Betta Fish Forum banner

Question about aquabid

3K views 25 replies 9 participants last post by  dramaqueen 
#1 ·
My gf wants a betta, so i gave her my 3 gallon tank. How do you preceed to recieve a fish from aquabid? Im sure they dont come fedex lol
 
#9 ·
Of course my AB fish was shipped Express but took 3 days to get here, so either way it's a risk. My seller didn't ask me if I needed a heat pack, I thought they automatically put one in there. My fish died the next day and the seller seems to be ignoring me.
 
#13 ·
Hi and welcome with the questions, I feel like they have been answered in a confusing manner.

You bid and win a fish, it is shipped overnight to someone in the US who handles customs, and then ships the fish to you. You can usually choose overnight or priority shipping, priority is slower and cancels out a refund if your fish is dead on arrival to your house (DOA.) If your fish is DOA you send them photos and they refund the cost of the fish for you or replace the fish, whichever you prefer.

It takes about 24 hours to authorize an AB account so if you want to bid on a fish give at least that much time before it ends to register. No one told me that before I went to sign up =]

I have had good experiences with sellers, one even "replacing" a fish that arrived sick and didn't die. The seller and trans-shipper you use have a lot to do with your experience. If you have any more questions let me know :)
 
#15 ·
My first and only betta was bought from overseas. He arrived well and is still going strong! I paid five dollars to the transhipper and then the price of shipping when he got here(so if you get one from over seas it seems to be about 5 dollars extra as well as a couple weeks to wait for them to ship the fish to america)


Also, pretty much all bettas in petstores are shipped from Thailand :) just to ease your mind on the shipping thing!
 
#16 ·
Also, pretty much all bettas in petstores are shipped from Thailand :) just to ease your mind on the shipping thing!
i don't know of any petstores or LFS here that get shipments from thailand .. local breeders are a lot more efficient and cheeper

@op

80% of bettas that are shipped from thailand will tailbite in transit and they arrive pale and with torn/shredded fins .. and you will have to nurse back to full health .. they do recover from it though .. it just takes some tlc ^_^
 
#18 · (Edited)
i've recently talked to a lot of breeders (as we're planning to breed) that get their breeder pairs from thailand off ab .. and there are a lot of horror stories on the forums and a lot of complaints on ab .. almost all thai breeders that post on aqua bid have a warning regarding tailbiting and they do not replace if fish have torn fins on arrival

plakats fall under the 20% .. and i don't know what you mean by hm's are the ones that tail bite .. none of my hm have ever nipped or taken a bite out of their fins .. only my veilteils bite .. tailbiting is not based on what type of betta tail you have .. some bettas will do it .. some won't .. generalizing by saying hm's bite more is just what people say based on their own experience .. there's no science behind that statement
 
#19 ·
Let me rephrase. The only bettas I've ever heard of tailbiting during shipping are halfmoons, and halfmoons and bettas like them (deltas etc) are the most frequent biters. Tail biting has to do with stress from shipping, not breeders. Why would they replace a fish for tail biting? Tails grow back and shipping any fish that far has some risks associated with it. One of the main trans-shippers in the US has less than 12 DOA fish a year, and gets hundreds imported to her. It just sounds like you're trying to scare someone off saying all fish tail bite in shipping when it is really only a few, not 80% or anywhere close to that, and doesn't apply at all to females or certain tail types. You're saying every single fish who is long finned will tail bite if you're saying the 20% who don't are short-finned fish, and that's just not true and the OP should know that. I'm curious as to how many fish of different tail types you have imported and which of those fish have had issues, but that's not relevant here.



To the OP and point of this thread: My previous post explains how AB works. If you want to see how satisfied customers have been with the breeder, click the number next to their name. Example - XYZBetta (46/46) XYZBetta is the username, and the 46/46 lets you know that all 46 customers gave positive feedback. You can click the number to see written feedback as well. Some breeders have thousands of customers, every one satisfied.

Your best bet and my best advice: Create your account and shop around frequently online to know you're getting a good deal. Email the breeder about the fish you're interested in, establishing a relationship can get you wonderful discounts and access to fish before they are posted to the general site. You can also get access to the genetic background of your fish, information about that breeder, and get tips and information from them about diet/breeding/etc. If you buy a fish that is already in the US, your costs will be lower. There are a few US breeders on AB, as well as many people in the US who import bettas from oversees and then sell extras.
 
#20 ·
LOL you misunderstand me .. i'm not trying to scare him away from getting a thai fish at all .. but it's good to know what your getting into .. the good and the bad .. 80% is also a generalized percentage based on what i've read on forums direct feedback from transshippers, thai breeder's as well as US breeders .. e-mail them .. they will tell you .. for example .. karen (martinismommy) who only has had 2 doa in shipping .. that were both not her fault .. has a lot of experience and can explain to you her experiences with receiving thai bettas if you wish to contact her for more information ..

even transshippers have warnings re-garding tail biting .. here is one website explaining her process http://bellsouthpwp.net/J/e/JennViv/LMBBettaTranship.htm

pasted from the site .. for all those that are too lazy to read the whole thing
Things That May Happen When Shipping Bettas (Live Animals):

  • Bettas sometimes damage their fins during shipment. The fish may not arrive as perfect as the Aquabid or auction photo. Most HM, OHM and Rosetail bettas will chew their tails during shipping. This sometimes happens and cannot be helped. There is nothing that can be done to make it "less stressful" on the fish during shipment. Every fish handles the stress of shipping differently. The only thing that can make shipping less stressful is less time in transit (which means Express shipping).​

  • Fish will arrive lacking color. Your fish has been in a dark box for several hours, sometimes days and has been bumped and jostled by the carrier. So it is natural for the fish to lose color during shipment. After a day or two and in proper water conditions (including adequate temperature for a tropical fish) the fish should color back up nicely.​

  • Sometimes injuries can occur during shipment. This is very rare but it DOES happen, it has happened to me. Unfortunately the breeders nor myself can hand deliver the fish to each doorstep so they are left in the hands of the carriers. During which time they travel through many hands and great distances and are handled quite roughly. I once received a fish that looked like it had "Popeye" and after contacting the breeder was told this was not the case and it was likely a shipping injury. After a few days of frequent water changes the fishes eye returned to normal, thankfully I was not too quick to medicate.​

  • Last, but not least......DOA. Unfortunately these are live creatures not inanimate objects. Despite the best packing jobs and preventative measures, some fish simply cannot handle the rigors of shipping or the shipping carrier may make an error during shipment (misdirected or late package). This can result in the fish passing away during transit. Just be sure that you have carefully educated yourself on your Seller's DOA policies and procedures prior to the arrival of your fish so that you can follow them and work out any refund/replacement with your Seller. Below is a representative example of a Seller's DOA policy. Please be sure that you read the DOA policy for your specific Seller. And please understand that there is not always blame to be placed when there is DOA, it is something that happens.​
no one has to take my advice .. but there's no reason to discredit me when the information is out there for anyone to see .. just google it .. i'm not as wrong as you think i am
 
#21 ·
I have imported a bunch of fish as well as spent more time reading on this forum. I talk to several Thai breeders on an almost daily basis. Your number of 80% is not correct.

I think after the person reads all those policies because they will have to/use common sense to figure out there are some risks with shipping fish in a box across the world. Jennifer is my trans-shipper, and even her thing says they "sometimes" bite their tails. The "bad" is if a fish is DOA and unless you use priority you are reimbursed. Long finned bettas bite their tails even in homes and tanks, not just shipping, and they grow back. I'm not really sure why you keep hammering on this.
 
#24 ·
just because someone reads policies doesn't mean they will attach common sense to anything .. it's what we hope people will put 2 and 2 together since risks are something no one likes to talk about or post about or warn about because they usually have a negative aura about them .. (this is case and point) .. and it's unfair for you to encourage the op .. while only stating the good points and not stating any of the risks involved .. so i posted information regarding the risks and i get my head chewed off by you

i'm not hammering at all about this is the 2nd thread your jumping down my throat regarding posts i've made .. please stop .. it's un-necessary and are not helpful to anyone .. all i've done is posted the risks and my experience .. there is no such thing as a wrong experience but from the way that you are reacting and implying your experiences is the only one that matters and you'll discredit anyone else that doesn't share the same experience as you? please just put me on your ignore list .. and i will do the same .. i'm tired of this

i'm not here to encourage or discourage anyone from buying thai fish from aqua bid .. i'm just stating the risks .. these risks are facts .. as they should be known so there's no surprises if and when it happens

and yes their fins do grow back if they bite during transit .. but they will not grow back to the same edging .. shape .. and lines and rays .. as they were when pictured .. and i'm not just talking about fin bitting .. they can become pale and lethargic during transit and I include those symptoms in my 80% which is what i said

"80% of bettas that are shipped from thailand will tailbite in transit and they arrive pale" <-- or did u choose not to read that part into the statement?

and yes .. you are reimbursed on DOA .. but guess who is paying for shipping of that 2nd replacement fish? and you are not reimbersed on shipping for your first fish (and lets face it .. shipping is not cheep) ..
 
#25 ·
...?

I have said there are risks with shipping fish across the world and that the trans-shippers each have their own policies which the individual buyer will learn about. It is expensive, I have had I think 6 total DOA fish I've had to replace. OP asked for info about AB so I explained how it worked, and I'm not saying my experiences are the only ones that matter, just that not 80% of fish tailbite during shipping, I don't want OP to be freaked out. Similarly, the pale-ness and lethargy goes away very quickly. It's not permanent at all. It's similar to when fish go pale during a car ride or water change. And yes, I have read that statement, as Jennifer is the trans-shipper I use. I told the OP what happens if everything goes smoothly, which is usually does. I have been very unfortunate to have to replace fish. Have you imported fish?

I truly don't know what you're on about. I have nothing against you and am not jumping down your throat or chewing your head off? I have also posted compliments and added to lots of your threads. Just because we disagree occasionally doesn't mean I'm attacking you or we have to ignore one another, I'm sorry you feel that way. That's a personal choice but you're creating a personal issue where there really isn't one. If you have a personal problem with me I suggest you PM me to talk or discuss it with a mod.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top