Marianne Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Normally when you breed fish at home, you ask less for them than they do at LFS's. But not with bettas. As far as I can tell, everyone in here generally ask more. They cost around $15-$20 at LFS, while people in here ask for $20-$40. So just out of curiousity, why should I spend $30 on a fish that I can get for $15 at the LFS? Generally, having to go and pick up a fish from a hobbyist/breeder is more hassle too, you need to arrange a time and place that you can both make.. so why should I pay more for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1sloopy57 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 It is a matter of quality and variety. Most of what you are seeing on here for sale isn't available at LFS - they don't get varieties like HM or PK, although sometimes you can pick up CT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 The pet store at the shopping centre has CT's all the time, $15. How's the quality different? Do they live longer and are healthier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Better quality / usually line bred so repeat matings will result in quality young / accurate aging ( never sure of age from LFS) / guarantee that what you pay for is what you get / usually parent stock has been imported at a higher cost than LFS. No different to buying a dog etc from a good breeder over a LFS. Breeders ask more because they know the quality of there stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Better quality / usually line bred so repeat matings will result in quality young / accurate aging ( never sure of age from LFS) / guarantee that what you pay for is what you get / usually parent stock has been imported at a higher cost than LFS. No different to buying a dog etc from a good breeder over a LFS. Breeders ask more because they know the quality of there stock. Well I'm not interested in breeding, I just want a pretty fish, so that doesn't really matter. And the same is true for any fish bred by hobbyists rather than the ones you get at LFS, and they still ask less for them, or even give them away for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Not always, it depends on the fish. I think this might be a case of apples and oranges, or more specifically, Halfmoons and Veiltails. If you were to think of it in dog terms, the fish that go for around the $20 mark from hobbyists are the purebred show dogs and the fish that go for $10 at the LFS are the adorable pound puppies. Someone who wants to breed a specific type and show the offspring won't want the $10 one and someone who wants a lovable pet won't see the value in the $20 one. If you try and get a good HM, CT or HMPK (specific tail shapes that are recognised by show societies and that have standards that most breeders will aim for) at the LFS, which is what most people would be charging that money for, you'll be paying in excess of $60 and probably not getting a very good specimen. From hobbyists, you can get that same type of fish (and better quality with sibling pairs available and age/parentage known) for about $20.That is pretty good considering the money that the breeder would have paid to get that specific "breed" of betta, as most are purchased from overseas and the import costs alone would be more than that for the original pair. I think it is about $30 per fish just for transport and quarantine, that doesn't include the price of the fish, which can be around $20-100USD, depending on quality and rarity) buying these types of fish from a local breeder gives you those same expensive bloodlines for much less money and gives you fish that haven't spent days being packed and shipped for air travel and funnelled through quarantine and then shipped again by road. There are rare occasions when the fish from imported or show pairs will be free or very cheap, but that is usually when things don't go to plan and some unexpected gene rears its head, making the spawn something that is not useful or desirable to the breeder. VT bettas around here sell for about $7-10 for a male and females sell for about $5-8. For pet purposes, they are fine but for breeding purposes they are very much a mixed bag. Again, all the fish you see at the LFS have been shipped from overseas and quarantined in cramped conditions, then moved to more cramped conditions, then shipped to the LFS, then held there til they sell, and then moved in a bag home with the end buyer. They run a much higher risk of picking up a disease with all that moving around, and it has got to be stressful for them. It also takes time, and most breeders want young fish to spawn with. VT isn't a very desirable tail type, you can't easily show them and they aren't a recognised "breed" by the main organisation, so not that many hobbyists will want to buy the offspring, and even less would be able to buy and justify shipping costs. Very few breeders would be selling this type of fish. They are lovely, but as you've pointed out, why would anyone buy them when they can get a similar thing from the LFS? Some people do breed them and some people do buy them from breeders at a slightly higher cost (like me) but at that point the buyer is looking for things like known age and a better idea of genetics. Often, people who breed VTs will sell them for less just to move them on, or sell them to the pet shop for $2 each or something, simply to get rid of the stock. The thing is though, that it costs exactly the same in terms of money and effort to raise a VT spawn or a HM spawn, and no local breeder I know has ever made a profit, even if they sell all their fish at $20+. It is really horses for courses Does that make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paiyan Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hear hear. NO profit to be made whatsoever..it's all for the love of it. So back to the question at hand, why buy from a breeder if you can get a good looking fish from your standard LFS? Because the fish that you get from a breeder tend to stay good looking for a lot longer. No doubt that LFS these days sell some excellent fish, but at least half of the fish that you can buy from local breeders you'll never ever see at an LFS :thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Personal choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Thanks, that does make sense:) I have no plans of breeding my betta when I get one, so I guess one from the LFS is fine for me. If it turns out to not be in good health etc, then maybe I'll get one from a breeder next time, and see how that goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1sloopy57 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Not always, it depends ..................... .................It is really horses for courses Does that make sense? A very clear explanation, callatya. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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