Centerpiece Idea!!!

I'm having a Tropical/ Island themed wedding, what do you guys think of this as a centerpiece??? Its a beta fish in a vase. Opinions and/or any other suggestions welcomed!!!

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Message edited 6/6/2005 6:44:52 PM.

Re: Centerpiece Idea!!!

i think thats awesome!!!!!!!!! i love it!!!

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea. It's funny because I was actually thinking of doing this myself...however my Mom is doing all over my flowers and wants to do my centerpieces. But your idea is great....I think it's adorable. I work in a child care center, and we actually have those in some of the classrooms...It's a big hit!!

Marissa

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I LOVE IT!!!!! That is great! The fish really adds a nice touch!

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Wow... very unique! I like the idea! This may be a silly question, but... what do you do with the fishies after the reception?

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I think they are soooo CUTE and cost effective which is ALWAYS a plus!!! It goes so well with your theme and I'm sure you will get sooooo many compliments!

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That is such a super cute idea! I love love love it!

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hello! fish make beautiful decor (i a having my ceromony/reception at an aquarium for this reason!). however, what would you plan on doing with the fish at the end of the night? some guests *might* take one home to keep as a pet, but they may not know how to care for the fish properly. betas do best in a 1/2-1 gallon bowl, need dechlorinated water, eat beta pellet food (they CANNOT live of plant roots, infact the plant makes it difficult for them to get air (they breath air from the surface) and leaves little swimming room), water changes need to be weekly for 1 gallon (more frequently for smaller habitats). i do agree they are beautiful and interesting, i just don't see how it would work out in the end. if you did plan on giving them to guests at the end of the night, you could make sure each fish will have a good home and you could supply the guest wuth everything they would need to care for the fish (food, net, etc.). jmo.
~lacey

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I did that exact centerpiece for my sons baptism. It went over HUGE everyone loved it!

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Posted by lacey&mark

hello! fish make beautiful decor (i a having my ceromony/reception at an aquarium for this reason!). however, what would you plan on doing with the fish at the end of the night? some guests *might* take one home to keep as a pet, but they may not know how to care for the fish properly. betas do best in a 1/2-1 gallon bowl, need dechlorinated water, eat beta pellet food (they CANNOT live of plant roots, infact the plant makes it difficult for them to get air (they breath air from the surface) and leaves little swimming room), water changes need to be weekly for 1 gallon (more frequently for smaller habitats). i do agree they are beautiful and interesting, i just don't see how it would work out in the end. if you did plan on giving them to guests at the end of the night, you could make sure each fish will have a good home and you could supply the guest wuth everything they would need to care for the fish (food, net, etc.). jmo.
~lacey

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Re: Centerpiece Idea!!!

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Posted by coxmandi

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Posted by lacey&mark

hello! fish make beautiful decor (i a having my ceromony/reception at an aquarium for this reason!). however, what would you plan on doing with the fish at the end of the night? some guests *might* take one home to keep as a pet, but they may not know how to care for the fish properly. betas do best in a 1/2-1 gallon bowl, need dechlorinated water, eat beta pellet food (they CANNOT live of plant roots, infact the plant makes it difficult for them to get air (they breath air from the surface) and leaves little swimming room), water changes need to be weekly for 1 gallon (more frequently for smaller habitats). i do agree they are beautiful and interesting, i just don't see how it would work out in the end. if you did plan on giving them to guests at the end of the night, you could make sure each fish will have a good home and you could supply the guest wuth everything they would need to care for the fish (food, net, etc.). jmo.
~lacey

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I completely agree! Please realize what you are committing to if you have fish as decorations. Bettas are relatively hardy fish, but still if they get stressed (all the moving/water changes etc) they will die. Transporation is a problem, because you can't store them together, they all must be seperate.

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it goes perfectly with your theme!

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coxmandi, i didn't even think about the difficulty and stress of transportation, yeah that'd be extremely rough on the fish!
soon2bmsz, i am very surprised your mom's fish lived as long as it did on roots alone! every bit of information i have ever read on betas mentions that they cannot live on roots alone. i guess they can survive on roots for a while, but that they thrive on pellet food and a proper habitat. the average lifespan of a pet beta is 3-5 years (big commitment as far as centerpieces go).
i think if it was handled with a lot of caution and a whole lot of planning, it could be accomplished without the cruelty to fish part. if some guests are expected to take the fish home, i personally think thats a lot to ask of a guest.
there are so many tropical/beachy themes you could go with besides live fish! foe example, i am making my centerpieces with glass bowls, white sand, shells, candles, floating candles, etc. if you are in love with the live fish idea, but not loving the work and planning that would go along with it, you could always put one beta on the guestbook table or on your table (somewhere where everyone will notice it and appreciate it). good luck with whatever you do!
~lacey

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Very nice idea!

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Posted by Soon2bMsZ

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Posted by coxmandi

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Posted by lacey&mark

hello! fish make beautiful decor (i a having my ceromony/reception at an aquarium for this reason!). however, what would you plan on doing with the fish at the end of the night? some guests *might* take one home to keep as a pet, but they may not know how to care for the fish properly. betas do best in a 1/2-1 gallon bowl, need dechlorinated water, eat beta pellet food (they CANNOT live of plant roots, infact the plant makes it difficult for them to get air (they breath air from the surface) and leaves little swimming room), water changes need to be weekly for 1 gallon (more frequently for smaller habitats). i do agree they are beautiful and interesting, i just don't see how it would work out in the end. if you did plan on giving them to guests at the end of the night, you could make sure each fish will have a good home and you could supply the guest wuth everything they would need to care for the fish (food, net, etc.). jmo.
~lacey

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I completely agree! Please realize what you are committing to if you have fish as decorations. Bettas are relatively hardy fish, but still if they get stressed (all the moving/water changes etc) they will die. Transporation is a problem, because you can't store them together, they all must be seperate.

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I agree with the transportation part and being careful but I don't agree with the rest at all. I did this for my son's baptism and my moms fish lived for almost a year!!!!!
The betta lived off the roots of the plant. She never fed it once. I doubt it could have lived a year if it did not eat off the roots of the plant.

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I think thats a great idea very different!

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I JUST MADE THESE for my friends bridal shower and they came out great!!! I got the vases from AC moore and tied raffia around the lip and hot glued a large decorative seashell that I bought from Michaels. I got blue and acqua beads to put at the bottom and put fish in them. Then I made a tray (made of paper with a trpocial themed napkin) filled it with sand and put those drink umbrellas in the sand. I also had some other beachy things in the sand. I did not put the grass on top as I thought it looked too messy. All in all they came out great and I got a lot of compliments on them. I made 9 and total spent was 60 bucks (not including fish).

Good luck!!

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Really cute!! I like the idea of using a fish as long as you're careful with it!

Message edited 6/7/2005 9:44:16 AM.

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I think it's a cute idea. very inventive. perhaps providing some food etc. would be a good idea if guests wish to take them, but bettas are pretty good fish. just use care in the transition- perhaps picking them up from the pet shop or wherever the day of will ease the transportation issue.

I am sure you will take the necessary precautions though. I don't think anyone on these boards would be careless or perform acts of cruelty.

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That is AWESOME!!!!!! Very creative!!!

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I love it!!

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I love it!

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Very cute idea!

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I actually already did this at my Engagement party in Feb. We used smaller vases and tied ribbons around the top and put nice stones (hearts and diamond shaped) in the bottom and used only red Betta fish. My theme was Love/Hearts/Red&Silver. We had 2 per table and had them as a give away.....you know pass the napkin around the table and the last person with it wins the centerpiece. Everyone LOVED the idea. They all thought it was very creative and different.
***Suggestion---we also gave a little film container full of food and a Care/Instruction Sheet to the winners. They really appreciated that.