so... I've never had a betta... am I missing something???

[Essjay]

Alien bettas would appear to be a hybrid, though no-one knows from which species. Since they are reported to be somewhat agressive with males fighting to the death I would treat them as though they were betta splendens.



Betta splendens don't choose their mates, a male will mate with any female which is ready. If a female isn't ready to mate, he will chase her out of his territory; once a male has mated with a female, he'll chase her away. But in a tank, she can't get away. That's why males and females should only be kept together while actually spawning, and to breed bettas you need a male tank, a female tank and a spawning/fry rearing tank. Then a lot of jars for when the male fry start fighting.

 

[MaloK]

They are part of the Splendens "gang", They look closely related to the wild Mahachai.

 

[Magnum Man]

OK... next, how do they ship??? the 2 fish that caught my eye, are in Thailand... the ads for both fish are targeted for the USA, but one has a business in the US, where they are repackaged for domestic shipping, the other offers free shipping from Thailand, but says something about contacting the transhipper to determine the domestic delivery charge, so the fish sounds like it will be packaged for 4-6 days before arrival...

or should I just bite the bullet, & support the industry that puts them on store shelves in little cups???

 

[gwand]

OK... next, how do they ship??? the 2 fish that caught my eye, are in Thailand... the ads for both fish are targeted for the USA, but one has a business in the US, where they are repackaged for domestic shipping, the other offers free shipping from Thailand, but says something about contacting the transhipper to determine the domestic delivery charge, so the fish sounds like it will be packaged for 4-6 days before arrival...

or should I just bite the bullet, & support the industry that puts them on store shelves in little cups???

Have you looked at the Tropic Flow site?

 

[Magnum Man]

@gwand ... no I haven't, thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out...

 

[Magnum Man]

OK just saw a video of 2 male bettas, in tanks that were made together or side by side, so the fish could see each other, so they were swimming back and forth, & back & forth... showing off to each other... doesn't that seem like cruel & unusual punishment, they must be stressed out... I suppose it could be cool, if you had a shutter between them, & only opened it so they could see each other on occasion, but to leave them like that ( seeing each other ) seems like it would be stressful, even if only done occasionally

 

[GaryE]

Umm, they are raised in jars. Usually, in antibiotic soup, so when they arrive, they both lack muscle tone, and gut flora. But the antibiotics force fast growth. Long finned fancies have been known to drown when put in proper tanks. They can't drag their fins to the surface to breathe, since they haven't been allowed to swim since they were sexed out. The weak muscles won't support it. They're good in a few weeks.

The fins and scales must be protected at all costs, or they are valueless.

I have opened boxes of fish ordered from southeast Asia and found Betta splendens in bags used as bubble wrap/packing. We'd put them in a box and give them to stores on the way home, just to give them a chance.

US fish importation laws are ferocious, and if you don't have paperwork, you are liable for considerable fines. You have to use a transshipper, to my knowledge. That's what my wild betta keeping friends have told me. It adds up. But most urban centres will have someone selling bulk imported high end Bettas out of a garage somewhere. You'd have to look.

 

[Magnum Man]

the one seller that uses transhippers has a list of them on their website... the other has an office in the US, & repackages them, for domestic shipping...

I assume since they can breath air, & have a high tolerance ( in general ) to water quality, they probably ship better than many other fish???

 

[GaryE]

The only version I've seen was a guy in my ex-city who would bring expensive Bettas in in bulk, and sell them with a markup. He pretended he bred them, so the prices weren't insane. That way at least buyers knew how much each middleman was adding. It could get a little crazy to buy direct and not live in an urban centre.

If I were doing that, I'd wait til it was warmed up a lot. Too hot is bad, but in the low 70s f would be better. That is a long journey for them.