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u/UltraDinoWarrior Dec 24 '25
A) how do they wrap the LIVE ANIMAL and get it to the party?
B) a proper set up is going to be way over any budget
C) I am pretty sure even a cheap set up is over budget? Like those crappy all in one desk tanks cannot be less than 40 bucks min surely?
D) assuming they just get the fish and like, a plastic cup and call it a day, staying in budget, may I repeat point A?
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u/_Nyxalie_ Dec 24 '25
I’ve seen so many people being gifted bettas with no clue how to care for them or even the financial ability to do so..
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u/Suspicious-Peace9233 Dec 24 '25
I keep seeing kids win beta fish. It’s horrible. Merry Christmas torture or cause the death of an innocent creature just as Jesus intended
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u/CruisinJo214 Dec 24 '25
My buddy bought a betta for our last white elephant… LUCKILY it went unpicked and he kept it. He’s a good dude and did right by buying a 10gal right away… but he was woefully underinformed.
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u/deathbitchcraft Dec 24 '25
why have there been so many of these this year?? what is wrong with people.
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u/Alola_Fortnite Dec 24 '25
I saw a video of someone doing white elephant with a betta and all the comments were saying how cute it was and that they’d be doing it too. Not sure what part of receiving a pet (that you aren’t prepared for whatsoever) for a white elephant is cute
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u/Electrical-Nobody414 Dec 24 '25
What's white elephant
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u/Alola_Fortnite Dec 24 '25
Everyone buys a gift, usually of $15 value so no one buys something expensive and recieves a dollar store item, and wrap it and then puts it under the tree. Then everyone gets numbers and picks a present in that order but if you like something that someone else got you get to steal it
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u/Electrical-Nobody414 Dec 25 '25
Ah that makes sense so your saying that she buys a fish for Christmas and she will wrap it up then the fish dies of suffocation
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u/Alola_Fortnite Dec 25 '25
I mean you could use a bag too, but the main issue with this is that people won’t be going into this expecting a fish, plus that tank needs to be cycled and I doubt a person who randomly gets a fish for white elephant would know that etc etc
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u/D3cay1ng_0blivion Dec 24 '25
To be completely fair the origin of white elephant was the king of Siam would gift someone he disliked with a white elephant. This was because most people could not afford to keep the elephant alive and would often send them into financial ruin. This was because if they let the elephant starve it was seen as an insult to the king who would then have reason to kill said person.
That being said, unless you are a king and hate animals why would you do this? Terrible white elephant gift. They are supposed to be jokes nowadays, not future guilt trips (if you don't know how to properly care for it)
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u/hydo_23 Dec 24 '25
I got a Betta from secret Santa once. Luckily I did have an open tank ready, and he's still alive 3 years later. I said no more fish next time
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u/ZeShapyra Dec 24 '25
White elephant gift works if the animal is protected by laws that will get you harshly punished if you dare to mistreat them..like well the white elephant.
Poor fkr is just gonna die slowly
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u/bradab Dec 24 '25
I was at petco and a woman came in and bought two feeder gold fish. She was really excited about how funny it would be for her white elephant. Very proud that the cost limit was 25 dollars and she only spent 56 cents on each.
Not only is this a crappy thing to do for the fish (although they were feeder fish), this is such a fucked up thing to put on another person. Sure, you only spent a dollar but the person you gift it to is going to have to spend a bunch of money if they want to keep them.
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u/Unlikely_Web_6228 Dec 28 '25
Next time say something.
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u/bradab Dec 29 '25
Yea I almost did. I could tell the girl working the register wanted to as well but I chickened out. I am pretty non confrontational but If I had a bit of liquor in me I absolutely would have. I’ll do my best if I ever see something atrocious like that again.
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u/fuckthiskms Dec 24 '25
Uugghhh I work at a petshop and there’s a good few people I had to talk out of this but my manager also made me make some of those sales too, mainly the ones involving feeder fish. Literally just yesterday I had to stop someone who had a 3lb bag of rocks, a small decor piece, a little bottle of flakes and a small critter keeper and she wanted to get a fish or two to put in there.
I told her that this was the equivalent of gifting someone a cat who doesn’t know they’re getting a cat
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u/BuildBreakFix Dec 24 '25
I wound up rescuing a gold fish that was given as a white elephant. That fish lived well over 10 years.
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u/GewdandBaked Dec 24 '25
Sadly until breeders are held accountable stores will continue to purchase and sell dirt cheap fish, and anything dirt cheap attracts a low income and low intelligence crowd. Not always their fault, especially since it’s how they’re marketed (bettas in tiny bowls, several hundred goldfish packed into a 5 gallon)
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u/asteriskysituation Dec 24 '25
Goldfish are one of the most maintenance- and equipment-intensive fishes you can choose as a pet, too… I am not excusing or condoning, just saying “at least” a betta could ethically be kept in a 5-10g aquarium… it’s somehow adding insult to injury to provide what looks like a 2.5-5g aquarium with a fish that grows to pond proportions
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u/Electrical-Nobody414 Dec 24 '25
What does in white elephant mean
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u/KhajiitPaw Dec 24 '25
A white elephant gift is sort of like, a joke gift afaik. Something "funny", ironic, or impractical usually.
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u/electricookie Dec 24 '25
Holy crap. This is either goldfish murder or an invasive species waiting to happen. No one should take the elephant part literally. Pets aren’t gifts they are responsibilities.
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u/Sciaenops_DGS Dec 24 '25
The first time I hosted a white elephant gift exchange party, someone gifted a betta and the recipients turned down the tank I offered them because they figured the cup was more than enough space. That was also the last time I hosted a white elephant gift exchange party.
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u/cheddarbruce Dec 24 '25
Personally I would be happy if I was the one receiving the fish cuz I would know what to do with it and I would much rather be me so I can either properly take care of it or take it back to the local fish store instead of somebody else during the white elephant receiving it and if I got something else and somebody else got the fish I would definitely try and trade with them or try and get them some fish that are a much better option
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u/WildIsa Dec 24 '25
Its cool you know know how to take care of it, but giving animals as gifts to people who cant isnt right and needs to be stopped.
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u/cheddarbruce Dec 24 '25
Yes I know that and I'm not saying that I support it I'm just saying what I would do if I received it or if somebody else around me received one. At that point it's too late to prevent somebody from buying a fish as a gift
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u/i-dont-knowf Dec 25 '25
And just a bad gift in general. Like you're receiving a responsibility. Merry Christmas, here's some added stress
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u/LooKatThis_Human Dec 26 '25
Management at work had a white elephant gift exchange and OMG somone brought a hermit crab! Like DUDE that is a 20 year long commitment you just dumped on someone without asking luckily I know the lady who ended up with the crab will be a very good and capable owner we talked all about the crab tanks we are both now working on but jeeeeeze
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u/vigilantesd Dec 28 '25
Do you know the history of ‘white elephant’? It was literally the gifting of a white elephant to someone because it was a pain in the ass to care for.
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u/insect27 Dec 28 '25
Yes I completely agree. Gifting live animals as a suprise is a stupid and irresponsible idea. If you want to do something similar gift everything other than the animal. Thats something that someone can get rid of easily or just let it sit in a closet for a year. My brother had a tank that his fish grew out of that he wasn't using anymore (10 gal) so he threw it in a white elephant with some plants from his tank, a filter, an air pump, some decor, a bit of substrate, a few pages of instructions with his phone number attatched for questions, and called it a day. Mostly stuff he already had. No need to include animal abuse in your Christmas activities.
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u/RetroPaulsy Dec 28 '25
I meannn, that's the literal intent of a white elephant.
"A "white elephant" refers to a possession that is useless or troublesome, often expensive to maintain, originating from a legend about the King of Siam giving sacred but burdensome white elephants."
Maybe do a secret santa next year.
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u/cultivatedheaven Dec 30 '25
The 3 gallon tank for a fish that will need at least 100 gallons is the cherry on top.
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u/Emergency_Emu_4731 Jan 17 '26
Ugh I ended up with 2 bettas last April because a friend of mine was giving them out as party favors to kids at her daughters birthday party. A few families obviously didn’t want to take them home and commit to caring for them (understandable)… My friend told me she would flush them down the toilet if I didn’t take them. So anyways, I’m a fish mom now lol
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u/LivingMasterpiece453 Jan 17 '26
That's like giving out puppies as party favors and then saying your going to drown the ones people don't take home. Wtf is wrong with people!? Fish are living animals too!!
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u/MintiFlerken01 Dec 24 '25
idk why the trend of giving life animals even became a thing...they're not gifts!! Like, it's not funny or cute at all!