Seeking Australian breeders

[Bombalurina]

Pretty much what the title says. :) I may not be permitted to get another betta just yet, but I am keen to find anyone who is breeding on the continent or ships to here so that I have some options. :)

[LittleBettaFish]

The AusAqua forum has a lot of members who are betta breeders

http://ausaqua.net/forum/index.php?act=idx

It contains a section about who is breeding what. Shadoh in QLD has a lot of nice HMPK growing out at the moment.

Also, Fishchicks in QLD sells imported pairs. I get a lot of nice bettas from her, including the one in my avatar.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Fishchick65

[trilobite]

So close yet so far cant wait to move to Oz. Some nice fish over there

[LittleBettaFish]

Does NZ even have a transhipper? That could be a viable business venture. Although I have heard sheep are very big over there

Seriously though, how do you usually get your bettas in? Through your LFS? Maybe see if one has an importing license and is interested in getting in some higher-quality fish.

The bigger LFS near my house imports and quarantines their own fish rather than purchase through a wholesaler. This means they carry things like HMs, Dumbos and Giants.

[Banicks]

Yea I haven't seen an importer for NZ! What a bugger, unless you can get one of your LFS to do it for you? Must mean the variety over there is limited to VTs?

LBF will any of your wilds spawn be up for sale in the near future?

[trilobite]

Importing here is useless, it literally costs thousands of dollars for the QT, paperwork, testing and all that because nz needs to be "clean and green" So no one really does it since it costs way more then its worth.
I think there a few with licenses but in order to make a shipment worth it we would need a whole bunch of fish imported otherwise its not worth the cost, and there aren't that many betta fans in nz.
We have only just received dragons into nz which go for $50. And te worst part of it is that the best LFS and breeders are in the north island and half of them are too scared to ship down to chch where I am and if they do then its another $40 for shipping... Sorry just my little rant.
But yeah...importing into nz is virtually impossible unless you are absolutely loaded with cash... I may have to start up a sheep breeding business to raise money for the cause haha

[Banicks]

Really? I can't envisage why NZ customs would be so much different and more expensive. Then again, I suppose your main industry is the fish trade, my girlfriend is from Bluff which is basically nothing but fish jobs either on the boats or at the factories. Wouldn't want any nasties getting through the border contaminating livelihood.

$50 bucks for dragons is quite common on AQ from what I’ve seen, then another $40 for p&h and customs for fishchick up in QLD. I think comes to about the same cost all around for AU and NZ. Never used fishchick yet as I haven’t found what I’m looking for on AQ.

In the meantime I’m really wanting to move towards wilds for experience! Suppose you’ll just have to swim the pond and come on over to AU mate!

[LittleBettaFish]

That's annoying Trilobite. I want to move to the US. They have so many more species of fish and plants available and they're all so much cheaper.

Banicks, probably the only fry I'd sell would be my albis, and that would be locally. The thought of shipping anything live terrifies me. The last lot of fish I received, the postman left them in the sun and didn't even bother to knock.

Jodi's youtube channel has heaps of bettas she has imported in herself to sell at her store. She has been uploading a few recently, so you might find something you like there if nothing on AB has caught your eye.

She also occasionally sells wilds. All of mine from her have been healthy and breeding-fit.

[Banicks]

No worries - yea the whole transhipping thing for living creatures must be so stressful!

I'll take a look at her when I get home. If not I can always get my wilds from Aquaristic when they get into stock. $50 for a pair - expensive huh?

[LittleBettaFish]

I've paid anywhere from $80-$100 for a pair of wilds and $70-$100 for a pair of splendens.

I do have to say that it is so worth paying that amount of money to have a good-quality fish. Mine are still just pets, but there is something about a well-bred import that is so much more attractive than even the nicest pet store betta.

I don't want to think how much I've squandered on my fish hobby. My mum recently told me it wasn't a hobby anymore but an addiction haha.

You can email Jodi and see what she has in stock and what is coming in. It sometimes takes her a day or so to answer as she's busy, but her email is listed on her youtube videos.