monty703 Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 So we held the 1st IBC show here in Burlington Ontario this weekend. I showed 5 Bettas...4 Halfmoons and a HMPK. I took 2nd place with my Blue Yellow with black trim HM male. 3rd place with my Silver/Black Dragon HM male. 3rd place with my Blue Marble HMPK male. and at the Auction held on the show fish, my Blue Yellow HM male took the highest bid at $50! seconded by my Silver/Black dragon HM male at $22. I was thrilled....what a weekend. Shrimple minded, Crazyfishlady, Shrimpmaster and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Congratulations, that is something to be proud of! Do you get a little plaque to put on their tanks? NightOwl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Congrats! Pics of your beauties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenteam Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 So you show them off then sell them? What if you don't want to sell but want to join the competition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 I have been breeding Bettas for a long time....its a very lot of work and the end results are just NOT what you think you are going to attain. First off we in North America cannot duplicate the conditions that are used in Thailand to breed these beauties. Access to natural live insect larva for feeding, and the hot weather and the water conditions are so different. Sometimes we luck out and get a few that are really good finnage and color, but in my experience they still don't match the Thailand bred ones. So yes, I bring them in from Thailand and resell them, after I show them off. I get the accolades and the new owners get to have the beaufiful fish for themselves, knowing they are the best of the best, as I don't bring in anything less. I get the pleasure of having them for a short time, then handing them over to someone else to enjoy....my gift to the Industry so to speak. Here's a few of them. Copper Butterfly Green Mustard Gas Butterfly Blue Yellow with black trim Highest seller and 2nd place winner. Silver Black Dragon HM 3rd place winner. This is "SPOOK" as in spy! Black Melano OVHM he unfortunately ripped his fins before the show and didn't get to go. If he had of been in condition he would have won hands down....nothing like him anywhere! He will stay with me till October show and then forever! and this is Big Red, he's my March show winner and as my black boy, he ripped a fin so had to stay home. He will show in October and then will stay with me as companion for Spook. When you find one like this its hard to let it go....fabulous fish! Pika, aquariumlover10, Chiumanfu and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Wow! Those are some beautiful imports! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Nothing like them in the stores! You can bid on them on aquabid.com and find the nearest transhipper (person who picks the boxes up at the airport and clears customs for you) you pay them a fee per fish ....usually around $3.50 per fish and they will ship them overnight to you as well. Average cost with all fees and shipping included is around $40-60 per fish. If you want the best you have to pay the price for them. Ive spent a $100 + on a Betta I wanted, and never regretted the cost because of the joy of seeing these beauties show off. Peacocks of the fish world. On several other forums I am known as Bettaforu! A Betta for You. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumo82 Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Cool. I've imported hmpk in the past and also bred them. Really nice fish but I agree, lots of taking care of. Much more than shrimp. What you do with culls? Feed other fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 When I bred them last I had 50 babies grow up....had to get pickle jars (500ml size) for each one, and change the water out every 2nd day. Check to see who was developing better than others and give those more attention. I managed to sell most of them to people who just wanted a nice looking Betta and they certainly were that. Black/Red, Silver/Red, Gold/white, Red/White all from a Platinum pair that I owned. Could not figure that one out..as platinum is copper x copper, and copper is turq x turq and there is NO red in turq! Like Ive told many people wanting to breed Bettas, unless you already know the colors in the background you will NOT know what will come out of the pot, and it might not be the color or pattern you thought you were going to get. The ones that didn't sell right off I traded to a local petstore for stuff I needed. Very hard to get rid of 50 young Bettas. Since then I have brought them in for show and re-sale, and some Ive kept for myself, like the 2 above. Ive had them live to 5 years several times, which for a Betta is 2 lifetimes! They grow fast, breed fast, die young! But OH what beauty they bring to the World. Once a Betta lover, always a Betta lover. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Haha....no problem, just give me a shout. If I can help I will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 This was my Platinum butterfly boy, the daddy of the 50 babies. Ive searched and searched for another like him but never found one yet. He was sooo very beautiful, the body was solid dragon scale white and the fins shimmering with a mother of pearl sheen...never seen anything like it. I wish they had the shows back then when I had him, he would have blown the competition away. He flared constantly without any other Betta near him, just liked to show off. My Angel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 What makes a dragon scale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Its usually that the scaling on the Betta is thicker and the Thai breeders pick these bettas to breed together to enhance the look. It looks like the fish has armour, and it makes the color lighter on the body, so a black betta dragon would have a silvery white body and black fins, and a red would have white body and red fins. Makes for a cool looking fish. See the silver black dragon boy above and see the difference on the regular black melano. If my " Spook" was a dragon, his body would be whiteish and the white would bleed into the fins, turning him into a silver/black dragon HM. He doesn't carry the gene so his body is all black with no white on the fins. Some breeders will call a Betta a dragon, but they don't actually have the scaling, just look more dense, to have a dragon look you need to have 2 dragons in the mating otherwise only one will pass on the genetic makeup to the next generation, it may look scaly looking but won't have the dense solid look to the body. Have to be careful when buying a betta marked as a dragon, because some are not. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Here's a blue dragon HM I owned, you can see how the body is much lighter than the fins. aquariumlover10 and Soothing Shrimp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I read about scales continuing to grow over the eyes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Yes that's not something you want. So you need to look at the Betta closely to make sure its not going to be a problem. If your not breeding then it doesn't matter, but for breeding dragons, you pick the ones that have the all over scale wihout it going over the eyes. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I moved this to the fish section where you'll get more dedicated viewers. aquariumlover10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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