fish for display

[CatStarESP4]

About ten years ago, I went through rush/recruitment at Stony Brook. One of the sororities had a tropical themed party (one of the sisters brought her pet parakeet for the party). They had on display numerous plastic containers filled with water and one goldfish per container. At the end, they gave us each one container as a living souvenir. To make a long story short, mine went belly up a week later.

I don't see anything wrong with displaying fish at a recruitment party, but please take good care of it or them before, during and afterwards.

[MoxieGrrl]

Whoever wants to take them home as in sisters? I think it would be a major rush violation to let PNMs take them home.

And I think it's cruel too.

[rocketaxid]

The Alpha Chi house used bowls with one goldfish per bowl when I went through formal recruitment. It ended up being the best recruitment tool ever because everyone remember their house and they had awesome return rates for the next day. Which is really important when you have lots of sororities and your most likely to keep the memorable ones. In my chapter we work on doing something memorable or different than all the other houses. For example all of the other houses wear khacki's the first day with t-shirts, we always wears jean skirts and t-shirts because it sets us apart from the rest.

[Kristin AGD]

My sister used fish at her wedding. (I had no idea until the day before). And it was a disaster. Most of the fish went belly up during the reception.

[White_Chocolate]

yes, it will be the sisters taking them home

[MooseGirl]

we had fisha t our formal one year.
They were just feeder fish, so not like they were expected to have long lives. A couple did die before the end of the night (we think they were a little too close to the candles on the table) most of the rest that were taken by sisters only lived a couple of weeks.

I personally wouldn't want to do it again - it's such a hassle and a waste. Fish can add so much to a home, but really don't add all that much to a reception or dinner.

[aephi alum]

One sorority at my school used goldfish during formal rush. Each table had a large brandy snifter with a tiny goldfish in it... it looked great A sister I talked to loved it - she said it was a good way to get a lagging conversation going again. I think individual sisters took them home afterwards and took care of them.

Unfortunately, one year they got the fish too early, or didn't properly aerate the tank they kept them in before rush, or something... so the fish started going belly up during the party

[tunatartare]

During rush though, aren't the rushees not allowed to take anything out of the rush rooms/houses/prefs? That's how they do it at my school...

[DGMarie]

First off, fish are living creatures, not decorations. Secondly, goldfish require 10 gallons per 1 inch fish (yes, TEN GALLONS) in a filtered water in an aquarium to survive. The secrete tons of ammonia through their gills and bodies and the ammonia and nitrate levels in a plain old goldfish tank (the old fashion round kind) can kill them in as little as one day. And in general, they are dirty fish meaning you will have to change their water almost daily etc etc and plain tap water will kill them.

Sorry, I'm not a goldfish nazi or anything but I have learned alot about fish care through trial and error and while goldfish are cute and inexpensive, I don't consider them disposable (which, lets be honest, most of them are going to be).

Stick to flowers. Or better, float some lit candles in large bowl alongside some orchids. This would be pretty.

Marie

Aren't I cute?? (except this tank is too small for me)

[kddani]

Originally posted by DGMarie
First off, fish are living creatures, not decorations. Secondly, goldfish require 10 gallons per 1 inch fish (yes, TEN GALLONS) in a filtered water in an aquarium to survive. The secrete tons of ammonia through their gills and bodies and the ammonia and nitrate levels in a plain old goldfish tank (the old fashion round kind) can kill them in as little as one day. And in general, they are dirty fish meaning you will have to change their water almost daily etc etc and plain tap water will kill them.

Damn, I must've had some super goldfish when I was a kid. I had a set of 2 goldfish in a regular sized goldfish bowl. Changed the water weekly, and it wasn't filtered. Just a normal fishbowl.

Both fish lived for well over 2 years.

Of course, once one died, the replacement I bought must not of liked it's new home, because it stuck its head in a shell and committed suicide the night I brought it home. Talk about traumatizing!

[chloe173]

Maybe I'm just a horrible person but---
IT"S A FISH!

They are bred for that purpose anyways, and if any of the fish get a home out of it, then I figure it is a nice thing. It's sure a lot better for them than sitting in pet store next to hundreds of other bettas having to stay puffed up all the time because they think they are about to attack other fish. I had a Betta for over 2 years, but I just really don't care. I mean--they breed by the hundreds! I doubt that the group using these plans to use that many, and really I think debating a fishes "rights" is so silly.

But then, I was born and bred in Texas among only republicans, love to eat meat, and have lots of leather shoes.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by chloe173
Maybe I'm just a horrible person but---
IT"S A FISH!

They are bred for that purpose anyways, and if any of the fish get a home out of it, then I figure it is a nice thing. It's sure a lot better for them than sitting in pet store next to hundreds of other bettas having to stay puffed up all the time because they think they are about to attack other fish. I had a Betta for over 2 years, but I just really don't care. I mean--they breed by the hundreds! I doubt that the group using these plans to use that many, and really I think debating a fishes "rights" is so silly.

But then, I was born and bred in Texas among only republicans, love to eat meat, and have lots of leather shoes.

Wow, what a little ray of sunshine you are! I'm not sure what the point of the last sentence was. Are you making fun of yourself?

I have to say that I agree with texas*princess and DGMarie here. It's not enough to "hope" or "plan" that someone will take the fish home and properly care for them. There is absolutely no good reason to use a living creature as a decoration. If I were going through rush, I would find it incredibly tasteless and inhumane and would drop any house that included fish "decorations" the first chance I had.

[AllisonDG]

Originally posted by chloe173
Maybe I'm just a horrible person but---
IT"S A FISH!

I hate to say it, but that was my thought exactly.

I remember when I was little we had our school fair and there were hundreds of fish in goldfish bowls that you would throw a ping pong in. If you got it in, you won the fish. Half of them would be belly up anyway. If I were a fish I would rather be a decoration than have ping pong balls thrown at me!

[33girl]

You know, I just thought of something...regardless of whether this is cruelty to fish or not, wouldn't all those fishbowls in a crowded room get sort of, well, smelly? Ewww.

Originally posted by kddani

Both fish lived for well over 2 years.

Goldfish can take a lot, at least for awhile. It doesn't mean that it's healthy or good for either one. Goldfish, given proper nutrition and a good habitat, can live MUCH longer than that -- sometimes as long as a cat! 2 years is a very short life for a goldfish.

I've always hated using live fish in tiny bowls as decorations. Yes, it can look nice, but it's horrible for the fish. For the fish, it's about the same as leaving your dog in a car on a hot day and not letting them out to use the bathroom. The water is to warm for them, they can't breath properly, and they're swimming in far to much of thier own waste.

I have no problems with eating and wearing animals, but there's no reason to be cruel about it. If you're going to do it, make sure that...

1) You have the right water. Fish need non-clorinated water at the right temperature. Buy some declorination solution and make sure that the water has been sitting around long enough to become room temperature-ish. You'd also do well to pick up something called "stress coat", and possibly something to keep the amonia levels down.

2) Use big bowls. The less water, the bigger a problem it is for the fish and the bigger hassle it will be for you. A small bowl will get dirty faster and will be a lot more sensitive to temperature changes than a larger one. Also, surface area is important. A wide bowl is better than a tall one, because more air can get in.

3) Don't put more than one fish in a bowl, please. More fish = bigger bowl. You probibly don't want the expense of getting bowls big enough for more than one fish, unless you picked up itsy bitsy ones.

4) Make sure that they have a good home to go to afterwards before you get them. If you know of anyone with a backyard pond, ask if they were looking to add fish, or see if any of your sisters have a tank.