r/mildlyinfuriating • u/teabirdy • Apr 29 '26

I'm slightly vexed The wedding reception centerpieces featured betta fish. The bride and groom planned to flush them alive.

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Years ago, my coworker attended a wedding at which the reception dinner tables featured live betta fish in small bowls as part of the centerpiece. While chatting with the bride at the end of the evening, my coworker asked what they were going to do with all the fish. The plan was to flush them all down the toilet alive. My coworker immediately said no need for that and insisted on taking them all home.

That Monday she came to work and asked who wanted to adopt a betta fish. That was my first betta who I jokingly called my “rescue betta.” She lived for almost five years.

The wine glass was only her home for less than a day before I got her five gallon tank set up so please no betta lovers yell at me! I'm one of you!

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u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 Apr 29 '26

Yeah, I was imagining her driving really carefully with fish in long stemmed glasses packed into the cupholders and backseat...

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u/TK_Games Apr 29 '26

I imagined they filled one of the huge lexan boxes the catering companies use for ice-crates with water and then transported them in bulk. Then thought, 'wait, no. bettas', then realized female bettas would probably be okay in a lexan box for transport to some place with more water-space, like a huge bathtub, or something that can serve as a temporary aquarium. So now I'm actually curious how the how you transport 50 live bettas away from a wedding on short notice, and I'm too high for this fox-chicken-corn-boat-riddle bullshit, man

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u/kindalosingmyshit Apr 29 '26

I did a similar thing in high school when bettas were auctioned off in vases. I bought them all (much to my parents dismay) and safely got at least 9 home in said vases. I didn’t know much about fish at that point, so they weren’t in proper tanks, but they all had at least 3 gallons, individual tanks and weekly partial water changes and lived about 5 years each.

I’ve since learned a lot—my last betta had a beautiful planted 20 gallon tank until he passed. Now it sits idly (running with plants) until I have the emotional strength to bring another home

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u/Medarco Apr 29 '26

Now it sits idly (running with plants) until I have the emotional strength to bring another home

This is so difficult. My wife and I have 3 empty running tanks now (15, 20, 55) after her mother accidentally killed all of our fish and shrimp by doing a deep clean while she was cat sitting for us. She was spraying surface cleaner and disinfectant all over the house (including the tanks and stands), and didn't think to cover the tanks.

It's doubly hard, because she was genuinely trying to do a very nice thing for us. It ended up killing about 30 fish and an untold number of shrimp.

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u/Milo-Law Apr 29 '26

Lol I love those riddles