How to order from Thailand:

This is a daunting experience for an AquaBid newbie. First you have to decide which fish you want. Then determine if it's from a reputable breeder/supplier. If it is a breeder you are ordering from, you can often contact the breeder and ask to buy a sibling female to accompany the fish. If it's a supplier, they may not have any to sell you.

Then you need to make arrangements to have the fish(s) delivered. It's not a simple matter of ordering your fish and having it shipped to Canada. They have to clear customs on our end which means oodles of paperwork and taxes from both ends. Thank goodness for our transhippers! In the past, Zena and Hung combined their powers to act as transhippers from Thailand to Canada. Today, we rely on Hung in Montreal to receive fish from many suppliers in Thailand for many hobbiests in Canada, all in one big shipment. They take care of all the customs issues and worry about whether the fish are alive and healthy when they arrive. Then the fish are reshipped across Canada to their new owners.

Unfortunately, shipping across Canada can be nearly as daunting. The fish need to be shipped by overnight courier from Ontario - FedEx, Purolator and UPS are all couriers that I have used. Lately, I have discovered that shipping them from Montreal by train is very safe, comparatively inexpensive and easy. Since this can be very expensive, I have often arranged to have bettas delivered to me with my order and re-delivered them from here throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact me to work out arrangements.

I have actually met Zena and Hung, as well as many other betta-fanatics from Central Canada when I was able to be in Ontario at the time of a summer transhipment. Betta breeders are rare enough in Canada that we are actually a fairly close-knit group online. We are always happy to welcome other betta enthusiasts into our midst. Look us up on one of the forums I have highlighted in the links section.