Animal Lovers -- Is this unethical?

My gold fish live in a fish bowl like that with just decorative rocks, and they are doing great. Now my only concern is drunk people lol. I had a get together at my house a long time ago, and someone there decided my two Siamese fighting fish wanted some vodka too. Needless to say they never survived that night. I would be kinda cautious about using them as center pieces, children would probably try to play with them too. Have to say it would look pretty though lol.

My friend has a goldfish in a bowl and she's had it for over EIGHT years in that bowl!  In general for "community" fish, the rule is one gallon of water per inch of fish, so a fish's bowl should be at least a gallon.

I do not think it's unethical.  If used as a centerpiece, I would plan to keep them and not give them away or flush them.

My reasoning in thinking it was unethical was that if people were to take them home, not care for them properly, etc, I would think that it would be the same as fairs giving away animals as prizes to people who weren't fully prepared to care for them.... but... if people weren't taking them home, I guess its different.

Now, I would LOVE to have a goldfish in a bowl at my house, but everytime I went to a petstore, they told me that goldfish can't live in bowls, they need aerated water, and therefore need a pump and bubbler of some sort.... But you both tell me I can! I love you!!

I don't think it's unethical, unless you know your guests can't handle it.  I've heard of people getting drunk and eating goldfish, but I know none of my friends would do that.  Goldfish produce a lot of waste so it is usually best to have them in a tank with a filter.  However, I have seen a "goldfish bowl kit" that is a larger bowl than most and comes with a filter and the other stuff they need.  I prefer bettas so that is what I would choose if I was going to have a fish in a bowl. 

 ETA- this is more expensive than the one I was thinking about, but it is really nice (not for wedding centerpiece, but for home)

http://www.casco-group.com/biorbbiube.html

I depends on what you mean by a goldfish.  There are many kinds and they have various swimming requirements.  Those feeder fish they sell for 15 cents a piece, aka Comets, should live fine in a bowl as long as you get really small ones and the bowl is at least a gallon, preferably more like 2.  That's what my friend has.  It started small and is now 4-5 inches (and in a big bowl!).  I always use bowls that are not rounded toward the top, lest the water lack surface area and the fish won't get enough oxygen.  Many community fish CAN live in a bowl, but you have to take into account how much water it needs, how much surface area for oxygen, and how to regulate the appropriate temperature.

alieliza

Is this unethical? Is it essentially the equivalent of a fair offering live animals as prizes? Don't goldfish die in the inadequate habitat of a fishbowl (granted, you could use bettas instead). Don't people get DRUNK at weddings?

Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  And sometimes.

This is an inadequate situation for goldfish - for any length of time.

Here is a good reference for the care of goldfish and other aquarium fish:

http://www.thegab.org

I've had TONS of bowl fish -- the secret is that you have to use 'good' water -- like bottled water is best or purified aerated 'sink' water that then is allowed to sit overnight so the chlorine can dissipate. 

You have to change it frequently -- at least once a week or more.  And you can't just put rocks you pick up outside in there -- but a bowl fish can be a lot more fun than a tank fish IMO. 

We had a red betta a couple of years ago that I 'rescued' from PetSmart (sorry -- he "called" to me and I could NOT get out of there without buying that fish -- he turned and looked at me for the longest time!!!)  I was furious he was in such a small container ... and he lived the life of Riley here.  And the other dogs LOVED him.  It was cute -- he'd stop at the side oft he bowl and say "hi" every morning and often the dogs would remind me to 'feed Cassius' (what else do you name a red fighting fish but Cassius Clay??)

He went everywhere with us -- when we had a hurricane HE WENT WITH. 

But I too had a lovely pair of fan-tailed goldfish that lived in a bowl for ... almost 14 years.  They died while I was in college!!!  Goldfish will grow to the size of their bowl actually -- it was a big bowl my mother was hauling back and forth to clean every week!!!  About 2 gallons or more!!

If you do this just make sure that your guests understand this is a PET FISH (name him) and you just wanted him there to 'share your day' ... And I'd probably try for a complicated bowl so that it's not easy to just toss 'food' in.  Would make a fun conversation piece.

I've got a blue beta fish in a bowl. He's been around for a pretty long time, probably around 6 some months in the same bowl. My friend had two (seperate bowls of course) for 3 years that lived well. I would pick a beta over a goldfish - they seem more hardy (IMO at least)

I would be careful around cats though... my cat got a hold of my first beta - knocked him on the floor... and well, that was the end of poor Albert. Didn't break the bowl, amazingly.

A bowl is perfectly suitable for a betta fish but NOT for goldfish.  Now, they may survive for a long time, but they will do so because their growth is stunted as a result of the poor living conditions.  Golfish have an adult size of about 12 inches and need lots of space to thrive.  Also, being cold water fish, they need lots of oxygen.  If you want to do fish bowls than go with bettas.

Ahh, DH's awesome centerpiece idea...brings back memories!

Yes, DH wanted this to be the centerpiece at our wedding, yes with a real fish in it. It didn't happen, because 1. I didnt want all the fish to bring home, 2. I didn't want anyone else taking the fish and not caring for them, and 3. drunk people, accidental table tipping over/bowl falling over/fish falling out..yeah no thanks. It didn't sit well with me, if it's unethical, I dunno. I would never do it... 

I think, like with anything, if you do it PROPERLY, then no it's not unethical.  However, I think it's IMPRACTICAL for a wedding when you have so much else to organise.  The health and welfare of a fish is the last thing I would want to be worried about on my big day.  But that's just my personal choice.  I think that if you (colloquial) can't make the health and welfare of a fish a priortity, then choose a different centrepiece.

You can get stuff to add to the water to dechlorinate it, but even if you use that I would let the water sit in the bowl for at least 24 hours.  This is not just a chlorine thing, it's a bacteria thing.  There needs to be a healthy growth of bacteria in the bowl.  As someone else said, goldfish produce a lot of waste and if there is insufficient bacteria there to break down the nitrates (sp?) the water gets cloudy and the goldfish is essentially swimming about in water clogged with his own waste.  If he's lucky he will survive it and the water will clear as the bacteria builds up, more likely he will either die from lack of oxygen, or the human helpfully CLEANS the bowl thoroughly and the process starts over again.

So yeah, let the water sit in the bowl for a good long time before adding the fish and don't ever clean the bowl out!!  Instead, do a partial water change on a weekly basis, and suck some of the muck out of the gravel when you do that.  Use a sponge or something to remove any algae that has grown on the glass or ornaments.  You can keep algae to a minimum, and make life more comfortable for your fish by not keeping him in a sunny spot.

When all is said and done, bowls are attractive and fish can do OK in them.  But I think a small tank with a filter, aerator etc. is BETTER for the fish by far.  You can create a more "complete" pseudo-ecosystem for the fish.  A bit like the difference between keeping zoo animals in small cages compared to keeping them in large enclosures with environmental enrichment.  For a tank I would let the water sit for a WEEK before adding the fish.  Whatever your fish live in, make sure to introduce them to their new home slowly - put their bag in the bowl/tank and open it just a little so some of the water mixes and let them get used to that before carefully tipping them out into their new home. 

I don't think it is unethical, goldfish can too live in a bowl, and the fish you win at a fair just might surprise you!

When my niece was younger she won 3 gold fish at a school fair. My mother promptly bought them a nice bowl. Within 6 months only one was remaining. Well it grew and grew and grew some more. This time my sister bought a 10 gallon fish tank, added Mr. Longlevity, some fancy fish and an algae eater.

Well in the end as time goes on (over 7 years) the die off was expected, the only remaining fish were the gold fish and the algae eater and they were huge! The goldfish was the size of my hand the algae eater twice that. My mother by this time had taken over the tank and she was getting in to poor a health to keep it maintained. I worked around the corner from a Chinese restaurant that had a beautiful 100 gallon tank in their entrance, it was well maintained and had been there for years. I talked to the owners and in 2000 they took the goldfish and the algae eater, when I left in 2002 both were still there.

So do not underestimate the power of fair goldfish!

I will go against the grain and say yes.  I am a huge fishkeeper.  A couple questions:

1. Will the people be taking them homeÉ What if the people who get them can`t take care of them properlyÉ 

If you use betta fish, will there be people at your wedding that will put them together to make them fight until they either injure one or the other, or fight till death.  My first betta fish was from an ex bf who got it at a wedding, his brother got one also and they planned on making them fight, pretty inhumane, I heard about this, went over and picked up both fish, my friend got one i got the other. 

What if the guests who take them home (if they are taking them home) can`t properly take of the fish, what will they do with itÉ Let it dieÉ or flush it. 

I am against using animals as centerpieces for weddings.  They do get hurt, they do get sick and need medication.  Yes, they can survive in a bowl, but will the people be able to change the water of the bowl every 2 daysÉ  waste builds up very quickly, which then increases the amonia levels in the water, can burn the fish, make it sick or kill it.  None of my bettas are in bowls, they have their own filtered tanks.

A lot of people (not saying you) think that fish are disposable, but I really don`t think so.

 How's the weather going to be? Would they freeze or overheat? Would you be worried about having to keep them in the shade or something?

Personally, if it were me, I'd go for a fancytail guppy instead of a goldfish:

I just think they're gorgeous, and they're very hardy :)

Also, while not for the actual wedding but for when you take the fish home, you can pick up something like THIS aeration system.

Very cheap, very easy, not the fanciest thing in the world, but gets the air nice and oxygenated. You have a tiny little pump like that, some plastic tubing, and a stone at the end that you stick into the tank to disperse the air into tiny little bubbles.

The reason fair and pet store goldfish die so often is because they're often diseased and ill when they're sold. Think puppy mills. If they've not been bred well and are living in terrible conditions, and then are subjected to the stress of travel and the fair itself, is it any wonder so many of them die when they get home?

Again, if it were me, I'd just get a cheap 10 gallon tank or something off eBay and not worry about keeping them in a bowl. I've heard many times that larger aquariums are actually easier to care for than smaller aquariums because there's more "room for error" in getting the water levels right.

So if you're really invested in the fish idea, go for it, it could be fun :) To me it sounds like too much work, though.