Buying Bettas Online?

[wodesorel]

I just had a couple of quick questions. I've been having the worst luck with lfs bettas, and quite frankly am about to give up on them altogether.

Are bettas from online breeders a better choice than petshop bettas? Are they really that much healthier? Wouldn't the act of shipping the betta in the mail be enough to stress it out to the point of any other petshop betta?

I've mailed and recieved snails/snail eggs through the mail with no problem. But there's a BIG difference in that there is no water. All you have to do is wrap the snail (or eggs) in a wet papertowl, through him in a plastic container, and mail him. How are mail order bettas packed and shipped? Is it safe for them?

I've been hesitant to buy "breeder" bettas just because I've never liked the idea of "purebred" animals. Are there any places out there that sell "rescue" bettas, as silly as that sounds? My seven cats were all unadoptable shelter cats - I'd kind of like my betta to be the same.

If anyone can help me out or share their experiances, I'd be thankful! I don't even know where to start looking for a seller. It seems like everyone on Aquabid is shipping from Tailand - which I'm guessing is not a good thing for the fish. Heck, I don't even know what a good price is for those fancy bettas!

 

[Kame-San]

I'm not sure just how great a "pure bred betta" is, because I've never had one. I've gotten bettas from wal mart and petsmart, and they've all been perfectly fine. My first betta came from wal mart during a regular grocery day. I talked my grandparents into getting him (lol ) he's been alive and healthy for about 6 months now.

My sister recently got a betta from petsmart (which I now take care of. she's 7 years old. can't expect her to take care of it.) and he's also fine. He lived in the pantry for a few days because of the cats while my 10 gallon was set up, and he waited for my 2 gallon, and he lived through that.

Maybe it all depends on the betta. Both the bettas were bettas towards the back of the bunch (nobody wantd my first because "look, he has no color!" "yes he does! look! there's a spot!" and my sister's was just towards the back because of a new shipment.) It could all be in the handling while at the pet store.

 

[wodesorel]

The one betta I bought from walmart lived a year. And that was the longest lived betta by far. So I do have to agree that wherever they get their stock from, the fish are pretty hardy. (And young. I only see itty-bitty baby bettas at the Wally's around here.) But still, a year really isn't that long considering it was only a couple of months old when I got him.

Maybe it's just me and I'm not doing something right. But everything else in the tank has survived - just not the bettas.

 

[Kame-San]

I'm sorry The betta I got from Wal Mart lives alone, and seems to prefer it like that. While my sister's betta has some white clouds in his tank, that's all. Maybe if you do get another, you could try it by itself (or with some cute white clouds )

 

[Betta_Lovex3]

Well, I have 6 bettas, and they're all from Petsmart. 3 of them were rescues, and 1 of them may not make it, but at least I gave him a comfortable home to live in for a short while. I'm sorry that your betta only lived a year .

 

[starrynightxxi]

i've had absolutely no problem with buying bettas online. I know it's stressful for them, but when my doubletail female arrived, she arrived with heavy breeding bars, and not stress stripes. Of course it depends on how they're handled in shipment, but as for that, i haven't had any fish, or shrimp, arrive dead.

the term purebred isn't really applicable, because actually very few of the fish are purebreds. They are usually mixes of the different tail types, but regardless, you won't find any rescues on aquabid. rescues are generally considered bettas bought from notably despicable conditions (most LFS bettas), or those being rehomed by breeders who don't cull. The latter are usually fish who are missing fins or have bent spines etc. etc. You won't see those for sale online, but they can sometimes be found on here, usually only for the cost of shipping and the promise that you won't use them for breeding purposes.


[edit] as for health, the fish one gets offline are usually healthier because they are coming straight from a breeder who's business it is to sell healthy fish. fish coming from (most) pet stores are under much more stress than a betta being shipped for much longer periods of time.

 

[fishlover69]

hi all im new to this site but i reconise some names fro ukbetta.... iam a small breeder and seller of bettas
and i send nearly all of my bettas and its gone fine ive only had problems with tanks being broken even tho packaged well ect
why dont you give it a try?
most bettas from your lfs wont be as great quallity but most people just want a betta to love and look at ect but most want the best to breed from.. hope you get me lol
thnax luff danielle

 

[Loko17]

usually LFS bettas will live ok if bought healthy and introduced into the tank and cared for properly, To get the healthiest LFS bettas what I have done is come in on the day they get shipments, that way they dont go through 2 stressful periods. You can just ask the LFS owner when they get shipments in and at what time and if you get there right at the shipment time you can just take it home right off the truck. Then when you get it home, leave it in the bag and let the bag sit in the tank, with water in it, for about 20 minutes and then open the bag and pour the betta in. Its better not to net them, and then do regular water changes and feed it and you should be all set.

 

[wodesorel]

I got the last one the same day it arrived in the store and look how that ended.


Sometimes I think I'm overdoing it with a large tank and special food, etc. My next door neighbor had a betta in a vase for FOUR YEARS and it was never sick a day. Four years. When she stuck her finger in the vase he'd swim over to get scratched under the chin. One year was a world record for me. I probably should just stick with invertabrates and loaches.

 

[fishlover69]

not saying there bad ect its just that there not as great quality for breeding lines ecvt

 

[wodesorel]

There is no breeding in anyone's future in my house.

I would have kept the male brigg if I could have castrated him - as it is he now belongs to a breeder and hopefully is making other lady snails quite happy. (Mine are now super happy not having to deal with a very enamourous male.) Loaches don't reproduce easily in captivity so I lucked out there. Even my seven cats are fixed. I'm overrun with animals as it is, I don't need 100 betta fry in jars.... Not like they'd make it in a house with seven cats....

Weeee... We have fun around here.

 

[wodesorel]

Okay, I found a new lfs in the area, and I like them alot. They're still cup bettas, but they're healthy and well cared for. I also arrived just as they were unpacking the new shipment, which is also a plus. The rest of the fish looked great, too, even if the sales people weren't that knowledgable. I picked one up at lunchtime and he's been waiting with me at work, trying to attack my boss when she walks past.

Plus, I got a cana.... I have never seen those around her before. It's huge.

Yay!

 

[starrynightxxi]

a cana?

 

[fishlover69]

i have 4 cats no probs atm i have 37 bettas not inc fry lol
most betta love small spaces most of mine do

 

[wodesorel]

Cana = the species of apple snail that gets to be baseball size or larger. I've been wanting one for a while, and I couldn't pass the big guy up, even if I do have to buy him his own tank. (There's not enough open space in my main tank for him to move around without getting stuck/uprooting everything in his path.)