Congrats on your new betta erica812 :) I'm glad people are finding the link helpful !

FAB*SpiceySpice, like KKC said, chances are it's a male, because they are what is mostly sold at pet stores. Some pet stores also sell females, and they sometimes have a smaller body than the males and a very very short tail.

Hehehe, So was I and I agree w/ WC's statement ;)

WillowAnneLyra also posted some great tips to help keep them in a healthy environment if the chapter just can't do without fish for some reason.

It's not just the issue of what will happen to the fish after the party is over, but also what happens to them during the parties.

Even though bettas & goldfish seem easy to care for, a lot of people don't know they are usually very sensitive to temps that are too low or high, chlorine and ammonia in the water, and the toxic levels that the water can reach if the bowl is too small and they are just swimming around with their waste in there. Waste & plant roots (if people are interested in the betta vase) are very toxic to the fish, and the smaller the container they are in, the worse of they will be.

And www.bettasrus.com is also a great resource if anyone is interested.

I've gone betta crazy:)

Erica

I think that, just from a rush perspective, it's risky because you run the chance of having animal-loving rushees who might drop you because they think it's cruel (which it is, even if it's just a fish). Plus there's the chance that a fish or two might die during the parties, and if you don't catch it before the rushees notice, you would quickly become known as "the house with all the dead fish on the tables." Fish don't react well to stress, and being around as many people as a rush party has leads to lots of fishie stress.

This is the first time I've heard of such a thing. I for one would consider it cruel and would have dropped a chapter for it. I don't think that makes me shallow. I think that saying "it's just a fish" is horrible. Is it "just a dog/cat" to you also?

Is anyone being reminded of the "fish issue" in Eating the Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis?:p

Erica

lol erica!

I love that book! I thought it was pretty funny how their new members got goldfish after they got their 'big sisters' and what happened to them :p

Maybe groups using fish and giving them to their new members on bid day will scare them off :eek: :p

I agree with sugar and spice, it just seems risky to me for a rush party...i also echo the question of "wouldn't they smell after a while??" especially if, God forbid, any of them died during a party....imagine being with a PNM and talking about what a great idea having fish as a party decoration is, how entertaining they are, etc. and then having her say "Uh, is the floating thing a trick or something?"...and if you had a lot of them, you'd have to have fish monitors for all of the parties! :eek: i think it would come off better if you just got one for the house and named it ralph or something and put it in a nice bowl...that way you can say that the sorority has a pet, it's being taken care of by sisters AND it's a pretty decoration :D

and just curious, is it just plant roots that are bad for fish? what if they were just cut roses or bamboo or something? or plastic fake ones even? i haven't had a fish since i was eight, but i'm thinking about getting one for my dorm room this year

off topic, but to answer the question..
 

I've read that while you can use live plants with fish like bettas or goldfish, you have to clean the water probably a lot more than if you used fake plants. This is because when live plants die or start wilting, they give off bacteria and fungus into the water and that can attack your fish causing illness. Plastic fake plants are great for goldfish, but if you want a betta, it is always best to use silk plants because the plastic plants may tear the betta's fins. Even the smallest tear left untreated could start up a nasty case of fin rot :(

used as decorations on walls during rush !
 

A sorority had a cruise ship theme. They used construction paper to create what looked like portholes (as viewed from inside one's cruiseship stateroom), and to make them look more three dimensional, they added live goldfish, in clear plastic bags, and taped them inside the construction paper portholes, and they made it feel like you were inside a cruise ship and looking out the porthole at fish swimming by !! They were a big hit. Yes, the goldfish were fine and they were all adopted by members later that evening.