Thailand and buying fish....

Tomorrow morning (for you guys tonight) I will leave China and I will be back on Canadian soil on Saturday evening. The last 2 weeks I have spent working in a desertification control project so not really a stimulating environment to think about fish.

However, now that I am going back I can start thinking about my hobby again. I have a holiday planned for mid January and I will go to Thailand for 3 weeks.

Now some of my may know that Thailand is a large producer country for ornamental fish and has one of the biggest fish markets in the world. Of course I will want to spend 1 day there and I plan on bringing back fish.

I have been thinking about bettas and/or gouramis as I am really interested in these anabantoids. When I say bettas, I don't mean the fancy betta splendens but I am thinking more about wild type bettas.

For gouramis, I am thinking of getting the banded gourami. I already have one female and it is a fish that I have so far not seen for sale in Canada.

Regarding wild type bettas, what species suggestions could you guys give me?

Are there any other fish worthwhile looking at to get?

Can't help, but how exciting for you!!!!! I already can't wait for pictures!!!

If you are able to find Betta rubra in thailand, you could get some, altho they don't generally do well in a community setting.
They are mouthbrooders which I think is pretty sweet!
There is also the Betta burdigala, I'm not sure if it is widely available, and I don't know much about it..

http://ingloriousbettas.weebly.com/betta-burdigala.html

Not exactly a fish that you might be looking for but if you are able to find Stiphodon percnopterygionus, which is quite rare to see here.. If you are able to get one male and 2 females+, you are lucky!

There is also the Betta picta that looks pretty sweet!

I just looked at a video of said market and all I can say is wow, I could easily spend over a day there.

I know right?
I have a guy on my G+ Feed that is visiting thailand and every once in a while he posts a video of him visiting the market..
... wow.

Some are not nice to watch tho.

Love to hear about importing these. I feel like it must be a complicated. Is it a difficult process to bring them back?

I've been told that there are not a lot of wild type Bettas in the Bangkok market, and that it is Betta splendens paradise. I had some beautiful plakats from there, from years ago.
I have never met a wild Betta I didn't like, even if I don't keep them anymore.

Wow Builu. Another adventure that we all wish we could take with you !

That is good to know Gary! I will contact a Thai guy in Mtl that imports fish and ask him where to go for wild type bettas and gouramis.

Alex, this will be the first holiday, not family visit in many years! Thailand has been on my wish list for many years and not only for fish! The flight was paid for by my air miles from all my work trips.

Betta Albimarginata and Betta Macrostoma are definitely on the list for me.

B albimarginata, and what should be a common fish, picta, are my faves. The little wine red Bettas are impossible for me. I have tried. They are like Licorice gouramis - I can keep them alive for a full lifespan, but I can't breed them.
But I had picta and they were unspectacular, but strangely cool. I used to successfully breed albimarginata, but never in good numbers. It's a tough group.
I really liked rutilans, persephone, coccina and for a larger one, strohi.

The ones you are mentioning last are quite difficult for our water I understand apart from strohi. What are your experiences with them?

They will go into 10 gallon tanks on their own.

So Brent did not get any albimarginata in yet, Caoder?

I LOVE Canadaquaria...I would never even know of these bettas, now I gotta go look them up and study them.
It's so neat because I will "know" people that have kept and even bred them!!

Biulu wrote:So Brent did not get any albimarginata in yet, Caoder?

No he has not Last time he brought in the wrong species. Now, they were removed from his lists.