# I just bought a betta from thailand - I'm excited (scared too)



## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

OK, so two bettas are apparently not enough when you have an extra tank and it fits perfectly on newly remodeled bathroom counter - my neighbor suggested it, I'm not taking all the blame. Hubby said, "happy valentine's day!" ( Thank goodness for another holiday just in time!) 

So I very rarely wander thru aquabid but this time I got stuck on two. Went back looked again next day. And next. Then I called the mysterious transshipper in FL Jesse to see if he really exists. SOLD!!!! Jesse was wonderful, so helpful and informative - AND he knew my seller (as in "he gets hundreds of fish from him and they look good "). The second fish I was considering he did not know seller plus no reviews so just no (even though that seller emailed me he had just switched from ebay to aquabid hence no reviews.)

So the first fish that caught my eye was in fact the known seller fish so back to aquabid I go, and what do you know, the second fish has a bid on it. It's a sign!!! First fish is meant to be mine! So I bid the start price with no increase and won. (I should mention I had seller email me a video beforehand too.) 

So I'm excited and praying for my new crowntail (I'm partial to crowntails because my DT Rosetail is a tail snacker, and my other CT king already comes shredded LOL!) to travel safely and warmly and arrive happily to a new loving home! He should get to me around 1/30. Will be a long two weeks..

ACCLIMATION ADVICE WELCOME - or tips from anyone who has traveled down this path successfully or otherwise. NAME IDEAS TOO - you all are great at that - I think he looks like a sunset at twilight but is twilight too simple? The seller calls him an Amsterdam crowntail no idea why - but Amsterdam related names maybe? He is also my 3rd betta so trio related names? Or whatever you see...

Thank you all so much for any help you can spare.


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## blueridge (Jul 1, 2011)

First off congrats on your first aquabid purchase! :-D Aquabid is a dangerous place :lol:

I wish I had name suggestions, but I normally can't name a betta unless I see it in person. No suggestions here! Sorry 

As for acclimation, I have acclimated my bettas like I do with the regular guys from the store. I put them and their bag water in a cup, and then float it in the new tank, taking out old water, and putting in tank water over a matter of 30-45 min. maybe an hour tending how the betta is doing. Of course you should leave lights off, and make sure it is quiet around the tank so your guy can settle in over night.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Well, if he reminded me of "twilight" I would name him "Pattinson," "Robert," "Lautner," "Kellan" (Emmet Cullen character) or "Taylor." But I love Pattinson.

But that's the way my mind works. ;-)


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I just bought my first import as well  for some reason I'm not as worried compared to when I was waiting for my eBay fish Volga. I feel like these Thai-bred Bettas are very valuable, and so everyone will do anything in their power to keep them safe and sound. Great choice by the way he's beautiful! I'm not a Twilight fan ( XD ) but I do like the sound of "Saga". As in the Twilight Saga?


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

Pretty!
I dunno why, but he looks like a Victor to me.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Thank you for all the great suggestions! I am not a huge Twilight the movie fan, I was thinking more in terms of the colors in the "celestial" event, I have posted a comparison photo. I was just thinking calling him twilight was just too easy and obvious (or sunset for that matter). A friend of mine said he looks like fireworks (so call him "ooooohhhhh aahhhhh"? LOL.) Victor reminds me of the Hunger Games but also works with Van Gogh of course, the Amsterdam factor. There is room for exploration there. Please keep the suggestions coming and happy to hear acclimation is not too painful...


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Seren27 said:


> I just bought my first import as well  for some reason I'm not as worried compared to when I was waiting for my eBay fish Volga. I feel like these Thai-bred Bettas are very valuable, and so everyone will do anything in their power to keep them safe and sound. Great choice by the way he's beautiful! I'm not a Twilight fan ( XD ) but I do like the sound of "Saga". As in the Twilight Saga?


Seren, is your betta going to Jesse, the transhipper? When is he expected? I would love to see a photo. I will keep both of our fish in my prayers for safe transport. I am guessing there were no hiccups with Volga or you would not have tried this again.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Dargent said:


> Seren, is your betta going to Jesse, the transhipper? When is he expected? I would love to see a photo. I will keep both of our fish in my prayers for safe transport. I am guessing there were no hiccups with Volga or you would not have tried this again.


No, mine is going through Koo Yang. I'm in MI, you see. MN is closer. Volga actually came from FL so this is my first import ever. I don't have photos on my phone but she's got a thread on the Betta Pictures section  I ran out of data (again) to go to my laptop ._. She'll be shipped from Thailand on 1st Feb, so she should reach MN by Feb 2nd.


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## LittleMan (Jan 16, 2016)

I LOVE the name Twilight!!!!!


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

*TWILIGHT it is!*

You all inspired me to research a bit and I got some real learnin' in LOL. First of all, it's Vincent Van Gogh, not Victor (duh), who painted many paintings at and even named Twilight. One NYC exhibition of his was called "Colors of the Night", which even ties in with the fireworks theme. So based upon this research, I believe Vincent himself might have named this fish Twilight. I'm good with that  but what I find even more intriguing is the thought that the seller saw a little Van Gogh in this fish hence describing him as Amsterdam... overthinking probably, but still....


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

I just thought he looked like a Victor, as in victory, I'm actually calling my black Dragonscale giant Vincent, because he looks like a starry night.
I think your boy might be called an Amsterdam because of the colors of the flag of Amsterdam.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Witchipoo said:


> I just thought he looked like a Victor, as in victory, I'm actually calling my black Dragonscale giant Vincent, because he looks like a starry night.
> I think your boy might be called an Amsterdam because of the colors of the flag of Amsterdam.


Funny I actually thought of victory from your suggestion. No, that mis-leap thinking it was Victor van gogh was all me....but it did lead to some interesting research. I'm glad I didn't settle on Vincent since that belongs to your starry night, would love to see a photo of him! And you are right, I think it's the flag, but that's ok too


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

Dargent said:


> Funny I actually thought of victory from your suggestion. No, that mis-leap thinking it was Victor van gogh was all me....but it did lead to some interesting research. I'm glad I didn't settle on Vincent since that belongs to your starry night, would love to see a photo of him! And you are right, I think it's the flag, but that's ok too


I'm always happy to show him off!


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Witchipoo said:


> I'm always happy to show him off!
> View attachment 698441


WOW!!!! and double WOW!!!!! Vincent - I'm seeing stars!


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

I know right? He's a full 7 inches long now from nose to tail tip. 4 months old. I love his head, his body style and his demeaned, he's very sure of himself. Most I've ever paid for a Betta, but he was well worth it.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Ooohh show and tell! I'll never get tired of seeing Witchipoo's Vincent  reminds me of middle school though since I had a mean teacher with that name ._. Anyway. Now that I have internet data again...

This is Volga. Technically he's also a Thai import, but the seller imported him as a baby for re-sale. So I didn't have to deal with that part.



with Willow, I had to deal with the whole Thai import thing myself


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

Ooh! Volga is gorgeous!
I just love Willow's black eyes in that light head, very pretty.


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## perryfish (Jan 17, 2016)

oh! I noticed that Witchipoo mentioned it, but I was going to point out that the Amsterdam probably came about because of the Dutch people's affinity for the color orange 
I've recently spent a lot of time in the Amsterdam airport and his coloring actually reminds me a bit of the uniforms the attendants wear: bright blue pantsuits with a blue and orange neck scarf. I thought they looked pretty sharp haha. The only other Amsterdam/dutch related name I can think of is some sort of William of Orange variation haha


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Settled on Hanabi (japanese for fireworks) after meeting him but love the background on Amsterdam thanks! He arrived Saturday after postal service drama and a day late. Acclimated to a one gal bowl with hornwort and moss ball to watch for eating and pooping. After starting new thread about feeding these Thai guys I finally got him to eat my omega mini pellets yesterday, and saw a nice big poop today, so into the 2.5 glass cube filtered cycled and planted he went. Totally paled out, again, freaking etc. But im watching closely. Bowl is ready if he has to go back in an emergency. Here he is in first few seconds in tank.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Seren I didnt realize you were a CT fan too - volga is stunning! Did you get your package yet today?


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## Bobioden (Dec 23, 2015)

Witchipoo said:


> I know right? He's a full 7 inches long now from nose to tail tip. 4 months old. I love his head, his body style and his demeaned, he's very sure of himself. Most I've ever paid for a Betta, but he was well worth it.


I didn't realize he was THAT long. 7 inches. That is huge.


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

Bobioden said:


> I didn't realize he was THAT long. 7 inches. That is huge.


That includes his tail though. He has reached almost 4 inches body length.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Whats a ball park range total shipping etc giant like him range in cost? If you don't mind me asking? My new Thai CT is very pretty and not something I would find locally but probably not worth $70 unless he colors back up like his seller photo. Meaning deep blue black and pinky orange, not aqua and light orange. See photo comparison granted that is day one pale but he is back to that again LOL. He is warming up to me a little, not as skittish or hiding but not excited to see me yet either. Still I wouldnt send him back, and he beats a dozen roses from the hubby for Valentine's so I really cant complain.


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## LittleStar (Oct 2, 2015)

Beautiful Betta's! Names that came to mind are: Mozart and Picasso. 
Enjoy!


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

He's beautiful!
Beats flowers all over the place.
As for shipping a giant, I paid $10 to get each giant here from Thailand, but I don't know about from the transhipper, Linda Olsen lives about 30 miles from me, she charges me $2 per fish to pick them up. I have her $12 today because she's been keeping them since Monday for me, we got slammed with a snow storm Monday night and I just got up there to pick the girls up today.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Great suggestions LittleStar! My neighbor suggested Hanabi because it means fireworks in japanese and it fits so he is Hanabi!

How fortunate witchipoo, I paid an extra $38 for overnight shipping and he came two days later..my transshipper has to start the claim and im hoping he will.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

OMG just what is it with mailing companies lately =\ I had to file a claim for my late foster too. I'm just hating USPS right now. Might make a full switch to FedEx. They're costly, but rarely late. Something I won't mind paying extra for.

Speaking of, fun fact: the Japanese version of will-o-the-wisp (my Thai import girl's name and a mythical ball of light found in many folktales) is called Onibi  they're practically cousins!


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Seren - I love it! I must save that in the event my boys ever get a sister. How is Willow doing? Hanabi is settling and coloring a bit more today.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Willow is a breeze. She eats daphnia just like everyone else this morning. All credit goes to her trans shipper, Koo Yang. He triple-bagged the fish, used a purple paper as the third "bag" so the fish stayed dark, oxygenated the primary bag and kept it at a comfy 82F. I'm SO using him again!

Not sure though, Willow is my first import. Perhaps I'm just lucky. We'll see with my 5-in-1 package arriving on the 15th XD


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

I didnt realize you are starting a sorority?


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Hanabi was in the Thai packaging which was capsule shaped a couple layers bags and then paper wrapped with shipping info by seller. I could see where transshipper Jesse had torn open a piece to check for life I guess. Although he never answered when I asked if he even ships decessed fish.... I will say that Jesse boxed well. I didnt think I would ever find the fish for packing material. And of course a nice very warm still heater pad. I measured the water he came in about 1/3 cup. The whole capsule would fit in a 2 cup measure or bigger so lots of air in there.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Oh no, I have no room, knowledge nor courage to start a sorority. It's these guys: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=652650


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Oh WOW! Any one of them sold yet?


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Dargent said:


> Oh WOW! Any one of them sold yet?


Yes, Number Three (copper devil) is sold  the rest are still available.

I'm beating myself up for not being able to take Number One TBH. He's more of an orchid BF instead of blue BF, but he IS blue(ish) and he DOES have a clean, wide butterfly band. Unfortunately keeping him would require me to toss out my microwave for space. I kinda don't think it's wise x)


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

I hear you on tank space. Im full too. 4 tanks total, 3 in kitchen, 1 in master bath. I make rookie mistakes so no tanks on hardwood or carpet for now... I accidentally siphoned about 5 gals onto kitchen floor so that told me im not ready for prime time yet LOL! I have to say Hanabi is growing on me. Between the breathtaking colors starting to come in and a cute playful curious nature, im falling in love. still overpriced but still better than flowers or chocolates.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Seren, out of curiosity, is my first betta ever (the one who started it all) really a butterfly doubletail. He was marked HMDT at Petsmart. It is 4 months later now and he is completely different. See photo.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Nope, just a marble  but he looks more like a Blue Cambodian now. Even if technically he's still a marble x) to be a BF, there needs to be a clear separation between two colors on all the fins. Your boy has light blue reaching all the way to the end of the caudal. Same thing on one part of the dorsal. So even if the anal shows a BF pattern he's not considered a BF.

I bargained for this on my Petco when I purchased my marble foster. He has an incomplete, thin steel blue band on his fins that bled all over the place on the dorsal. I told the cashier "the cup says Butterfly, but he really is not". So I ran with a $5 off mwahahaha


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Seren, You can see in this photo that the lower caudal white margin would be there if he didn't have it for lunch! But I just looked and yes dorsal has a streak going to top. So would he be a rosetail? Way too much frilly fins to be a regular doubletail, he looked like a DT 4 months ago but not anymore...


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Pic goes blurry when I zoom in so I can't tell. Try to do a ray count if he's patient enough. Probably not though. Never heard of DTRT. HMs can have up to 16 rays, so if you're used to seeing the 4- or 8-ray ones they may look like a rose. Someone here wrote RTs have about 32 rays. Which is A LOT. 

Well BF or not, he's definitely marble-based  so even if he's a BF today, he may not be next month.


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

He's not overpriced, he's a well bred, well raised fish that you're not going to have to "fix" the minute you get him home. Breeding and raising quality stock of any species is not cheap or easy. 
It's the same with puppies, if you buy a quality pup from a reputable breeder you'll pay more up front and save thousands over the course of their life in vet bills and heartbreak. 
You have made a good investment that will give you years of pleasure with little health problems.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Seren - Olivia? I just noticed name change and thought I was going crazy? So I am learning here. Rosetail is about number of rays and butterfly is about color margins, so what makes my boy a marble? Marble is the last thing I would have guessed...

Witchipoo - thank you so much for those words of encouragement. I can tell the difference in the quality of the rays and coloring but never thought about health aspects. I feel much better about it now. Although I told myself that it was an adventure, the entire experience, and not only about the product. And it was a stressful adventure in the delivery stages but in the end the product is pretty darn cute! So its all good. Thank you. He is tough to photograph but yesterday's pic shows the aqua color departing and the deep hues setting in - he truly is fireworks in flight!


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

He's beautiful. I'm glad you feel better.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Dargent said:


> Seren - Olivia? I just noticed name change and thought I was going crazy? So I am learning here. Rosetail is about number of rays and butterfly is about color margins, so what makes my boy a marble? Marble is the last thing I would have guessed...
> 
> Witchipoo - thank you so much for those words of encouragement. I can tell the difference in the quality of the rays and coloring but never thought about health aspects. I feel much better about it now. Although I told myself that it was an adventure, the entire experience, and not only about the product. And it was a stressful adventure in the delivery stages but in the end the product is pretty darn cute! So its all good. Thank you. He is tough to photograph but yesterday's pic shows the aqua color departing and the deep hues setting in - he truly is fireworks in flight!


Hehe yea I finally requested a username change. It's getting confusing with people calling me "Seren" when I'm talking about Seren! XD so I'm done borrowing my girl's name. I'm just me now lol

Marble is a genetic makeup that enables a fish to change colors constantly. Like your DT! Usually the tell-tale sign is the presence of both red and blue on the fish - obvious or not. Sometimes the red is just a faint wash - like on our boy's body on the first pic - but it's still there.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Olivia - when Doublure D'Argent was about a month with me I noticed small red streaks in his dorsal, and that is also when the tailbiting started. I was so new I immediately thought dread disease. Someone on here was kind enough to tell me the marks were coloring and it was tail biting. So if he was about 3 months old when I got him, he was tiny, then color changing started around 4-5 months. The shade of blue changes by the month but most noticeable is his goldish crown that continues to get bigger. Just making sure this is part of his marble...


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Yep. Marbling. Love his name!


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Another view. He acts and eats fine. Always has.


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Lol, yes a fancy French one for this boy. Closest translation of Silver Lining. His body was very iridescent, with those light blue sky fins, so he appeared cloud like then. Now he is a hot mess but still my most curious friendly betta, and the best dancer by far. Although Hanabi is working on his moves!


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## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

Dargent said:


> Another view. He acts and eats fine. Always has.


He is adorable! Really cute picture.


:-D


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

Thank you Bettasplendid! Olivia is teaching me about colors and fin types. Purpose was to show head marbling but I guess I got a cute face shot along with it. If I was trying to get a face shot it would never have happened LOL


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## Dargent (Oct 29, 2015)

*Starting over in Drogons tank*

Plastic dragon lair smelled funny. Cobalt blue glass too iffy.. I think a floating log house maybe? Have never tried one yet so what the heck? You can see Drogon resting on his anubia. Very cute


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