Good Tankmates for a Betta?

[BarleyBear]

Okay, here are the sites I considered buying from in Thailand:

BettaAkapes: Betta For Sales !! BettaAkapes : We are selling high quality of Bettas only. which all kind of bettas as Plakats, Siamaes Fighting, Vieltails, HalfMoon. HalfMoon Plakats, Giants, Deltas, Super Deltas, Double Tails and also Fancy Bettas.,
On this site, you can see a video clip of the actual betta for sale.

Siamimbellis: WELCOME TO SIAMIMBELLIS.COM
Shows photos of the actual fish you are buying.

Nice Bettas: Nice Bettas Plakat Thai - Home
This is the seller I bought from. Pictures are of the actual betta for sale.

This is how the process works, and it seems to be the same for all of the sellers. You pay for the fish plus $5 shipping directly to the seller. Then you have to contact one of the seller's transhippers in the U.S. It looks like most of the sellers use the same transhippers, so pick one that's closest to you (most of the sites list the transhippers and their locations). The transhipper will give you the cost for the transhipping. The seller ships the fish to the transhipper, and then the transhipper sends the fish to you. I'll let you all know how things turn out when I actually receive my fish. A drug deal seems less complicated! But the fish has to be received by a licensed importer or something.

 

[BarleyBear]

So I decided to go with cardinal tetras. All of the sites listed neon tetras as good tank mates, and these seem to be pretty much the same thing--a fraction bigger (with more vivid blue/green lines and a full red understripe).

I really wanted to get orange and yellow Glofish, but people have reported them being fin nippers, and I don't want to take the chance.

 

[BarleyBear]

Wow. I copied and pasted addresses, but they turned into these links, instead. Hope they work for everyone! If not, let me know, and I'll hand-key the addresses.

 

[a.tetreault]

hmm now my problem is finding someone to ship to canada! haha

 

[Ice Man]

My crown-tale lives in a 5g with 3 celestial pearl danio (aka galaxy rasbora) I bought a ghost shrimp once - poor thing only lasted couple of hours. Felek (my betta) had a nice, live meal. It was a test before buying more expensive shrimp.

 

[BarleyBear]

hmm now my problem is finding someone to ship to canada! haha

Well, the only reason Thai sellers can't ship directly to US customers is that live fish have to go trough licensed recipients. I don't know what the law is in Canada regarding this. It's possible they could just ship directly to your home. They ship worldwide. Just go to one of the sites and look at their shipping page.

 

[stone1269]

i definitely NEED to see pics when this guy is in your tank, beautiful fish!!! tell us how the experience is with ordering from them too im actually considering it right now, depending on how it turns out for you.

Thinking the same thing lol

 

[stone1269]

They do have a solid white betta! Unbelievable!!!

 

[a.tetreault]

i just looked at all the different colors, it would be so hard for me to choose just one! don't know how you did it!

 

[BarleyBear]

i just looked at all the different colors, it would be so hard for me to choose just one! don't know how you did it!

I have visions of betta tanks all over my house--and classroom--now. I'm thinking I need at least a dozen, lol!

They truly are amazing. For the life of me, I can't understand why we don't have some breeders in the US producing some.

 

[stone1269]

25bucks a pop I jus may breed em myself lol

 

[BarleyBear]

25bucks a pop I jus may breed em myself lol

Do it!

If I had space, time, and startup money, I think I'd try it.

 

[BarleyBear]

My betta arrived from Thailand today. He was alive, but he is damaged. A big chunck of his tail is missing, looks cut off, and it looked red or bleeding at the base of the injury. Also, there was big hole/rip in his dorsal fin. I'll post the pics I sent the transhipper and the seller. Is there anything I can do for him? I feel so bad for him.

For the cost, stress in shipping, and obvious risk, I probably would never order from a Thai seller again. I haven't gotten a response, yet, but I will let you know that they say. However, there isn't really much they can do for the betta, obviously. I'm not worried about the money, just sad that he was hurt in the shipping process--not really their fault, I guess. He was packaged well.

I've heard that bettas sometimes bite their fins when they are stressed, and I'm guessing that's what must have happened to his tail. I imagine he was jostled around a bunch during the shipping process, too.

Good news, he hasn't had any problem at all finding the hole at the top of my Fluval Edge to breathe air. But he seems quite stressed out! After being in the dark and shipped from another country and bumped around and now in a larger tank than he's ever seen with plants he's never seen and other fish he's never seen, I can't imagine he's not in shock! Hopefully, he will calm down and be okay.

When I first put him in (after floating him to adjust to the temperature, of course), he took a gulp of air and then just free-floated till he landed on a leaf and was covered up by his fins. I thought he'd just died! After a few seconds, he started swimming again, went back up to get some air, and did the free-fall thing again, becoming listless. He did this several times. I don't know if he was adjusting to the water, clearing out his air, or what. Finally, he stopped doing this and found a spot behind the heater to hang out. Now, he's hiding beneath some plants and seems to be doing fine, if a bit shy or scared. I'll try to post some pics of him swimming in the tank after he gets over his shyness.

Any advice/help for his damaged fins? I've heard they will heal and grow back slowly. I just don't want him to get an infection.

The first two pics show the damaged tail and fin. The third one is the sale pic (before shipping).

 

[Starka]

When my bettas fins get damaged I put a little, very little salt in with them, fresh water, and keep the tank around 80ish. I think he will be fine once he gets comfortable.
He is very very pretty, are you going to breed him?

 

[stone1269]

Poor guy I'm no expert but I've used Betta fix b4 it used to help heal damaged fins is he eating?

 

[BarleyBear]

Thanks, Starka. No, I'm not going to breed him. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep him alive!

Stone, I haven't tried feeding him his food, yet, but he may have eaten some of the tetras' food. The books say to wait a day. He is exploring his tank, now, though, which is a good sign. He seems tired, which he might very well be.

So salt and/or betta fix: will either of those harm snails? I have nerites a golden apple snail. I think the salt probably will, and I've heard any medications with copper will harm inverts. I might have to get a small medication tank; however, I don't want to stress him out any more after his journey here, so I might just wait and see if he gets better on his own.

 

[Starka]

Thanks, Starka. No, I'm not going to breed him. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep him alive!

Stone, I haven't tried feeding him his food, yet, but he may have eaten some of the tetras' food. The books say to wait a day. He is exploring his tank, now, though, which is a good sign. He seems tired, which he might very well be.

So salt and/or betta fix: will either of those harm snails? I have nerites a golden apple snail. I think the salt probably will, and I've heard any medications with copper will harm inverts. I might have to get a small medication tank; however, I don't want to stress him out any more after his journey here, so I might just wait and see if he gets better on his own.

Awww....I bet he would have some cute babies.
I would only add aquarium salt or meds if he gets any worse. I haven't had any experence with snails, but from what I heard is that they can handle a little bit of salt but not much. I believe he will be just fine.
What are feeding him?

 

[BarleyBear]

Awww....I bet he would have some cute babies.
I would only add aquarium salt or meds if he gets any worse. I haven't had any experence with snails, but from what I heard is that they can handle a little bit of salt but not much. I believe he will be just fine.
What are feeding him?

He probably would make cute babies, but I know nothing about breeding! I think I'm going to hold on on any kind of meds and just see how he does. He seems to be adjusting to the tank fine, no longer doing any of that free-fall stuff. The water parameters are perfect, I did a 50% water change the day before he arrived, and I'll make sure to keep everything clean, clean.

 

[BarleyBear]

So the transhipper responded (the person in the states that receives the fish from the seller in Thailand). She seemed a bit crude and blunt--basically, an "it happens" kind of attitude. "The fins might grow back or they might not." To be fair, she's been very curt throughout the whole process, really.

The seller, on the other hand, seemed much more concerned. She offered to send a replacement fish (although I'd still have to pay for shipping). I declined, of course; I still love the fish. But I was pleased the shipper was concerned and at least offered to correct the problem. I just feel bad for the fish. Perhaps overseas shipping just isn't good for them.

 

[BarleyBear]

Awww....I bet he would have some cute babies.
I would only add aquarium salt or meds if he gets any worse. I haven't had any experence with snails, but from what I heard is that they can handle a little bit of salt but not much. I believe he will be just fine.
What are feeding him?

Oops. Meant to answer that. Right now I'm feeding him Hikari Bio Gold, but he may get some scraps from my tetra food, too. I'll be stopping at the store on the way home to get some blood worms.