Coworker saves whole wedding of betta fish after bride and groom planned to use them as "disposable" centerpieces, coworker says: '[She] insisted on taking them all home'

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
May 3, 2026 8:15 AM EDT

Your wedding is your special day, you should be allowed to have anything you want… except live fish as centerpieces with no plan for them after.

A coworker went to an intimate wedding where the bride and groom used live betta fish in the centerpieces for their tables. As beautiful as it was, the coworker went up to the bride and asked what their plan was with the betta fish after the wedding. The bride told her they were "disposable", which was not only unacceptable to the coworker, but should have been unacceptable to them as well. Thankfully, the coworker swooped in to save the day, and all her new fish friends!

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10627879936
    via teabirdy
  • 02
    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.
    via teabirdy

  • Just like the coworker, we would have immediately jumped at the opportunity to rescue these poor fishies. Thankfully, with the help of the event staff, she was able to save all the betta fish from the wedding. Since betta fish can't coexist in the same tank, she was able to bring them all to her workplace and ask if anyone wanted a new fish friend. That's how this whole story came about! The author is a coworker of the coworker, who adopted one of the saved fishies. 

  • 03
    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.
    via teabirdy
  • 04
    Cheezburger Image 10627887360
    via nektofadeev@gmail.com

    Light beam in fish tank

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 05
    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!
    via teabirdy
  • 06
    GLG777 I would hate to know people like that. That is uber pretentious
    via GLG777
  • 07
    Comfortable-Cozy-140 I swear nothing posted here is ever "mildly" infuriating, it's either completely silly or completely horrifying. Treating living things as disposable decorations falls into the latter category.
    via Comfortable-Cozy-140
  • 08
    Deltethnia I wanted fish as the centerpieces at my wedding too, but I refused to torture live animals like that. So I made paper ones. Everyone wanted to take one home.
    via Deltethnia

  • Recently, we had our own wedding (you can congratulate us later), so we're fresh off of the “wedding planning” process and know how much of a test it is. It's a difficult point in any relationship - the stress, the bills, so many small, moving parts coming together to make one perfect night. They tell you not to sweat the small stuff, but the small details, to us, were what made the evening so memorable. It's also the first thing you plan as a couple that's 100% yours, so you should be allowed to do whatever you want since you're celebrating your union, except when it comes to using live animals as a centerpiece.

  • 09
    h8mecuz Would have taken my gift right back honestly
    via h8mecuz
  • 10
    shy_butter I worked at a Petco and a customer came in for goldfish to use as centerpieces and we refused her business. Lots of things wrong with the company as a whole but very glad my coworkers and I flagged these things. Thank you! And your coworker is awesome!!
    via shy_butter
  • 11
    uwill1der did you coworker have to rehome them into 50+ ziplocs for the transport home?
    via uwill1der
  • 12
    Spinnerofyarn My cousin and his wife did this, though the fish were sent home with people. Gus lived for +/- 4 years in a five gallon tank which in hindsight probably wasn't big enough.
    via Spinnerofyarn
  • 13
    Cheezburger Image 10627886592
    via izhairguns

    Happy bride and groom

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 14
    I felt pets being dumped on guests was pretty ride, especially since betas require their own setup and can't go in a tank with other fish. That free fish was not so free!
    via Spinnerofyarn
  • 15
    DoMBe87 I was a server at an event that had goldfish in bowls and same thing. My friend and I ran around collecting them, and mine went in my horses' water trough when I got home.
    via DoMBe87
  • 16
    It was a huge tank, heated in the winter, and they kept the mosquito larvae under control. They also knew to swim up when a horse came for a drink in case they'd just eaten something tasty the fish could clean off their whiskers. Those fish lived for several years too.
    via DoMBe87
  • 17
    I just don't get it. If you like fish enough to make them part of your decor, how do you not care enough to see that they're cared for after? And how do you not care that you're putting them through the stress of a tiny bowl, people harassing them, often floating candles above them? It's crazy.
    via DoMBe87
  • 18
    mermaidzombiemom0314 When I worked at Petsmart I had a woman come in who wanted 20 bettas for center pieces and I denied her the sale. She was livid! Called head office and tried to get me fired.
    via mermaidzombiemom0314
  • 19
    lilshortyy420 I hope their marriage goes down the toilet
    via lilshortyy420
  • 20
    unrelatedtomato I would be taking myself, my gift, and however many Betta wine glasses me and my partner can hold, to never speak to them again
    via unrelatedtomato

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pets coworkers betta fish wedding centerpiece fish animals
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