# where to buy stunning Betta Splendens?



## kirsten

I know there are plenty of fish forums out there, but I'm already a member of this site. does anyone know where I can get stunning, breeder quality splendens. 

there are a few nice ones on eBay, but I'd prefer more to choose from, I don't want a pet shop quality animal, and a lot of the online fish suppliers don't give pictures of the exact fish you'll get.

thanks for any help

Kay.


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## Frostpaw

stumper - my best advice would be to trawl specialist fish shops, see if they can order you something specific

Problem with internet buying (specially places like ebay) is you never actualy know the condition your betta will come in.


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## kirsten

where would I start though?

i like half moons, crowns and anything really extravagant.


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## Frostpaw

start by ringing specialists up and down the country and ask if they can get something in first.


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## kirsten

how do i find the specialists? i've tried googling everything i can think of and getting zero return on anything useful.


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## Myjb23

I used to get mine from KG Bettas (imported from Thailand) and they were always fantastic quality but he no longers sells them. Wish i'd continued with breeding mine as they were much better quality than you see on Ebay and i used to sell them for about £5 each!!! The crap you see going for £20+ on there is scary. I saw one mediocre SD (advertised as HM....) with a starting price of £40!!! Madness.

Sadly, it seems they are somewhat less popular now than they were a few years ago when i was keeping them, I dont know what happened to all my breeder friends, everyone seems to have given up.


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## kirsten

Myjb23 said:


> I used to get mine from KG Bettas (imported from Thailand) and they were always fantastic quality but he no longers sells them. Wish i'd continued with breeding mine as they were much better quality than you see on Ebay and i used to sell them for about £5 each!!! The crap you see going for £20+ on there is scary. I saw one mediocre SD (advertised as HM....) with a starting price of £40!!! Madness.
> 
> Sadly, it seems they are somewhat less popular now than they were a few years ago when i was keeping them, I dont know what happened to all my breeder friends, everyone seems to have given up.


I had a fighter as one of my first ever fish back in 2005, have always loved them.

I've contacted the one chap selling on ebay, seems to have the most adverts, he says he has over 120 males in stock, so i'm going to go to his place in Leicester to have a look. but as you say, i've seen far more stunning animals in good images than i can find for sale.

also, some info the SD HM abv. would be really appreciated. thank you.


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## bothrops

I put 'bettas for sale UK' into google and got the following on the first page:


Finz N Tailz The Betta Specialists-bettas for sale in uk

BETTA SPLENDENS, BETTAS, BETTAS FOR SALE UK,BREEDING BETTAS,SIAMESE FIGHTING FISH,SIAMESE FIGHTER UK BETTA FORUM

Betta Bred » Halfmoon Betta help care and for sale

Halfmoon Bettas For Sale UK betta Forum

and a load of bettas for sale on various forums.




I haven't looked, but I'm sure they'll have contact details so you might be able to travel to see their stock rather than order them from the site? Even if they won't allow that, they may know of someone who would?


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## Mynki

Sourcing world class Bettas is actually very easy. You just need money and decent transhipper. What budget per fish do you have? And how many do you want?


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## kirsten

Mynki said:


> Sourcing world class Bettas is actually very easy. You just need money and decent transhipper. What budget per fish do you have? And how many do you want?



i think i'm going to have to go with high class uk, rather than world class, i'm not looking to spend silly money.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo... BETTA FORUM&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13427011054533 this chap i found before, he's not breeding anymore, and finzntailz is the ebay breeder i'm going to view the animals of


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## kirsten

opinions on this little stunner:










valuation etc? i've never been heavy into morphs etc, so no idea on what i should be paying?

also these chaps:




























there are too many!!! they're all so stunning!! oh god i think i'm in danger here!


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## Mynki

kirsten said:


> i think i'm going to have to go with high class uk, rather than world class, i'm not looking to spend silly money.
> 
> BETTA SPLENDENS, BETTAS, BETTAS FOR SALE UK,BREEDING BETTAS,SIAMESE FIGHTING FISH,SIAMESE FIGHTER UK BETTA FORUM this chap i found before, he's not breeding anymore, and finzntailz is the ebay breeder i'm going to view the animals of


I think the phrase 'silly money' is subjective. I asked about your budget per fish so I could point you in the right direction. Importing directly yourself is not economically viable unless you are bringing hundreds of pounds worth of fish in to make it worthwhile. And fot 99.99% of hobbyists it just won't be worth the considerable hassle. But if you pay a transhipper you'll pay :-

The cost of the fish. Nice Thai Betta's go for between $20 to $100 each.
Shipping fees varying between $5 TO $7
£10 per fish to the transhipper to cover their consolidated orders. Other species can cost more. Large species WILL cost considerably more. Some charge per inch! 
The cost of visiting the transhipper to collect your order.

You do get to pick from decent Thai breeders, and you will get to see pictures or even video footage of the individual fish before purchase. They are guaranteed if arriving DOA, but shipping will not be refunded. This is a risk you take.



kirsten said:


> opinions on this little stunner:
> 
> image
> 
> valuation etc? i've never been heavy into morphs etc, so no idea on what i should be paying?
> 
> also these chaps:
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> there are too many!!! they're all so stunning!! oh god i think i'm in danger here!


The fish is worth exactly, to the penny what somebody is prepared to pay for it. If you were wanting to breed it will have significantly more value than someone who wants a pet Betta.

People prepared to invest in decent stock and breeding projects will have no problems whatsoever selling good quality Bettas here in the UK.


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## Mynki

I should have added the prices above show prices in US dollars and UK sterling as Thai dealers sell internationally in US dollars not Thai baht. UK transhippers charge in UK sterling. Obviously!


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## kirsten

as much as i'd love a thai fish, i'm only looking for a 'pet' fish, a single animal to look gorgeous on display in my room.


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## Moogloo

Don't mind Mynki, you just need to pick out the useful information amongst the blathering on and showing off with knowledge on subject that is far more in depth than needs be or just plain unrelated to the topic.

You don't have to choose a fighter for its 'quality' because 'pet quality' doesnt mean they are less healthy or less suitable for your tank. It just means they don't conform to show type or show standards. Which, when they are breeding so many fighters... happens to be an awful lot of them through no fault of their own.

Personally, I love the halfmoons but over the years I have got more and more sick of watching the fighters struggling to swim about with daft long tails. They dont naturally have long tails and you can see it in their behaviours. Its worth thinking about what you want out of your fighter... the Plakats or short finned fighters are a lot more active in patrolling the tank and swimming about, though maybe be a little more aggressive to other fish of a similar size. The long finned fighters swim about for a bit and then need to rest a lot.

Of the pictures you showed, the Black and Silver Plakat is my favourite, though if i was going for a halfmoon fighter, id go for... hmmm id want more photos of the last one. The last one is the one id prefer but id want to know what the white mark on its head and pectoral fin was first. Id probably keep looking at different halfmoons...

Just choose a fighter that you like the look of  its going to be in your room and your pet and so it could be the ugliest fish in the world to someone else and it just wouldnt matter!


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## kirsten

Thank you very much! The fighter will be the sole occupant of a 5 gallon tank. I like a few on the website but I think I still might go to his place and have a look.


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## Mynki

Moogloo said:


> Don't mind Mynki, you just need to pick out the useful information amongst the blathering on and showing off with knowledge on subject that is far more in depth than needs be or just plain unrelated to the topic.


Ah Moogloo, long time no speak! I see you're still upset with me. The OP did ask for ...



kirsten said:


> does anyone know where I can get *stunning, breeder quality* splendens.
> 
> but I'd prefer more to choose from, *I don't want a pet shop quality* animal,


And while I don't disagree with what you're saying I wanted to check how serious the OP was about a fish matching her description. If she'd had been interested in fish sold at the prices I mentioned I would have sent her links to various Thai farms which ship to the UK and sent her details of a known, reliable transhipper to bring it in for her. She could have selected from several hundred specimens complete with both pictures and videos of the individual fish then. That's not showing off, it's replying to her question. Sorry you seem to suffer from inadequecies still, but that's not my fault or problem! lol There are some keepers who want better than UK LFS bread and butter stock, believe me. 

But few people want to go to that trouble. Most are happy with an 'average' fish they like the look of bought from mass produced stuff and sold through outlets like your shop. At £27 + most people are scared off. But I'm happy to try and help those find fish not stocked by average LFS.


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## Moogloo

Can't remember ever being angry? You are just somewhat irritating!

And you are just being pedantic, if you can't think to read through what someone is asking and use some common sense to actually understand what they are looking for, ask for clarification, dont scare the living daylights out of people by chucking as much information at them as you possibly can. It doesnt take a genius to use google!

And as for anything being 'my' shop? I don't have a shop, I gladly... don't have a shop. Not entirely sure where £27 came from? We could easily import and stock all the fish from those in the photos and more and still have them retailing at £7-£9. We often do over the winter when we sell more siamese fighters. If people bothered asking their LFS if they could or would get in more unusual fighters, itwould probably be found that they could and would if there was a call for it. Though as you say.... most people are absolutely happy to walk into a shop and browse the fighters in stock and if they fall in love with one... they will buy it.

Though god knows there are some incredibly ugly siamese fighters around!!


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## Mynki

Moogloo said:


> Can't remember ever being angry? You are just somewhat irritating!
> 
> And you are just being pedantic, if you can't think to read through what someone is asking and use some common sense to actually understand what they are looking for, ask for clarification, dont scare the living daylights out of people by chucking as much information at them as you possibly can. It doesnt take a genius to use google!
> 
> And as for anything being 'my' shop? I don't have a shop, I gladly... don't have a shop. Not entirely sure where £27 came from? We could easily import and stock all the fish from those in the photos and more and still have them retailing at £7-£9. We often do over the winter when we sell more siamese fighters. If people bothered asking their LFS if they could or would get in more unusual fighters, itwould probably be found that they could and would if there was a call for it. Though as you say.... most people are absolutely happy to walk into a shop and browse the fighters in stock and if they fall in love with one... they will buy it.
> 
> Though god knows there are some incredibly ugly siamese fighters around!!


Moogloo hunny, I did read the OP's opening post. I read some less than helpful responses and wondered how serious she was about the real thing (based on her description). I said your shop as I believe you are an employee of a branch of Maidenhead. Or at least you were once upon a time. Like almost all LFS Maidenhead do not stock high quality fighters. Some of us already have the knowledge and experience of these fish and thus don't have to resort to google! lol Although, clearly many do as so much rubbish is now regurgitated on forums from 'google' it's scary. 

Most people are scared by high prices (understanably) so thought I'd give her an idea of the cost and extra work before bothering to post links to people who can help. So rather amusingly you're describing yourself. You serve people in retail do you not? So you should know to never underestimate how much someone is prepared to spend. Many serious fishkeepers bring in their own fish these days as LFS cant / don't / wont stock that kind of fish. 

I doubt your claims on prices though. Top end LFS do sell show quality fighters here in the UK, but they're a lot more expensive. Pier are one example. I'll believe your claims when I see them in a Maidenhead for the prices you quote. Thats based on my knowledge of your suppliers. 

The £27 is not too difficult to understand really, it's the minimum cost of a decent thai Betta plus the import and transhipping cost works out at around £27. Again, you should have taken your own advice and asked for clarification if you didn't understand. 

I hope you're not too irritated. :lol2:


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## kirsten

Ok, I'm happy and expecting to spend around £25, I would like an exceptional animal, but it will only be a display pet and I have no intention of breeding. No idea whether it'll be worth importing or not really, as it's only going to be a single fish in a tank. I'm happy to stay with uk stock, but would like find something really nice. The finzntailz site looks good to me.


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## Moogloo

:lol2:



Hunny? seriously? What planet are you on? lol. You obviously have far less experience with fish shops and MA in particular than you like to imply that you have.









Nope... was all i could manage before i decided the replying was utterly boring!


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## Mynki

Ah Moogloo, I know you're very young and still a bit wet behind the ears but you do need to get a grip. The peeps I know within MA are pretty high up the food chain and despite what those at the coal face may want to think, they do know what they're talking about. 

Like I said, I'll believe your claims when I see them. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Only, you're yet to bake your cake.... :lol2:

Anyway, Kirsty if you do want to see more decent Bettas take a look here :-

www.aquabid.com

Click on the Betta sections and start making a note of the Betta farms that will ship to the UK. You can bid on the auctions and a few hundred Bettas are offered for sale in this way, but you're probably best seeking out the websites you'll find links too on the Aquabid site.

There is a transshipper called Dani Pegley that I've used once before (Simply because she's very close to my office) and thinhgs went OK. She just happens to specialise in Thai fish too. Her website can be found here :-

Flying Fish

Give her a call if you want info. Or join the Seriouslyfish forum. It has a very high concentration of real fishkeepers, dealers and importers who will happily give you any advise if you ask for it. The idea of a personal import may sound ambitious to some, but it's really not that difficult. Don't mind Moogloo she is yet to understand that the aquatics hobby and industry works on a global scale and anyone can pursue their hobby without ever buying a single fish from a shop!


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## Moogloo

Unfortunately... just happening to know important people doesnt make you important... because funnily enough... i happen to know the same people? Weird huh!

Im off work for 2 weeks at the moment, when we get more fighters in, i will take photos especially for you seeing as you so desperately want to see?


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## Mynki

Moogloo said:


> Unfortunately... just happening to know important people doesnt make you important... because funnily enough... i happen to know the same people? Weird huh!
> 
> Im off work for 2 weeks at the moment, when we get more fighters in, i will take photos especially for you seeing as you so desperately want to see?


Moogloo I am flattered by your constant attention every time I post in the fish section, but I'm unavailable and I really don't think you're not my type. 

I'm not sure where the 'important' thing comes from, it says more about you than I. But hey, ho....

None of the MH stores I visit have true high end Bettas in. And they never have. So when I see the real fish in the stores with my own eyes, sold for the prices you quote I'll believe you then. 

You are aware that UK LFS don't stock the highest quality captive bred ornamentals aren't you? The UK fishkeeping public are not the most discerning of people and so if you ever visit a far eastern fish farm, you'll see far better CB stuff being shipped off aroung the far east and to Germany etc. The fish in UK LFS is just average, run of the mill stock. So I suspect our definitions of show quality fish differ? 

Maybe the real well to tell would be for me to piurchase a MH fighter and enter it into an open show and see how it does against the top UK breeders fish?


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## Moogloo

Knock yourself out. And have fun with that.


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## RescueCat

Ignoring all the arguing.

I got my betta from [email protected], and in my opinion, he's stunning! I like to see my pets in person, if possible, before buying because then I can see the condition and find one I fall in love with!


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## Mynki

RescueCat said:


> Ignoring all the arguing.
> 
> I got my betta from [email protected], and in my opinion, he's stunning!* I like to see my pets in person, if possible, before buying* *because then I can see the condition *and find one I fall in love with!





RescueCat said:


> My Betta is my first fish *(excluding the one I got from [email protected] without realising it was sick, and having it pass away within 24 hours!),* and he's been pretty easy to care for, if I say so. It's just about having a routine and sticking to it, with cleaning and checking levels and such. I also keep snails in with him!


OK then......

You can't compare a JMC / [email protected] fish to the ones sold through Aquabid. That would be like comparing a Fiat Panda to a Mercedes Benz SLS is terms of quality.


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## Copper

has anyone suggested aquabid.com? You can get the bettas from some of the top breeders in Thailand. It usually cost around $60 after shipping fees and the paying for the fish. You can also ask the breeder if they have any females available to match the male you buy(they'll send you pics of what they have)

Also keep in mind it's better to have a female with excellent form over a male, many people buy a female on just color rather then her form which greatly effects the fry's form. 

Fish currently on aquabid



















This HMPK male has a funky anal fin but his coloration(called fancy) is very interesting.


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## RescueCat

Mynki said:


> OK then......
> 
> You can't compare a JMC / [email protected] fish to the ones sold through Aquabid. That would be like comparing a Fiat Panda to a Mercedes Benz SLS is terms of quality.


Well I have personally never used Aquabid. My betta was a gift from my mum where I got to pick which one I wanted. Having just left college and inbetween jobs I can't justify spending £10+ on a fish that I haven't even seen in person. I don't feel particularly safe about it, as knowing me, I'd pick the fish that's sick!

EDIT:
And besides, bar the one sick fish, my [email protected] is one of the good ones. They are actually knowledgeable on their animals, and they surprisingly know what they're doing and talking about.


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## kirsten

love the look of the aquabid site, but i'm a little off put with it, i think i might have to find something nice within the uk.


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## Moogloo

Rescuecat, is your local one the Hemel Hempstead one? Used to be my local one (ignoring the fat that the one in Dunstable existed because it may as well not!


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## Myjb23

Not a fan of rosetails myself, unless they're in full flare they look a bit scraggly. Of those, the dragon plakat is the nicest IMO


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