changed every 2-3 days. A picture of the fish food growing is above. There are instructions on how to transfer them to bigger containers and then eventually get them into an aquarium. I have changed the water once so far. I am hoping that I am doing it all right. I am not really sure how often to make the fish food (when gone, when they look “dead” or when), so a little clarification on some of it would be nice.
So far, this is a neat learning tool for myself and my children. I can’t wait to see how many fish we end with and what they look like.
The kit costs almost $20 and would be a neat Christmas gift for anyone in your life.
We are giving away a set of My BFF to one lucky reader. Enter the contest by filling the form out below. Also, be sure to check out all of our other giveaways here.
This giveaway is open until November 27, 2010 at 11:59 pm CST to U.S residents.
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A complimentary product/service was provided for this review, however, all opinions expressed are our own. We were not compensated in any other way. See Mommies With Cents disclosure policy for more details.
Justine Pierson says
Hey everyone…just wanted to post about these fish so you know what you are getting into…YES this is a cool kit but only if you want to upgrade to at least a 5 gallon tank later with a filter…I personally wouldn’t put these in anything that small but just sayin..these are female Betta fish, I’m sure you have seen the male version at the pet store in it’s very own bowl with the beautiful fins? This is just the female version so more than one can be put together and they are still pretty…..but please don’t get these unless you want to take care of them, I am requesting this on behalf of the fish lol…Do NOT put these in chlorinated water or they will die..you will need to get a water treatment solution if you plan on changing their water….:D PS not trying to be a know it all but I know people who have killed their fish and didn’t know about the chlorine before!
Jspot says
Hi, thanks for the info. I am considering getting this for my kids for Christmas, but I’m concerned about the food and the water. Two questions:
1. Is the brine shrimp the only food this fish can eat? Or can you switch to regular flakes once the fish are fully grown? Having to grow the shrimp over a two or more day period on a continuous basis seems like a lot of work.
2. If eventually transferred to a larger tank with air and filters, does the water still necessarily need to be changed every 2-3 days? And can these fish co-exist with other freshwater fish? I already have a 20-gallon tank of freshwater fishes. I’d like to be able to add these female betas eventually, if possible – providing that I dechlorinate the water first. Is this possible?
Thanks!
mindy says
Hi!
It does say that you can feed them other food besides the brine shrimp, but that they may not prefer it as they are used to the Brine shrimp. Growing the food isn’t that tedious since it only has to be done every couple of days (if that) because you can do two containers at the same time. Honestly, I have had this for weeks and have only grown food in 3 containers, so MAYBE one/week.
I am not sure about the answer to the changing water every few days. I would assume it wouldn’t need to be because of the filters. There is more information on their site about breeding fish, which is possibly what would happen if you combine fish (unless they are all females). It’s in the FAQ here: https://www.mybffnow.com/flare/info/FAQ. They also have a customer service and are super nice. They can answer any questions you may have as well.
Good luck!!!