If these bookends were actually used to house fish, you would have to change the water daily due to the poop.
We once had a traditional fishbowl filled with 2 gorgeous orange goldfish...it lasted a week.

Great idea, but I imagine with the small neck that tiny fish food flakes would collect at the bottom of your books.

I love the idea and look, but having living animals in such a tiny space is just cruel! I think it would be wonderful if you used them as vases with fresh flowers or put a pretty marble collection or other display in them. Though I have a vase as a bookend on my mantle anyway, so you don't need to buy these ones if you like that look.

I can't think of a single kind of fish this would be remotely acceptable for. However, they'd make awesome terrariums! <3

Sure I would, but I have a thing for bookends. What would I fill them with? Pencils. A handful in each, all in the same color. We have one of those old turn-the-crank pencil sharpeners mounted to our kitchen counter, so I've become a die-hard pencil user, but they stray so easily.

Not water, that's for sure. Water books (cat x 2) = heartbreaking mess.

Ooh, terrariums is a great idea, fenrisdelapena!

I agree that instead of fish, terrariums would be a great substitute! I also think that while perhaps these jars are shaped in order to make perfect bookends, the same effect could be achieved with jars from Goodwill or a thrift store. You'd also save a lot, since these are 60 dollars! Overall though, I like the idea and think it's quirky and fun.

I'd fill them with pebbles or possibly sand. Or colorful marbles! The extensive glass collection I already have may now have a new purpose.

poor goldfish. anything that is not living would be ok.

I imagine the moisture would encourage book rot/mold, no?

Living animals are not a home decor gimmick.

Big no-no on the fish and water, but sure, filling them with beach-glass or pennies or a collection of something exciting...maybe.

Way too small for a fish, but I saw an awesome skyscraper fish tank by Vanessa Mitrani. These would be cute with some poppies sticking out of them.

fun, but I would get worried about getting reincarnated into that fish as revenge!

My giant jars are filled with shells, tons and tons of shells. I have been collecting and buying them for years whenever at the beach. My dad puts them in bowls, but it bothered me that they got dusty. My jars have a lid. And they are hot.

Sad for little fish...

Am I the only one concerned that the bookends would get knocked off the shelf? My regular book ends never stay in place when I move books; these have much more weight to them, but only takes one overly enthusiastic book grab before they go crashing to the ground.

Agreed that the jars are too small for real fish. Generally I'd rather have the smallest-profile bookends: In my house, shelf-space is too precious to waste on decorative bookends. I've got 73 linear feet of fiction. None of it is decorative bookends. All of it is books.

I agree with those who say it's hot, but not for fish. Vase or terrarium, yes yes!

Glass jar idea is definitely hot, and the fish look so cute. But, probably not the wisest idea to use fish tanks as bookends. Shells, terrarium, etc. are all great ideas.

It's cute. I like the pencil idea, but i'm thinking I may just re-use some glass jars.

I also like the cute and quirkiness of these bookends! And even if you decide not to put fish in there, these would also be super cute with flowers in them!

Betas or "siamese fighting fish" thrive in small containers and need to be kept alone due to the fact that the will fight to the death if together. (males)

However, Water should not be near the books. So no fish or plants for me.

i would worry about knocking one over, but betas could look nice in there.

maybe these would be a good use for those recycled floaty plastic balls from another post

"Betas or "siamese fighting fish" thrive in small containers"

Not containers this small they don't.

These bowls are too small to hold an adequate amount of water to supply the fish with oxygen. In other words, if you put fish in these bowls, they will die an agonizing death due to oxygen deprivation. That's why regular sized fishbowls (much bigger than these) have been banned in Rome.

It's a cute idea & looks great, but I don't think I would want glass bookends filled with anything. I have always found that bookends tend to slide and the books eventually fall over... I'd rather use some a little less likely to shatter.

Fish are absolutely beautiful & relaxing to look at but this is so NOT hot. There's nothing hot about animal cruelty or using them as mere props. I think terrariums would be a much better & more humane choice.

Newborn babies would be perfect for holding larger, coffeetable type books.

I've kept bettas for many, many years, and I've had a couple shipped to California from Thailand. (for you aquabidders, if Chaba is still selling, he's awesome and his stock is beautiful! Oh, and Linda (the in-between), if she's still around, takes excellent care of the fishies - darn near spoils them, I'd say - packages them amazingly well, and even includes an adorable betta fish magnet with the shipment. :D )

Betta fish can survive in small environments, sure. Just like you can, technically, survive in a 4x4 room without a toilet. Ideally, they should be treated like any other tropical warmwater fish - 1 gallon per inch of fish, kept at a steady temperature. I kept mine in 2.5 gallons with a mini heater, and they lived 4 years with regular water changes and suctioning out poop and food with a turkey baster every day. It's easier than keeping a litter box, that's for sure.

The whole 'you can keep them in cups' myth stems from finding them in small puddles in rice paddies *during the dry season*. They can survive that way because they can breath straight air from the surface via the labyrinth organ, but that's a worst-case scenario coping technique. The rainy season relieves them of permanently living in that environment.

Believe me, you keep a betta fish in a good environment with a good diet (and include some shiny things - seriously, I've seen healthy fish roll marbles across the floor of their tank and other such cute things. Why? I don't know), their coloration is brighter, and they display more natural and inquisitive behavior. You keep them in a crappy container, they die off, get sick, and some start ripping their own fins apart. Honestly? It's the humane thing to do. No one NEEDS a fish, so if someone gets a fish, that fish should be taken care of. A 2.5 gallon tank takes up almost NO room and is still beautiful with the right decoration.

Sorry for the rambling - I'm a bit of a fish geek. :P

p.s - the females will rip each other to the death too, unless there's six (preferably more) added all at the same time in a tank with a LOT of space and a LOT of decorations and hiding spots. It's easier with females who have matured from the same spawn/in the same tank. They form a pecking order and stake out their own territories, so the numbers have to be big to disperse tiffs and no single fish gets picked on (which means eventual death from injuries and stress, and then they move on to the next one - disastrous domino effect). It's not always the easiest thing to keep a 'sorority tank' - sometimes there's just that one fish that's waaay more aggressive than the rest. But if you hit that right combo of fish environment, they are honestly one of the prettiest and most interesting tanks I've seen around.

I have a small fish tank that I've used as a bookend for several years and it's been great. Fishies have been very healthy, it looks good (a number of people have commented on it) & lends interest to an otherwise blah shelf, and I've never had a problem with water and books.

Just don't try it on a shelf in a high-traffic area - the fish will get too stressed out (but that goes for any aquarium, not just ones used as bookends).

Worst idea ever. Not only cruel but trying way too hard to show your friends just how unique and interesting you are. Those containers do not provide goldfish with enough surface area to get enough oxygen into the water to keep them alive. Not only will have a stupid prop in your apartment but you will actually be suffocating two living things to death. Is that really worth the attention you will receive from your friends?

I like the glass jars as bookends but definitely not for torturing fish. I would fill them with wine corks.

I wouldn't do goldfish...seems cruel in those small vessels. They do have potential. Maybe some colorful stones, or if you have a collection of sea glass...that might be nice. If you collect vintage buttons, that would work, also. A living creature....no.

ummmm.... The poor fish has to look at that same book all day!

My bookends fall over all the time, I would worry all day long.