# Bettas in Vietnam and the Aquarium hobby in Asia.



## yogurtpooh (Sep 7, 2012)

Hey guys, I'm Kyle, and I grew up keeping and breeding bettas. I've been able continue this hobby since I relocated to Vietnam. I just wanted to share some videos of bettas and how much of Asia keeps and sells their fish. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. 

This first video is my friend's halfmoon betta collection... all of which he bred himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcnveY8TUBo

bettas being sold right off of the road. Each one's 1 dollar 50 cents or less
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20uuch9rHHA

here's a local fish store on the back of a bike off the streets. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JREA6OUgAF0

This is a typical local fish store. It's got some great selections. I even bought a betta in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS28PttXWvw

This store is right next door to the one above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVChB-rRam4

This is a fish farm in the countryside. This woman sells whatever she breeds on the side of the road. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f7UJZB5fYk

thanks for watching.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Interesting videos! What do you do in Vietnam? You sound like you're fluent in both languages. I think I would have a hard time seeing so many shops (like the motorcycle one) because it's so very different than what I am used to here in Canada. I don't anthropomorphize fish but I can see their discomfort in some of those tanks and it bothers me. 

Can you show pictures of your set up(s) with that gorgeous halfmoon you bought on the street?

Vietnam seems like a beautiful place to visit


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## Rosalinds (Feb 15, 2014)

These videos were really interesting to watch. Thanks for sharing! And I would like to see videos of your tank set up(s) as well.


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## knottymare (Feb 23, 2014)

What a treat to see this! Thank you!

What is so interesting to me is that the breeder set ups are so spartan and yet seem to work quite well.


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## yogurtpooh (Sep 7, 2012)

I do have videos of my bettas, but I don't want to post them here because I would just get flamed. In Vietnam we keep fish differently. You won't ever see a betta in a tank. Most people keep them in tiny tiny jars. I keep mine in slightly larger jars, but I still get a lot of heat from people online who own 1 fish and houses the fish in a 10 gallon tank or so. It's a different perspective.

Right now, I have no tanks set up because I travel a lot. I'm a writer and teacher over here, but I keep my YouTube channel quite active by traveling all over Asia. 

Yes, I think some of them are very uncomfortable. They don't seem really all that healthy, especially goldfish that require a lot of oxygen in the water. Aeration isn't a big deal over here in the minds of people. 

Thanks for watching. 
Next up, I'll post a video of a fish store that also sells smoothies.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I like to learn of the different perspectives and cultural methods of dealing with fish. You're right, you would catch a whole lot of flak for the way you keep them. But the way I see it is if the country keeps them a certain way it doesn't mean you have to. Sure, in Canada they're sold in cups and the "tank" kits sold with them are .5 gallon; doesn't mean I would keep them this way. 

Obviously we're all different and we will continue to do what we want in our own lives. Nothing changes with ignorance however. 

I hope you stay around a while because I do look forward to seeing your next videos!


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## knottymare (Feb 23, 2014)

I've always used breeding as a sign that a fish is getting, at the very least, it's minimum requirements met. 

There are so many issues - the psychological health of a fish is a fairly controversial topic... those of us who can keep a fish and can worry over it's mental health are lucky! But I think it's important for people to recognize that if the fish are breeding, they are healthy. 

I think this is incredibly interesting. I hope you all will continue to share


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

I am envious! So Cool,amazing fish,soo many in one place.Thank you for the share.


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## knottymare (Feb 23, 2014)

I have a purely academic question. 

I would assume that a breeder, especially the large scale operations I saw in videos in Asia, would churn through fish fairly quickly. By that I mean that as you breed, you can only see progression through the development of subsequent generations so you wouldn't be as concerned with keep the fish for years and years. I assume that longevity wouldn't be a goal; more likely that raising the fish to it's prime, breeding it as often as ??? how many times and then moving to the next generation. If my assumption is correct, how long is the lifespan for the fish kept in this cycle?

I have ZERO judgement about this. I'm a realist. I keep chickens as pets but don't have any qualms eating chicken, even knowing that commercially produced chickens live a sad, short existence. I'm just really curious about the difference in strategy...


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## yogurtpooh (Sep 7, 2012)

For me, if a betta is building a bubble nest, then it's generally healthy. The way it attacks food, the way it swims etc etc. it's pretty easy to spot an unhealthy betta.

breeders use a lot different methods here. hobbyists as well. No better ever uses heaters of filters here. In fact, most of them that I spoke to will add salt and tetracycline for human consumption straight into the water. They also only feed their bettas live bloodworms or tubifex worms. That's it. The whole complete diet thing that the west praises usually might be a ploy for commercial fish food makers to get you to buy more food. 
Also, people feed their bettas mosquito larvae as well, which is actually more closer to their natural diet than anything else .

the main strategy is to churn them out, but once again, most fish in Asia aren't thriving. When I kept cichlids back home they were so much healthier than anything I see here. But then again, most people can't afford a huge filtration setup or don't have time to really care about nitrate levels. It's tough, but at the same time, planted tanks do really well here. Some of the most beautiful and greenest setups I've seen were in Vietnam. 

most breeders and hobbysts just want as many as possible. they're more like hoarders who want to breed a certain tailshape or a certain color. It's similar to ball python breeders who want to mix and match genes. 
It's really an addiction.


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## SorcerersApprentice (May 31, 2012)

What a cool post, thanks for sharing!


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## Heathcliff (May 30, 2015)

knottymare said:


> I have a purely academic question.
> 
> 
> 
> I have ZERO judgement about this. I'm a realist. I keep chickens as pets but don't have any qualms eating chicken, even knowing that commercially produced chickens live a sad, short existence. I'm just really curious about the difference in strategy...


Apologies for reviving an old thread. 

That is very interesting perspective indeed. Because I believe in promoting chickens as pets, primarily so that people may develop sympathy for factory farmed chickens. Because I have noticed that people who keep chickens tend not to eat chickens.
Additionally. they have much less of an ecological footprint than cats and dogs. 

Coming to fish, yes we should strive to keep our fish in the best possible way. We should also be aware that across the world, every day millions of fish are treated pretty badly by hobbyists, the aquarium trade and the food fish trade.

I am from India and I can relate to this thread.


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## FrostPixie (May 10, 2015)

yogurtpooh said:


> Hey guys, I'm Kyle, and I grew up keeping and breeding bettas. I've been able continue this hobby since I relocated to Vietnam. I just wanted to share some videos of bettas and how much of Asia keeps and sells their fish. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
> 
> This first video is my friend's halfmoon betta collection... all of which he bred himself.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcnveY8TUBo
> ...


Those are some pretty cool videos! So glad you shared them!


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## themamaj (May 11, 2015)

Thank you for sharing your videos. Really interesting!


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