chickadee

Pretty to look at, nice to see, but who can afford him, it sure isn't me.* Although the shipping costs are some of the most reasonable I have seen.* Ebay has a LOT of nice ones on there now.* I like to go just look at the bunch now and again.* It is kind of fun as long as I remind myself that I am just LOOKING.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LIVE-BETTA-RED-K...QQcmdZViewItem

This is TRULY a RARE Betta due to the crossed rays.* you will not see one of these very often.* If I did just have an empty tank of any size and a few more dollars in the bank, he would not lack for a home!

Rose

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Gwenz

He is very pretty!

If I had enough money or was able to keep bettas, I would certainly buy him. He is beautiful!!

Gwenz

Phonemonkey

That seller has some reasonably priced great looking other Bettas, but I'm leery of ordering a fish all the way from Thailand, and he doesn't say what the actual shipping cost will be, you have to contact the transhipper to ask...

Phloxface

Wow! Those are gorgeous fish!!* * Oh how I wish I had the room/money for another tank and that it was already CYCLED!

This fish looks a lot like my Lava in coloring, especially the body, although Lava's tail is more turquoise:
http://cgi.ebay.com/LIVE-BETTA-MULTI...QQcmdZViewItem

There is one fish who looks a lot like Rose's Marty! I'd love to get him!* Marty may be naughty but he looks like an angel and I've always admired his beauty!

Isabella

WOW, what a stunning Betta! I had no idea Bettas can cost $100 !

Rose ... haha ... don't know if you realize this but that line of yours rhymes perfectly, haha Or did you rhyme it on purpose? Look:

"Pretty to look at,
nice to see.
But who can afford him?
Surely not me!

LOL!!! You should be a poet Rose!

chickadee

Well, the postage is still very reasonable as most that come from Thailand or Hong Kong come to transhippers as well and cost $50.00 postage for just that stage of the trip. So $7 is very reasonable. Believe me I have shopped MANY vendors of bettas all over the world when I am looking, but never had the nerve to order from outside the US. The fish are usually more expensive but then there are those in the US that are expensive as well. Alexander made me sit up and take notice at the price I paid for him let me tell you! (not nearly $100 but with postage not far off) Marty however was a cool $3.95 and I believe at the time the postage was $6.00 or $7.00. He took 2 days to get from New York to Nebraska and was one of the last of the cold weather shipments his breeder made. (he arrived in January in the middle of a blizzard - warm and toasty with a nice heat pack).

Rose

0morrokh

Wow, that Betta is gorgeous! I have never seen one with cross rays before.

chickadee

The crossed rays are what make him rare and expensive. Some combtails have the long rays but not many have double rays that actually cross. They are almost always show quality and very desirable to breed. It is very difficult to find a female to breed with them though and not many of the offspring will have the crossed rays as it is a recessive trait. Probably the most desirable color I have seen in the crossed rays is the "mustard gas" and I am not fond of that color but they are very popular in the Orient.

Rose

ebbandflow

Wow, absolutely beautiful. I feel like I'd never be able to afford him but a boy can dream can't he?

chickadee

If you keep an eye open on eBay, every now and then they have some VERY nice ones for very reasonable prices.* I have seen some very close to him for a whole lot less.* They are just not quite perfect.* I got both Noel and Marty and all the girls off of eBay.* Azul was my only Walmart baby.* Oh yes Alexander came from eBay too.*

Rose

ebbandflow

Rose, do you think our little friends from breeders off of ebay are healthier then their storebought buddies? Like, are they less fragile i guess...

Tumbleweed

That is one nice looking fish, bit pricey and the shipping would be a little too much.

chickadee

It really depends on the breeder and I did have trouble with one. I feel that the breeders can be very good or very bad. Check the feedback they get but remember that the people put in feedback RIGHT after they receive their orders. It is too soon to know whether the fish is going to be healthy for the long-term. For the most part though, I do believe there a couple I have dealt with that are not only excellent but people I would actively seek out if I needed another betta. My favorite of course is the gentleman who sold me Noel and Marty. His prices are very reasonable and he treats his fish the same way we do. They are spoiled and treated well. They are healthy and he will do his best to send you what you ask for. He is pretty much limited to Crowntails though and they are beautiful. His prices are definitely right. and his shipping is not only reasonable but done with the utmost care and attention for the comfort of the fish. He will not ship during cold weather anymore.

The people I got Alexander from were totally professional and did a great job of sending me a great quality fish but the price was a lot higher and postage as well. He was treated with the finest care and I felt he was worth what I paid for him as he was an unusual specimen.

Lately they have started to sell younger fish at stores and that does help with the quality of the fish but poor quality treatment in any age fish is going to lessen the lifespan of the fish. Another thing that happens with the fish in stores and with some breeders on eBay is inbreeding. The breeders have one breeding pair and the fish they sell all look alike or are similar colors. This can indicate that they breed brothers and sisters and generation after generation of the best of the spawn. Eventually the fry become weakened even though they may develop and look normal. I do feel that I fell into that trap with Misty and she did not survive or grow to normal size because of the genetic disposition she inheirited. It did not help that the other females mistreated her but she could perhaps have survived had she have grown normally.

Rose

Phloxface

I don't know about inbreeding going on with the fish at Petsmart. Even the Petsmart people probably don't know, but they do seem to be selling very young fish lately, at least at my store. Last time I was in they got a new shipment of Bettas (SOOO hard to resist buying more!!) and I saw a few males that were tiny!! They were maybe 1/2 inch in length and females even smaller than that! The girl there had them out on a table and was feeding them. I watched her and she thoroughly checked each one and marked and put aside any she thought may have finrot so they would receive medication. I'm so glad to see they at least care enough to treat the sick babies instead of just selling half dead fish to customers. They're still in those small cups but at least they are not just fed and ignored. They put as many Bettas as they could into the bigger tanks with fish that would be compatible. There's just not enough tanks for all the Bettas unfortunately since you can only put one Betta per tank and there's only a few fish that will be compatible with them. I saw the cutest little Betta in a tank with some glowlight tetras. (the tetras were ignoring him so hopefully his tail will be alright) He seemed so gentle and happy swimming freely in a large 15 gallon tank! He was silver with black patches all over like a cow. Very unusual. When I looked in on him he came right up to the glass and looked back at me. So cute! It was all I could not to take him home with me!
I'd love to get one of the gorgeous fish I've seen on Ebay but I live in Canada and they are all in the US. I'm not sure they can even ship here and if they did it would be delayed at the border... I'd just be too afraid something would go wrong. For now two fish is enough, much as I'd love more. I just have no room for more tanks nor furniture strong enough to hold one.

chickadee

I do so know what you mean. I used to have eBay send me the "Live Fish" topic in my e-mail every day but I had to STOP because it made me just squirm with wanting more bettas. It is so hard to limit ourselves and I just am at my limit now that I have had to realize that Emma is not a community player with other females. That means I shall not be replacing any of my females and have to make her live instead with her little friends the new Cories. I guess I will have to change my signature to Betta, Oto, Cory, and Snail Mom!

I think that you could probably order from eBay as I do not know of restrictions being so strict between here and Canada but they are TERRIBLE between here and the UK. All live aquarium life and chemicals have to be quarantined for 6 months. Any poor little fish or such would be dead long before arriving!! I sent a box to the UK not long ago and could not even send any fish food or they would have gone into quarantine. OH well.

I am well aware that PetSmart is so much better to their bettas than the most of the chain stores. It is so nice to hear that the one in your area is as well. The young woman taking care of them obviously knew something of the fish she was taking care of and cared about what happened to them. This is the mark of a good fish store. As I have said before, the difference is not going to be in big things, but in the smaller things like teaching the people who are in direct contact with the fish.