How to Buy a Betta Online

To many people, the concept of buying a fish, online, sounds crazy.

Perhaps its because some of us remember getting a fish in a bag from a pet store, but it also just seems strange for any pet to be posted to you, doesn’t it?

Well, for a little context, it’s important to understand to begin with that a very large number of betta fish are imported from Thailand and Indonesia, and usually by air. This surprised me when I first learnt about – after all if you’re going to buy a puppy, you expect to get it from a breeder in the same country as you unless it’s very rare. However for the betta industry, it’s very normal for fish to be flewn over from abroad, and more common than for your fish to have been bred in the same country.

Given that this is quite often how your fish has arrived in your country, a trip from one side of it to the other sounds a bit less dramatic! That said, if you can find a location nearer to you that has happy and healthy betta that they care well for, definitely give your business to them instead!

How do I know that a seller/better is reputable?

Because you’re not going to be able to do the same checks of living conditions as you might be able to in a pet store or aquarist store, it’s really important to do extra checks before you purchase a betta fish from an online seller. It’s normal for you to pay for the fish in advance, and many sellers operate on platforms such as band, so there’s not necessarily a security for your money if something goes wrong.

Because of this, if the seller operates from a platform such as band, make sure that there are lots of other buyers on there too, and that you can see lots of positive feedback and communication. This sort of situation regulates itself – because someone who does not care for their betta fish that they are selling (or worse, someone who scams or doesn’t deliver the fish that is paid for), will quickly get negative feedback from buyers. If the sellers has the ability to remove or block people from the platform that they are selling on, it’s a big red flag if they are frequently doing this, so keep an eye on the traffic of purchasers before you make a decision. You could also reach out to another purchaser after their fish will have been delivered to ask how they found the experience if you’re unsure.

This is a slight generalisation, but most first time betta owners get their first fish from a pet store or an aquarium shop (or sometimes from someone who can’t take care of one). The type of people who are members of a community where betta are sold regularly are usually owners of many fish, and are therefore very experienced – this has a benefit for the first time online-fish-buyer because you can talk to them and draw on their experience.

Is it normal to see the fish ‘flaring’?

Yes, this is quite common practice to see a photo or video if a fish that is being sold when it is ‘flaring’. If you’re not familiar with this term, when a betta fish is ready to fight or feeling threatened, it will spread the skin in front of its gills forwards and make its fins as big as possible, to look intimidating.

Once your fish is home, you will rarely see this behaviour because there shouldn’t be much to threaten him – though particularly feisty fellas will flare at you for a while until they get used to you, or may occasionally find something unexpected about the tank to flare at.

The reason that you will almost always see a fish flaring in the photos that sellers take of them is because when they are alert and aggressive, the betta’s colours will be brighter, and they display their fins most clearly. This is ideal for the seller who is trying to show you what the fish looks like all coloured up.

Usually the fish will be placed in special empty display tanks for the process of being photographed, sometimes with a mirror beside the tank (they won’t recognise their own reflrection), or next to other betta with no partition to block their line of sight. This won’t cause any harm to the fish – in fact for males the occasional flare is thought to be good for them – but it should only be temporary and then the seller will return them to separate tanks.

How do I choose a fish?

Have a browse through lots of fish photos and videos and you’ll start to get a good idea what a healthy and well bred fish looks like – and you’ll also start to see what colours and patterns are out there!

Some of the fish may have slightly nipped fins – these will grow back and should be minor, but it’s reasonable to expect that some might have slight damage from the journey to the seller, or perhaps they nipped their own tails. Usually a good seller will acknowledge this damage in the listing and may offer a slight discount. Skye, my dumbo betta, was reduced because he had slightly ripped fins (dumbo fins are so long that it’s common for them to catch on things), and otherwise is perfectly healthy and a happy guy!

The only things to watch for are darker markings such as things like fin rot, or odd movement, or if you can see any damage that may be bacterial or a fungus. Once you’ve browsed through lots of fish, this will be much easier to spot.

So how does this fish get to me?

I’d recommend asking the seller how they will deliver the fish to you before it’s sent (if you can do this before you send the money as well this is a good idea, in case you see any red flags from the list below). Sometimes they will deliver if you are very close to them, or allow you to collect the fish, but this is always by prior arrangement. Usually the fish will be sent by courier, and the seller should do the following:

If you live in a cold country, the fish should be delivered with a heat pack
It is normal for a fish to be packaged in a bag within polystyrene, which will absorb any bumps and knocks
Most sellers will put a ‘live fish’ sticker on the box, but there may be restrictions on this in your country
If your country has certain days of the week where couriers don’t deliver, this should be considered by the seller in terms of when they are willing to send your fish. If the seller wants to wait a week to avoid a spell of really cold weather, or they don’t want to send on a friday before the weekend, they are doing this for the sake of your fish, so don’t try to persuade them to do something else that might put your fish at risk

Unfortunately there is still a chance that things can go wrong, but sellers usually take every step they can to avoid this, and many offer ‘Dead on Arrival’ DOA guarantees.

I’m fortunate that I have never had a fish delivered who did not survive, but I did have a scenario where the fish had been sent on next day delivery, and the couriers messed up and he had to stay in the post office overnight. You can bet I tracked him down and went to collect him!