Looking for a source for Crowntails

[Dan D]

Hello, my first post is looking for a good source to buy from here in the states. I did read the sticky on aquabid and proceed to check that out, but I just don't want the headaches of what I was reading with transportation. I feel very comfortable with priority mail as I have received numerous corals, show guppies & endlers that way with 0 issues. I am able to recieve them right from the post office (no sitting in a mailbox)

I will give a quick background on myself, I'm 50 years old, been raising & breeding fish since I was in single digits so I guess I can say I have 40 + years experience. I have kept saltwater reef tanks & corals, planted freshwater tanks, raised cichlids, raised endlers, raised shrimp. I know how to check for amonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, kh, gh & fully understand the "cycle"

I finally have my dream tank ! A 5 gallon wall mounted aquarium showpiece
after doing my homework, I want it planted with anubias nana petite & a beautiful red crowntail betta ! While I'm at it I would like to purchase a female red crowntail mate (to be kept separate until I better understand breeding behavior) I have already did a lot of reading here (obviously I have more to go as I enjoy learning & you can never know too much about a fish specie )

I already have the tank cycled as I used 100% of the gravel from an established pariste free tank. I do need to learn if cycling even comes into play with betta's (yes I have read they get gill burn from amonia just like any other fish) but how the heck are the little glass cubes with no substrate (for the good bacteria to colonize on or no filter bed to colonize on) maintaining any kind of cycle ? (like I said I do have more to learn, but I will have a lot of this forum read over this weekend & will soon learn)

I live in rural michigan, over an hour from any decent petstore, I would like to just buy a nice pair online, in today's world (at least in the U.S.) I wouldn't think that would be that difficult, but I have not found much, but would like advice from experienced people here verses me just stumbling on a website anyways. I read here somewhere to start off with just one type to breed & not get overwhelmed with too many colors / styles (makes sense) also read to start off with good stock (also makes sense ! ) so all advice is appreciated !

Back to reading / learning more info here

Thanks,
Dan

[Sena Hansler]

Aquabid would be great for you! Look for even fins... An even spread, with the rays being as close to the same length as each other I'll be breeding more crowntails as well, since my last lady was a dud. Definitely keep us updated on your progress!

[Dan D]

Hmmmmm....... Looks like aquabid is the only game in town ! For kicks I googled gecko's for sale online & a million sites came up. The few Betta sites I found have nothing or the sight has not been updated since 2011.

I have nothing against aquabid, I just don't totally understand the carrier thing ? I read the post here about aquabid, & it just pretty much said get a good carrier & it recommended a few. I don't get why they cannot be boxed in a small insulated box with a heat packet & shipped priority ?

I am big into dart frogs, they are pretty fragile, they wouldn't survive in walmart conditions for more than a few days but yet they ship priority mail just fine ? I just got some Endlers from Adrian (considered the premier source for these tropical fish) & they arrived from priority mail just fine & I doubt if they would survive in my local 65 degree walmart store shelf for weeks on end either. I just think Betta's are tougher than them 2 examples, but yet you need a separate source for shipping ? What does this carrier do, pick them up in a car & hand deliver them to you ?

Sorry for the small rant but I had to vent a little as I cannot believe it can be so complicated / expensive for such a popular fish. I do want better stock than wall-mart, petco or petsmart. But not that nice that I am willing to pay $100 apiece for them to come to me fresh from the rice patties ! I just wish I could find a nice quality online source for these like you can dart frogs, gecko's & guppies. I live 2 hours north of Detroit, I might just get the phone book & start calling pet shops, I would just as soon drive & pay the carrier fee to myself & pick them up. I wish I could remember some of the fish stores I was at that had the nice betta selections. I remember seeing some nice ones when I was buying my saltwater reef tank supplies ( I just don't remember which one I was at as when I drive 2 hours for fish I hit a lot of shops )

Again, sorry for the rant, I was just expecting a quick reply of "you can get nice ones from website X"

Dan

[hannah16]

I recommend Polukoff. He is located in Austin Texas and ships both priority and express. He is some BEAUTIFUL fish. He currently is selling an orange CT male.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....66#post1389466

Go straight to the last page.

I've done business with Polukoff (Alex) before. In total I have 3 bettas from him with 5 more on the way. His fish have personality and beautiful colors. Defiantly take a look and send him a message. There are other great betta breeders in the states. One on here I know of is Mo, you can find his post in the "My bettas for sale!" thread and send him a message as well. I don't know if he has Crowns though. Best of luck!!

[hannah16]

Transhipper is what you mean.

Basically you purchase the fish from a betta breeder in Thailand. You pay the amount for the fish plus $5 per fish to ship the fish from Thailand to a Transhipper, normally you can pick what transhipper you want, keep in touch with him or her to let him know what fish you're getting.

The transhipper is in the states. They have to inspect the fish to ensure it's healthy and then give you your shipping options including heat pack and what not. They normally also charge a handling fee for the fish coming to them and they take the time to ship the fish from their location to you. Linda Olson is very nice and good rates!

Then the transhipper ships the fish to yourself and you get your baby.

Not so complicated but defiantly worth it when you find the fish you want. First time is probably stressful on you but the fish are hardy and do fine most of the time. DOA is pretty rare from what I've heard.

[aemaki09]

Transhipping isn't do bad. Hannah16 explained it really well. In general if you are buying two fish it'll be the cost of the fish plus $5 to send it to the states, then another additional $30ish from the Transhipper to you, priority mail, 2 fish.

Kevin is the Transhipper in new York, he's got good rates and is the closest to MI. E-mail him (or whatever Transhipper you choose, and he'll tell you rates and what not. It's a little pricey, but importing is well worth it if you intend to show them.

If you want a US supplier, CHARD56 has good ones, I'm not sure if he has red though.

CT's are my favorite, it sucks because there isn't much choice on AB for them unless you import.

[Dan D]

Thanks for the replies ! After studying aquabid (and your replies) I understand the transporter part a little better now.

Thanks for showing me Polukoff's post Hannah16, I'm tempted to get that one ! If it was red it would be a done deal !

That's how I would like to buy is from a reputable forum member or a source forum members recommend. I'm dragging my feet on aquabid because I'm not registered & to go thru the registration hassles for a couple of fish I'm not just too excited about (if you haven't figured that out by now lol)

Back to check out Polukoff's post, Hmmmmmm...............

Thanks again !
Dan

[hannah16]

Honestly if that orange CT isn't sold by Wed I'll probably get him. He's so pretty.

[Dan D]

Originally Posted by hannah16

Honestly if that orange CT isn't sold by Wed I'll probably get him. He's so pretty.

I sent Polukoff a PM like you suggested wondering about a red one while I'm thinking about that orange one

Thanks for your advice !
Dan

Edit: I just read a banner saying adoption, buying, selling threads should be in the classified forum, I don't have a 100 posts yet so I cannot reply to Polukoff's post. I sent a PM, but I guess I need to quit discussing buying on this post as I didn't intend to break any rules.

[aemaki09]

Originally Posted by hannah16

Honestly if that orange CT isn't sold by Wed I'll probably get him. He's so pretty.

I'm dying for that one too!!! If I had the cash...oh, if only I had the cash!!!