# R.i.p to my dream fish



## Allison408

I ordered a fish that i fell in love with from ebay. The moment it arrived i was so excited to finally have it. But when i looked at the poor thing in the box, his tail was pinned between a fold in the bag he was in. I hurried to free him but as soon as i put him in a tank i could tell he wasnt going to be able to swim normally. He ended up dying after 4 days. His body was bent still when he died. I cant imagine how much pain he was in...


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## Allison408

This is a picture of my beautiful fish


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## Rainbo

I'm so sorry for your loss! He was a beautiful guy.


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## swee777

So sorry you are going through this. Much support.


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## Allison408

Thank you for your support. It has been a tough 2 days. I know it sounds crazy but i haven't even removed him from the tank he died in. I don't even want to go near it. I want to remember the way he looked when he was still alive. Its hard to let go. I contacted the person i bought it from to let them know that they should be more careful when packing fish to be shipped. God forbid another fish having to go through that. Imagine if you went swimming and your legs got pinned down. What a horrible death for a fish. He asked me for pictures of the injured tail.. But i uploaded videos on youtube instead.. So he could see him just struggling to stay sitting on the bottom of the tank..


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## Allison408

If anyone wants to see the videos.. They are titled: Injured plakat #1 & injured plakat


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## RussellTheShihTzu

Is the seller going to compensate you for your loss? 

If you have proof it was the seller's fault and paid via PayPal you can probably get your $$ back. Same if you bought him on eBay. I believe on eBay they require you wait seven days to leave negative feedback is to to give seller time to make things right.


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## bluesamphire

Poor little chap. What a terrible ordeal for him.


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## Allison408

He said that he was sorry and that this was the first time it happened to him. I believe him so I didnt really ask him for anything in return but he did offer me a fish he bred himself in America that was similar looking for free and he shipped it with overnight shipping. He also refunded me $10. The fish is similar looking.. but not nearly as beautiful. I am just happy that this one is healthy and arrived safely. I am going to think twice about buying fish through Ebay. Who knows how much crap those poor fishes have to go through being shipped by regular people. I think fishes should not be allowed to be mailed through USPS because those boxes get tossed around.


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## Allison408

This is the replacement fish he sent me


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## RussellTheShihTzu

Glad the seller treated you very fairly. The new boy is really cute and may change as he matures....including getting more orange on his body.

I understand what you're saying about buying online. But keep in mind fish shipped to retailers also get tossed around. So unless you buy from a local breeder that's always going to be the case.


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## DaceyJ

I'm so sorry you lost your first fish, but your new one is gorgeous, too. I see some of the koi colors of orange, red, and black it looks like he may be getting. He will be a fun one to watch as time goes on. I hope you enjoy him!


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## OrchidxBetta

I'm sorry to read what happened. The replacement fella is stunning.


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## Old Dog 59

Not nearly as nice as the one you wanted. There are sellers on Ebay and on line that are really worth buying from and they go the extra mile to insure the fish arrives safely and in good shape. Their reputations are at stake. If you would like the names of these sellers send a PM to me and I'll send you their link.


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## RussellTheShihTzu

Accidents happen; bags shift. It can happen to anyone. I have been buying online fish since early 2013 and can tell you even the most careful seller can make a mistake. 

I would not seek out another seller if, in future, this one had a Betta I wanted and were in the market. He treated you fairly and bent over backwards. I imagine he was as shocked as you that this happened. He refunded you $10 and even shipped the new boy Overnight ... which probably cost him $35-$45. IME, that is never the case. Sellers on eBay will replace the fish but YOU have to pay to reship or, they will refund your original price but not the shipping. 

This seller also sent you a lovely, comparable (conformation-wise) Betta...most likely a sibling. Is his pattern as nice? No, but as several have mentioned, these are young Betta and patterns can change. Had he survived, your other boy could well have ended a solid orange as they appear to have a marble gene.


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## BettaMom❤

My condolences. I don't think many people who do not keep fish understand the heartwrenching loss that comes with losing your beloved fish. In this difficult time, take comfort in knowing that you would have given him a great home.


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## Veloran

I'm sorry for the loss of that beautiful little one.
I wish it were not so, but there is always loss with getting these little guys to the customer. Whether the store is the one that takes receives the DOA or if it is the customer, it happens and we all wish that 100% of deliveries could be death and injury free. Heck, we can't even mass transport people 100% accident free. It just seems very personal when it happens to us.

I believe the seller did right by you as best he could. I know many of the sellers in their DOA policy require you to submit picture proof before opening the bag, and I see that this seller sent you a replacement at their expense with proof after the fish was in the tank. It might be just me, but given the protections sellers have, this one went above and beyond. I understand the reasoning for the seller policy, but I wish they all treated customers this way.

I know this doesn't help when you lose your dream fish but here's a little story about my Mishi (avatar pic). He wasn't what I was looking for when I bought him, I thought I might regret buying him when I brought him home and I questioned buying him when he was constantly sick. If you gave me a chance to do it over again, I would buy him again without hesitation and I wouldn't trade the time he spent with me for any other fish out there.


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## Sonicbetta

All takes someone not pay attention when packaging. So sorry for your loss. He was Awesome too bad. but make sure there accountable for their mistake.


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## Moon Child

Hi there,

I actually did not realize that people purchased their betta fish online. So was it all the way from Thailand or Vietnam/Indonesia?

I guess I thought since they've been in North America for so long, that ppl mostly bought them from here ..Well I live in canada actually and only got my first betta fish as a gift at the end of July. 

I don't think we have Petco up here but Petsmart is no different and i HATE the way they are kept in jars. It's cruel and unnecessary. I mentioned that to the store person but they said oh they move very fast blah blah blah but one was at the bottom of the cup clearly passed away and it really bothered me. 

My goodness, that must have been really traumatizing to see that he was shipped like that. That's terrible :-( I just wanted to say I am really sorry for this sad loss of yours and I hope soon you can feel better and maybe get one from not so far away? That you can maybe see in person and make sure that the fish are healthy etc. But then again, I don't know how most ppl aquire their betta fish. I just read your post and had no idea that ordering them online or from overseas was a common thing. He was so lovely tho :-(


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## Allison408

Thank you to all who read my post. The replacement fish is doing great and is super active. He is much younger and smaller than the first fish. In fact in the 16 years that i have been collecting betta, i have never had one this young. I must admit... He is quite fun to watch. He has a pink tinged color to his cellophane body. I notice the koi colors near his face are becoming brighter. Im just grateful that he is alive and happy. Thanks again to all for your kind words and support. I wish you all the best.


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## Allison408

I ordered it from someone in texas, but he was originally from thailand. Let me tell you.. It was stunning. I notice that the fish from thailand and other countries are (in my opinion) higher quality fish. The replacement fish i got was bred my the seller i bought the original fish from. He had bred fish he bought from thailand at his home in texas. It was nice looking but not as perfect as the one that died. Maybe the combination of fish he used to breed wasnt the right mix? The original fish i had bought had such opaque white scales. The white scales were thick, like armor. I cant describe if but it was gorgeous. The see through parts were orange tinged cellophane. The new one is more of a pink toned fish with a translucent pearl white body.


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## •ALLISON•

Hi.. I wanna do a follow up on my replacement betta. You guys were right about him being a koi betta. He has since changed colors since i've had him. In person he has clear pink tinged fins.. But he has like 3 different colors of pearl to him. It reminds me of a mermaid. The odd part is that he has red spots and a few tiny bright yellow dots appearing. The colors dont seem to go well together but he is still changing..


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## •ALLISON•




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## fishowner550

Wow, hes really pretty!


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## Sergeant Betta

Yup!


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