Yeah sometimes when the fins are just right I think they look lovely! I don't know what makes them "right," probably fin proportion to head and to the other fins. I feel like that with hmpks too, I'm super specific. Almost has to be something I've never seen before, or something I've seen before done perfectly, with good ray branching, and combined with the feeling you get when you see the perfect betta :) Sometimes I see a technically perfect betta and there's no feeling for me so I'm not interested. Other times I see a perfect super blue dragon, which is sort of "boring" you know? An all blue betta, but something about him or her will jump out at me. Do you or does anyone else have experiences like this?
I've imported probably 25 bettas or so, all from Thailand from various breeders through Jennifer Vivernos. Let's say you win a fish for $15. Add $5 to ship to U.S., so we're at $20. For that one fish with overnight shipping and all that goes with it, you're up to about $58 for fish and shipping to your home. Adding fish to the shipping cost is only like $3 a fish after that initial high cost. But... then you have the $20 - however much you want to spend per fish adding onto total cost.
I'd say I've spent around a $500? Not really sure to be honest. Probably more actually, it's kind of amazing when you sit to think about it. Part of the reason for this is I have had an unusually high frequency of DOA fish. Shipping is non-refundable, so getting a replacement fish costs you another $35 in shipping, or more. I've had like 6 or 7 DOA fish, and I'm almost 100% positive it's the mail carriers here. They give the wrong people the wrong stuff all the time, and hardly anyone else has DOA's, even with priority shipping which is slower. This time, I'm going to have Jennifer write THIS SIDE UP - LIVE ANIMAL on the box 1000 times and hope it makes a difference.
OK. I think when i get back to NY, I may look into getting some fish from AB. I was always afraid to ship them up here due to the extreme cold. I think I may look for some giants and try breeding again.
For me, it's all about color. I don't seem to care too much how perfect the fins or rays are. They needs to look pretty. OR if i see them in their cup and they give me "the look", they usually end up comming home with me.
He is so gorgeous, I love his blue eyes. I also really like the cellophane and red betta, it's hard to tell about his branching though and his fins are a little short for my taste, it could just be because he's young. Either way, he is stunning!
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