Wild vs Domestic

[FoxChase]

Wondering which tends to be hardier, has the longer lifespan and which is tends to be more aggressive toward tank mates.

 

[ember04]

Which species of fish
In general wild fish (not wild court but wild strains) tend to be hardier and live longer in my experience

 

[Crispii]

F1 or F2 fish are also hardy. Unlike their wild fish, they tend to adapt much better and will take dry foods much easier.

 

[Byron]

Wondering which tends to be hardier, has the longer lifespan and which is tends to be more aggressive toward tank mates.

This was posted in the Betta splendens section, so presumably you are referring to this species, common name Siamese Fighting Fish. All the colourful bettas in stores are tank bred fish, initially developed from the wild species decades ago. These are (were) bred to be more aggressive. Lifespan, I don't know.

 

[ember04]

yeah, I tend to like wild strains of fish that are captive breed as they are pretty hardy, I find the more the fish are selective breed the weaker they are. As an example goldfish, I have a pond of the standard single-tailed comet and common goldfish and minus colour they have pretty much the same body plan as wild carp and they are bulletproof lived in my pond for about 7 months not in high winds, freezing temperature and heatwaves and have always done great swam up to me every time for food no problem. Compared to fancy goldfish like orandas and pearl scales which i know are far less hardy.

 

[ember04]

In reference to betta species I find the "wild" betta to live much longer the fancy tailed betta splendins in shops have a life span of "3-5 years" but most will never live that long. I find they are so prone to fin rot, tumour, swimming problems such as swim bladder issues and more than most won't live past 2 years. They are often so over breed they have issues and teh long-finned ones will have swimming problems as they age. Compared to the wild betta species which from my own research tend to live longer closer to 5 years or more for some species, though they are not all the same and different wild bettas will live longer or shorter. As an example in a few days, I'm getting my Betta mahachai and their life span is between 5-7 years.
As far as temperament often many wild betta species are far calmer and easier to cohabit with other fish

 

[ember04]

Not all though some wild bettas are a bit more aggressive and research on to each species is important

Hope this helps
Ember

 

[FoxChase]

F1 or F2 fish are also hardy. Unlike their wild fish, they tend to adapt much better and will take dry foods much easier.

What are F1 and F2?

 

[FoxChase]

In reference to betta species I find the "wild" betta to live much longer the fancy tailed betta splendins in shops have a life span of "3-5 years" but most will never live that long. I find they are so prone to fin rot, tumour, swimming problems such as swim bladder issues and more than most won't live past 2 years. They are often so over breed they have issues and teh long-finned ones will have swimming problems as they age. Compared to the wild betta species which from my own research tend to live longer closer to 5 years or more for some species, though they are not all the same and different wild bettas will live longer or shorter. As an example in a few days, I'm getting my Betta mahachai and their life span is between 5-7 years.
As far as temperament often many wild betta species are far calmer and easier to cohabit with other fish

Have you ever had a betta imported? Found a site with some fish I really like, but feel hesitant to buy a fish from so far away (Thailand), it sounds very complicated.

 

[itiwhetu]

Because the whole industry isn't controlled and never has been you have no idea the origin of any fish you purchase and none of the importers or breeders have any interest in feeding you accurate information. There is no way you will ever be able to tell whether wild or domestic are better or not.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

You pays the money and you take your chances....and just hope the fish is healthy and survives

As with everything ordered unseen, the onus is on trust.

When I started ordering livestock online, I was naive and allowed myself to believe that the glossy website and write-up on fish sold was 100% truthful and trustworthy

It wasn't.

I received dead and dying fish, sold far too young for sale let alone transit

So after giving that supplier an earful, I found another one and I contacted them....

Please send photos with date stamp of your breeding facility
Please send copies of your import licence
Please send copies of your local authority licence to sell livestock
Please send date stamped photos or video of your packing process

The firm did exactly that without hesitation and noted that it was refreshing to hear from a genuinely concerned fishkeeper who wanted to know and have proof of humane practice and legal right to import, breed and sell livestock

Any firms that refused or hesitated to provide that, they were ignored by me.

If thinking of buying from abroad, I would add that I wanted date stamped photo proof of humane breeding, storage aquariums and packing for export plus copies of their export licence.

 

[itiwhetu]

You pays the money and you take your chances....and just hope the fish is healthy and survives

As with everything ordered unseen, the onus is on trust.

When I started ordering livestock online, I was naive and allowed myself to believe that the glossy website and write-up on fish sold was 100% truthful and trustworthy

It wasn't.

I received dead and dying fish, sold far too young for sale let alone transit

So after giving that supplier an earful, I found another one and I contacted them....

Please send photos with date stamp of your breeding facility
Please send copies of your import licence
Please send copies of your local authority licence to sell livestock
Please send date stamped photos or video of your packing process

The firm did exactly that without hesitation and noted that it was refreshing to hear from a genuinely concerned fishkeeper who wanted to know and have proof of humane practice and legal right to import, breed and sell livestock

Any firms that refused or hesitated to provide that, they were ignored by me.

If thinking of buying from abroad, I would add that I wanted date stamped photo proof of humane breeding, storage aquariums and packing for export plus copies of their export licence.

All of that still doesn't guarantee that your Cardinal Tetras came from the wild tank or the domestic tank, it just proves they want to sell you some fish.

 

[FoxChase]

Can anyone recommend any US breeders?
This is the fish that caught my attention.
An Alien betta.

 

[GaryE]

First, a wild betta splendens is a brownish blue fish with shorter fins than a linebred female. I've kept them, and they may as well be a different species from the fancy Bettas in stores (they aren't, but domestics are really a mess). They are hardy, quick, and did I say quick? They move in ways no long finned fish could ever even dream of.
In all species I keep, wild form are better at being animals. They rarely have serious parasites compared to fishfarm victims of serious crowding (ideal for transmission). I have never had wilds wipe out from Mycobacter, the fishfarm special. Wilds are healthier. And there are dealers who work with local fishers, for whom selling fish is a major source of support for families. You can support stockholders in fish farms or you can feed families along river systems.
Humans like to play with genetics, almost always for one sense - sight. Wild fish are not carrying deformities. An example is a pet store balloon fish, intentionally bred to have a genetic disease of the spine. Or Betta splendens with fins so long they can barely swim. Blood Parrots with deformed mouths, celestial goldfish... we are mean creatures.

I have had domestic splendens live 7 years, although they were older types without the really massive finnage or body size many breeders strive for now. I have heard of others living longer than that.

There is a 3rd category: hobbyist bred. They aren't fish raised in antibiotic soups in crowded vats, but carefully raised pets. In aquarium clubs, I have bought fish you would never find in stores. However, we're letting aquarium clubs die out. Hobby bred rarely get into stores, just because they rarely are available in the numbers stores want.
And good wild sourced fish don't get into chain stores. Consumers want cheap fish to consume, and that means they buy in bulk from fish farms that have to focus on quick growing quantities, not quality.

There is one store in the city I just moved from where you can special order wild caught fish from some species for a slightly higher cost, but it's a smaller place that survives by being good, and not by being the cheapest. Prior to moving two weeks ago, I gave a friend my shoal of wild cardinals, between 40 and 50 fish all 5 years old, and only halfway through the lifespan my previous group had.

 

[Gkat66]

Have you ever had a betta imported? Found a site with some fish I really like, but feel hesitant to buy a fish from so far away (Thailand), it sounds very complicated.

I have had fish imported from Thailand several times and have gotten lucky every time . I have gone through Aquabids and Ebay , most recently from a breeder on Ebay. One thing you have to know when importing , you must go through a transhipper. I use Linda Olson , she is awesome to work with , she has stellar communication and her packaging is second to none. Just beware that you may only pay 10 dollars for a fish but shipping is very expensive , because it's next day air.
I've never owned a wild betta or even F2 , so I can't speak to their lifespan, however I once had a male splendens that lived for 6 years , which I don't think is the norm. ( I didn't use him as a breeder )