I have a fish cake due near the end of June that she wants me to incorporate LIVE fish into the cake. The plan is to use fluted vases as pillars, that way the fish can still breathe. I was thinking about cutting out the center of the bottom cake and just putting hard foam or wood and sitting the fishbowl on that and then the top board would rest right on the fishbowl.
Here's my dilemna... with live fish in the middle, I don't feel like I need fake fish on the cake, I was thinking the bottom cake could be like coral/shells/anemone kind of stuff, but what would the top cake be? the same? Any thoughts or creative input on the fishbowl setup would be great. Also, I don't have an exact number on size, but she thinks 25-35 people
I incorporated real fish with my daughter's birthday cake. You may be able to see them in my photos.
I placed the big cake on a large glass top and had four fishbowls underneath the glass to hold it up. I put the glass on top of the fish bowls at the last minute so we wouldn't have any problems with the fish breathing. On the smaller cake, I had a tall vase with fish in it that we placed the cake directly onto.
The live fish were a big hit and turned out to be great party favors too! We let those that wanted to take them home.
Let me know if you have any questions.
I was thinking about cutting out the center of the bottom cake and just putting hard foam or wood and sitting the fishbowl on that
i wouldnt cut the cake and then insert the vase- the fish will likely rest or swim at the bottom, making it hard to see them. just make sure that you dowel the cake really really well underneath the bowl. i'd actually use a wider bowl rather than a vase , then you'd have more stability in the stacking. if you leave a couple inches of room for air, then stack the cakes right before necessary, the fish would probably be ok for an hour or two...not an expert on this, i just know that they are tiny creatures, and there *should* be enough oxigen for a short period of time. make sure that you use plenty of dowels and maybe 1/2 " thick cake boards.
(for your sizing, i'd probably do a 6" round on an 8" round )
edited, i just realized that maybe you meant placing a SOLID piece of wood or foam? i think dowels would be more simplicistic and work just fine if you use several- or the thick hollow plastic ones ifyou want to really feel safe.
aligotmatt,
If you're going to be doing an underwater idea for the bottom tier, what about an above-sea-level layer for the top?
Something like breaking white-cap waves, perhaps an orange n white buoy/beacon bobbing in the waves, with pehaps a seagull or two placed on the buoy and/or the water? Make the buoy n seagulls out of gumpaste, mmf, or fondant, whichever you feel comfortable working with.
Depending on the occasion for the cake (milestone birthday, promotion, etc), you could use a person treading water w/ a lifering in a friendly "sink-or-swim" kind of sentiment (is that too cruel???)
I'm just brainstorming here..so take from my rantings what you will! 
HTH,
~ Scott
It's for a 1st birthday party. I love the bouy idea on the top, they always have numbers on them so it would be an easy way to incorporate a "1" into the cake.
Thanks for the suggestion about the oxygen tablet, I'll have to go look for some.
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