Experience using betta fish in centerpieces?

OMG Clare, I want one!

My sorority formal during my 1st year in college, they used goldfish in the center pieces. about 1/4 of them died before the formal began, another 1/4 of them died during the dinner... so elegant to have dead floating fish at the center of your table!!

oh and some drunk guy swallowed one on a dare...

I would never ever ever do this. I wouldn't go to wedding if I found out they were going to be in the centerpieces. However for me it's just a strange phobia, and most likely you will not have a person like me at your wedding. When I was a very young child, my mother worked in a pet store, and I would go feed the fish every day. One day I went back to the room slipped on a dead fish that had jumped out the tank in the night and fell head first into the feeder goldfish tank. I had fish stuck in my hair for several hours. I have never liked them since. I do find it a little cruel as well. I would not do it, but if you like the idea, you can try it if you want.

We didn't have fish, but we had vases full of water and colored glass and lights, and it made each piece unique. Having live fish wouldn't have been practical for us, but what a cool idea! If I host a part that involves centerpieces again, I'm totally trying it

"And it appalls me that most of these people probably own pets, are not vegans, wear leather, etc and believe that well cared for fish as decoration is cruel. "

I do think it's hypocritical when people say they love animals, yet eat/wear them. I'm not one of those people though. Owning adopted pets where you care for them and don't use them for decorations is fine. The problem is, you're not going to have time to care for the fish properly. It's a cute idea, but executing it isn't as smooth or easy. I do think the centerpieces look cute, but it's not worth risking floaters. You don't want people to remember your wedding as the one with dead fish. It's more stress on you too.

This is a great link, explaining the cons: http://nippyfish.net/2011/03/31/bettas-as-wedding-centerpieces-a-rant/

A comment from that article:

"My daughter n law used goldfish in her centerpieces. I played no part in organizing any of the wedding. I don’t believe one goldfish ever survived. Some were even eaten as jokes during the reception by drunken men … not children. My daughter n law is not even an animal lover let alone a fish lover. She could care less. What fish actually went home with my grandchildren lived short lives for no one told them they couldn’t put them in their toy trucks and play with them. I could go on but I don’t think anyone wants to hear the gory details. No, I agree having any type of fish in a wedding arrangement is a bad idea."

I wanted to use betta because it was the first gift I gave my DH but it was too much work to make sure they were care for.

I would not use gold fish they can be a lot more sensitive then battas. I was at a party where gold fish where used…. They were in a bowl that was way too small and the room was way too cold for them. Im sad to say that many didn’t make it. I’ve had guppies in a bowl with out a filter they can live a long time like that as long as your place isn’t too cold.

I would be a little worried about drunk people "playing" with them but that’s also why I didn’t have any "fire" at the table

I officiated a wedding where they had fish in the centerpieces. Every single one died before dinner even started. The groomsmen had to roll up their sleeves and scoop out the bodies. Unfortunately, they missed my table and I spent the whole meal with a dead fish in front of me -- not a pretty sight.

Thanks so much to the people who answered my question. I will keep your experiences in mind. Our venue is pretty accommodating with anything that will not damage the structure, but I will double check on the fish to be safe. I'm glad to hear that other people have had success and the fish survived and went to good homes.

@Mallory K. So glad to hear you had a good experience and the guests enjoyed them! Did the water in the vases stay clear through Sunday? I know my betta hates to be moved from his tank too often so I would like to move them to the tanks early. The only thing I worry about is that the water may become cloudy. How did you decorate the vases?

@Caitlin M. I've heard a lot of stories about people using goldfish. They are beautiful but need a lot more care in general, filtration, aeration, etc, than bettas do. The vases we want to use are as large as I keep my own betta in and he loves it. I've also heard the stories about people mistreating the fish. My friends are not the type to get drunk and dare each other to eat live fish... I would not be friends with people like that. But I do worry about people unknowingly tapping on the glass. I was going to put a little card at each table asking that people be respectful of the animal.

I was trying to say that it isn't always a bad thing to use betta fish as centerpieces. I ran out of space. I mean it would sometimes be better to have them given as gifts at a wedding than sit on a Wal-Mart shelf swimming in their own disgusting water. I have seen bad conditions for these fish.

I got my first betta fish from a wedding, it was a centerpiece. And it traveled a great distance to my house too because the wedding was a good 150 miles away and we had to stay overnight in a hotel room. So they are durable fish if treated right.

@ dks64--You cannot always believe what you read. Seriously saying the kids used the fish and put them in the toy boxes and stuff. I don't know if I could believe this. Who would allow their kids to do this. Sounds to me like the woman was just mad because she had no part in planning her sons wedding. Just my opinion though.

If you do decide to use fish, let us know how it works out.

I thought we were here to help each other out not bash someone for an idea they want to do i have personally used betas as center pieces before and never had a problem and i also plan on using them at my reception i think they are beautiful creatures and i will make sure they go to good homes as i am a huge animal lover.

@christina it is your wedding and you should do what you want everyone is going to have their own opinions don't let it change what you really want i will still be using betas for mine

We are really thinking about doing this but after reading so many comments about them dying during the reception...we might be thinking twice. Thanks for the post and all the great feedback!

Mrs D - I don't see how being upset about the wedding would make someone lie about the goldfish experiences (which seem legit) on a website. It wouldn't be the first time kids didn't understand that fish had to stay in the water. I've heard more than 3 separate stories from people I know involving their kids and pet fish. Kids can get into things in a flash, it only takes a few moments with that fish to die.

I just don't understand why people would risk it. Are you going to assign someone to scoop the fish if some don't make it? It's kinda like the weddings with doves. So much can go wrong. My Mom was a wedding photographer for 30 years and she said one of the memories that stands out in her head the most was when the doves were released and both flew into the street and were killed by traffic. That wedding is the "dead bird" wedding, with the fish it would be the "dead fish" wedding. If it was a small, short wedding close to home with no loud music or excessive drinking, and you'll have time to care for the fish (make sure the water temp is fine, feeding them, cleaning the poop out of the tanks before the reception, etc), then I'm not completely opposed. In my head, I just think worst case scenario and would fear my wedding would leave a bad taste in peoples mouths with the dead fish. Plus, I would be devastated if the fish died on my watch. Just my 2 cents.

@christina yup the water stayed clear...and i totally forgot this part... we had tons of "bubbles" in those cute little plastic containers left over from my bridal shower... so we took the containers, empited out the bubbles, washed them throughly and filled them with beta food and put it next to the vase for the new owner to take home.

The water was not cloudy at all.

My venue was actually VERY excited about it and told me it was one of the 'easiest' setups they had to do.

Beta fish are actually very hardy fish. and my bridal party made sure they did a quick "sweep" of the tables to make sure no fishie was left behind.

Its honesty, it is all your decision.

I just wanted to tell everyone that the fish centerpieces worked out perfectly. It sure wasn't the horror story predicted. We received so many compliments and people were delighted that we did not go the typical route and have flowers. All of our fish survived the night and now have good homes. They were quite active once they were placed in the bases and swam around all night. The music was surprisingly not too loud at all, even during the dancing portion which was a concern I had. All of our guests behaved appropriately and nobody did anything to the fish to bother or hurt them. I asked our best man to take care of placing them back in their carrying containers once the wedding was over and he did a fantastic job. People who took fish home were given care packets of food, water conditioner, and instructions on caring for the fish. They also took home the centerpieces if they wanted them. If anyone else wants to do this (using bettas) I'd say go for it! Just make sure you are prepared

From the perspective of the venue hosting the wedding,, fish centerpices are a terrible idea;

we have since banned them in all of our venues; the times we did have them, we would find dead fish all over the floor, the next day, or found them half dead in the bowl, that 'guests' tried to hid under the tables. We also found fish in the toilets, in the parking lots, etc... after a night of partying, not all guests want to take a fish bowl home, to try to get rid of them anyway they can.

My fiance and I are thinking about doing the same thing re: a beta but jeesh...there are A LOT of na sayers out there. We would give them out as prizes (you know??when the DJ does the giveaway) and if anyone doesn't want it then he and I will take them home. We will also be sure they know how to care for it (we just use spring water in the bowl for ours) and make sure they have food. I don't see the problem with it and think it is actually kinda cool (as long as they dont die).