giving a fish...as a gift...

[DcifrThs]

so every morning i get up and feed my new pet fish tsunami

sarah decided to get me a fish for a 2hr drive back home last saturday. not fun. but now that i have it home, im wondering about whether or not its a good idea as a gift. I mean, the last time i had a fish i was like 5 years old.

this one is a beta fish that does look kinda cool...and i will try not to kill it...but what happens when i go on vacation? just give it to a friend to feed?

tsunami is lookin at me now and he watches me when i study or play poker and he mayb e good luck but i dont know yet...overall im happy with him and i like it, but...

my main question is:

is it a good idea to give a living creature as a gift to somebody who does not expect to get it?? (ASSUMING you are not related to the person/live with them...like a dad buying a surprise puppy for his son/daughter does not count...we're talking about giving something thats alive to another person you dont live with)

-Barron

[spamuell]

It's not bad, but teach a man to fish...

[mslif]

I do not think it is a good idea at all. As you stated, it can become a burden for various reasons such as going on vacations or even just staying somewhere else overnight. It is a big responsibility (eventhough we are only talking about a $10.00 fish here), you have to feed it, clean the tank... I would not do that to a friend unless he/she stated that he/she wanted one.
It sounds that Tsunami and yourself are getting along fine though.

[Exitonly]

aslong as it's occompanied by a life long (fish life) supply of fish food, i think it's fine. Obviously it should be only if you think the person will like the gift.

Gifts taht require the reciever to spend money (unless they've mentioned how they want a fish, but even then. .common it's fish food, add it in the gift)

[dcasper70]

IMO it's bad form.

You're forcing a certain level of responsibility upon the receiver which they may or may not be comfortable with. You are also forcing a living creature into the care of someone who may or may not be able to give that animal the proper care it needs.

It typically does work out just fine. That bond you feel with Tsunami (great name btw) is common and will occur naturally most of the time. But it is still a big leap between a normal gift and a pet.

And yes, Beta's are good luck. Enjoy!

[kipin]

If you don't like the beta after a few weeks just go down to the pet store and buy yourself a second beta and add it to the same tank/cup.

You will have a gladiator style fight to the death.

[peachy]

u can feed them and bunch and hope they dont die...its not an expensive enough fish that ur friends are gonna be thrilled about feeding the $5 thing in a crappy fishbowl unless its someone thats gonna be around anyway!

they only live a year or so...like 3 TOPS if taken well care of....

the bowls are a pain in the butt to clean...only cool thing about these is if u have 2 they fight to the death!! or u can put another in a bowl next to it and they will charge at each other!!


flush it now!!! or get a cool bowl with a plant growin on top and neat rocks in the bottom...otherwise its just lame!

if ur gonna have a "pet" though its one of the easier to leave for long peirods of time besides like reptiles...u can get lil auto feeders for him if ur that concerned...betas usually arent worth it though

[private joker]

I had a girlfriend who was an animal lover and we always used to window shop at the pet store near my place. For Christmas one year I gave her two birds in a cute cage -- finches, a male and a female. She was very surprised and absolutely loved the gift -- it went over very very well.

[miajag81]

Buying someone an animal, even a fish, as a surprise is bad form IMO. I recall my parents gave me a hamster as a surprise one time long ago (I had had one previously that died about six months before). I took good care of it and everything, but only because I felt guilty about rejecting my parents' gift. I certainly hadn't particularly wanted a new hamster, and even a small pet like that or a fish is kind of a burden to take care of.

The fact that she bought it for you with your own money makes it worse.

[shant]

Is a beta fish one of those fighting fish? From pictures in Google it looks like one.

If you get bored with Tsunami you can just buy another one of thise guys and put them in the same little bowl. You can even place bets with friends on the winner.

Edit: kipin beat me to it.

[marsvolta619]

If she woulda given you a delicious bass it woulda been cool. other than that, bad news.

[Diplomat]

The only appropriate gift of this sort is lobster.

-Diplomat

[nickey009]

I haven't read the thread and this maybe totally biased but I love the idea of giving a betta as a gift. giving something like a puppy or a kitten is different because it could be a bigger commitment but a betta is 2-4 years tops.

Also, betta's are very hearty. They swim up to the glass and look at you and for the most part don't need a lot of care. Change the water every now and then and they are actually supposed to fast 1 day of the week. If you go away for a weekend feed him when you leave and feed him whenyou get back. He'll be fine. If you are gone for a week have someone show up at the house once in the middle of your vacation and he should be good to go.

How strange. My father gave me a betta for christmas 2 years ago. It survived long weekends without being fed. Changed the water every 7-10 days. Not hard to take care of.

Then she tried to make a Nemo like escape. One night she jumped out of the bowl. Found just a dried out little husk on my desk the next morning. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[peachy]

[ QUOTE ]


The fact that she bought it for you with your own money makes it worse.

[/ QUOTE ]

hahaha...sorry....that was funny

[bobbyi]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it a good idea to give a living thing as a gift?

[/ QUOTE ]
Strictly speaking, I think the answer to this question is "yes" because there is nothing wrong with giving a plant. Animals of all sorts are off limits unless the recipient has made it clear that they want it. This includes fish.

[1800GAMBLER]

[ QUOTE ]
It's not bad, but teach a man to fish...

[/ QUOTE ]


hahaha!

[Blarg]

It's a really bad idea. For one thing, what you're giving is a responsibility that wasn't asked for. Even if the person likes pets, and likes this pet particularly, that doesn't mean they like the responsibility. What it is, is an imposition, however well-intended.

Be sure to use reliable birth control.

[DcifrThs]

[ QUOTE ]
The only appropriate gift of this sort is lobster.

-Diplomat

[/ QUOTE ]

OMG i would have FLIPPED out if she gave me a lobster!!!!

two problems

1) she doesn't eat seafood (which was why when telling me she had a surprise for me she repeatedly said "now your gunna want to eat it, but you have to promise me not to." )She thinks seafood is "icky" and "ewww" are the technical adjectives used in the description.

2) it would probably have been a baby lobster that id have to care for for a long time until its grown and i live back in ny where i can have a good ol fashioned lobster cookout /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Barron

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
it would probably have been a baby lobster that id have to care for for a long time until its grown and i live back in ny where i can have a good ol fashioned lobster cookout

[/ QUOTE ]

"Oh God, that's tasty. I wish Pinchy were here to enjoy this."

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/soul_daddy/pinchy.jpg