# Finding good betta breeders!



## marjorie

Does anyone know where I can find a really good and trustworthy Betta breeder around Vancouver?

I want to start breeding my own Betta's because of all the fascinating video's I saw on Youtube!

But I dont want to buy Betta's from stores because they're expensive and bad quality.


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## BettaGuy

Hey Marjorie,

I'm pretty sure there aren't major betta breeders around Vancouver anymore. I believe bcbettas has been gone for some time now. If you want real quality, you need to get them through Asia, (especially Thailand), where they breed en masse and therefore will have more show quality stock. If you go on Aquabid, you can find the website to some of these farms just by looking at some of the fish you find interesting. It's a bummer that you would have to spend 20$ + per fish from Asia, and that it would cost approx 55$ shipping to get it over. However, I believe that is the only way you will get that perfect pair you're looking for. I know price is an issue, so this unfortunately isn't the cheapest route, but it would garnish you the quality you seek.

I agree with you that buying bettas around here for breeding show quality fish is not the best option. Its virtually impossible to find an actual show grade fish, and with that, I mean strong bodied, straight edge-finnage, good scale form, colour distribution, and your own asthetic personal choice. Most the bettas imported here are from Florida or the culls from Asian breeders (which still look darn good to what's normally around here, but still pretty sad in terms of betta-potential). That being said, unless you're a serious die-hard, I am assuming this is more of a recreational thing and hobby! In your situation, you're probably going to find your best luck visiting IPU for a female, ( they seem to have a strange abundance of double-tail females) and in general, the most female bettas in Vancouver from what I can remember. Aquarium West also has some females. For males, Aquarium West has mostly crowntails and plakats (white plakats seem to be popular there), and at times, some very nice true halfmoons (yes. that 180 degrees you're probably looking for! Call them first though because they don't always have it. Price 18-25. IPU has the widest selection of males in terms of colour and tail types. Their strongest points were the copper dragon plakats and halfmoon steel/royal/turquoise blues. They have some platinums as well. You should be careful if you want a halfmoon and not accidently get a delta tail there since they don't differentiate the two in price. They have the most varied crowntail colour selection as well. They have a lot of stuff, it depends on what you're interested in. Their delta tails and halfmoons are priced at 25$. Noah's Pet Arc on Broadway and Macdonald has a good selection of halfmoons, solid colour plakats, crowntails, and scissor tails (not double tails.) Some of the females here are larger but their type is unknown. Plakats are MASSIVE here getting around 2.5 inches. Plakats are 16$ and Halfmoon $19. 

I know you don't want to pay a lot for bettas in Vancouver, but the truth is that when breeding, you always pay the most that you can afford. The consequence of not heeding this rule is that you'll almost certainly end up with semi-decent/ subpar babies. Think about it. Asian breeders breed the BEST pairs of their multiple and massive spawns, and even thenm, they cull a lot. Even the ones that make it to the selling level are not all breeding quality. Just look at the majority of our bettas. This being said, one can only imagine what breeding sub-par bettas will yield you. If you're breeding for just recreation and the love of it, get some around here for the lower cost. If you want the quality, you need to import and spend the big $$$$ 

Breeding bettas is a big responsibility financially, time-wise, and ethically, and assuming you've read about the large commitment and low turnout for beginners, I know you'll make the best decision for yourself and the fish. 

Best of luck! If you have any more questions, shoot away


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## marjorie

I totally agree with you about the quality from Vancouver.
Do you think I will have better in Hong Kong, because I will be going there next month.
But the problem is, I dont know how to package the Betta and the legal things about it.


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## marjorie

Do you think I will have better luck*


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## BettaGuy

Hm. I think Hong Kong will have good bettas. Well... definitely more than here. THe only problem is that I don't think you can bring it with you on the plane. In luggage or carry-on. If you want to risk sneaking it through your luggage... its possible, but probably not legal. 

I wonder if you could mail it to your house from Hong Kong. I don't know what the rules are about that though. Perhaps if there are breeders in hong kong, they'll be able to ship internationally legally for you.


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## CCBettas

Not many breeders around. There are a few out east. Importing from asia is very expensive. It would cost much more to ship it legally from Hong Kong than it would to have it shipped through one of the local importers simply because they can group their orders and the costs become marginal.


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## animagusbc

If you are looking for good quality pairs, I would order direct from Asia or go thru a transhipper. I would personally not get pairs locally as they tend to be a big mish mash of all sort of colours and types. If you are just looking at trying your hand at it, yes, go ahead. If you are planning on being serious, get the best pairs you can afford. 

My first pairs came from Marianne at BCBetta and she was a wealth of information for the hobbyist and one thing that I learned from her, is buy the best you can get.

Good Luck!!!


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## kerryneratini

marjorie said:


> Does anyone know where I can find a really good and trustworthy Betta breeder around Vancouver?
> 
> I want to start breeding my own Betta's because of all the fascinating video's I saw on Youtube!
> 
> But I dont want to buy Betta's from stores because they're expensive and bad quality.



Www.westcoastbetta.ca

We're located in Burnaby BC 

Established 2020


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## CRS Fan

Hello Kerry.

I am closing this thread (as it is from 12 years ago). Please introduce yourself in the yellow pages or introduction area.

Respectfully,

Stuart


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