Aquabid vs Pet store bettas?

hey everyone, so I recently just lost my favorite betta (and favorite fish ever) yesterday, and my remaining betta today. i'm completely devastated by it but instead of talking about that, I wanted to ask you all a question. I don't know if i'm gonna put new bettas in my empty 5 gallons (i'd wait until end of june though) but I was wondering, does anyone know if aquabid bettas tend to be healthier than pet store bettas?
my favorite betta, zeus, was bought from my lfs. he only lived for seven months poor angel. my other bettas, less than three months. I got my two others from the same store and they both passed away in the same way. I don't believe they are healthy there at all. zeus, however, was different and seemed so healthy right until a few hours before he passed away.
if anyone has experience with aquabid bettas vs pet store bettas, please let me know. I don't want to get another betta if the fish is already going to be unhealthy upon purchase, which my other two definitely were. I tried to rescue them, but it honestly did not work out in my opinion. thanks!

 

It really depends on the seller. I just purchased some endlers off of Aquabid and they arrived quickly and healthy. Just look at the sellers rating and that should give you a decent idea of their reputation.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss of both your fish. I don't have experience yet with Aquabid (paranoid about not seeing the fish in person first, probably over nothing but I still am) Our betta we currently have is from our local pet store and he seems pretty healthy. Our other fish have been from various LPS as well. I don't know where you are located but if you are in or near the SF Bay Area in California, I could point you in the direction of a few places I have gotten healthy fish from, both with our betta and with our other fish depending on what you decided to go with for your tanks.

 

I've gotten my two bettas from petco/petsmart and they're both pretty healthy. One I've had for over a year and the other I got in September. My newest one had a bit of fin rot but it cleared up in a week. Other than that, I've had no problems. I do know the pet store bettas are a lot cheaper than the aquabid ones once you factor in shipping costs but the aquabid ones are much prettier. It really comes down to personal preference I guess.

 

I'd go with PetCo. They sell a large range of betta types.
Most seem to be healthy
Here's an example of petco bettas that I have bought

 

I have had experience with both.
I found that that you get a bigger variety on aquabid and that aqua bid bettas are healthier. Pet store bettas tend to have a smaller selection, and their fish are more prone to disease. I have bought 2 females and 1 male from Thailand. One female was DOA from being held at the post office because of the blizzard(this was in January) and I got a replacement who is healthy and happy.


She was checking out her neighbor in this picture and her eye looks cloudy because of the flash. It hard to get a good picture of her colors without flash.
Also, shipping from Thailand is only around $5 per fish because they pool the money for shipping and ship large amounts of bettas to the airports at a time. You have to pay for ground shipping though and that depends on how far away you are and how to ship them(priority/express). Also, you can get the lesser quality bettas(bad form, colors are bad for show, no ventrals) on aquabid for cheap. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with them though. The higher priced bettas are show quality, good form, good colors. It depends on how much you want to spend. You can also get the bettas cheaper than the buy it now price if you bid on them. I got my male for $17 instead of $25(he was show quality).
I lost the boy from Thailand because he was acclimated too fast, which was my fault, and because his heater broke and was at 85F for two days without me noticing. I moved him to another tank but he was never the same and died about 2 weeks later.

I have found some cool finds at pet stores, but these bettas have no confirmed age and tend to be at a greater risk of disease because of inbreeding.


This guy is in pretty good health(you can see his bubble nest, he builds a new one everyday) but he is older and has a little bit if finrot, bad coloring and bad form.
It is personal preference really, but I would order from aquabid.

 

I just have a good big box store as my local Petco has a decently to well run aquatic department. Most bettas I purchase from them have lived 2.5 to 3.5 years with one actually reaching the age of four since purchase.

On the other hand, my local fish store bettas haven't done as well.

All I can suggest is to consider the source. Not so much the store but who is their supplier. I wonder if stores in different parts of the country use difference sources.

Just thinking out loud...