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Show trends

14K views 103 replies 19 participants last post by  ChibreneyDragon 
#1 ·
So, I'm just curious: what are the hot trends lately in show bettas? Superblack, marble/fancy, butterfly? What seems to be the most desired/sought after color/pattern in the show world? The most uncommon?
 
#2 ·
i've been seeing a LOT of whites, metallics and orchids lately. the show market seems to be steering somewhat away from HM's to HMPK's as well.
 
#61 ·
There's really no trends at shows. The fish will either fit a color standard or it will not.
Color is very dificult and you have to be very selective. Butterflies have to be 50/50, Solids must be clean, multis need 3+ colors, etc.
The IBC handbook, which you can only get if you're a member, will explain all of this.
Ditto. Believe it or not.. perfecting a steel or red is not easy. And black.. pfffffffffft. Even a great patterned fish has rules.. like the 50/50 color split on the BF's. Even have to have the 50/50 marble pattern in the fins to be a great marble.

The trend is there is MORE competition and you have to have REALLY good fish. But that is what showing is about...
 
#4 ·
Thanks guys.
vilmarisv: what I meant was, what is popular with breeders. What are people breeding, and what colors seem to have a "wow" factor? What isn't seen much at shows? I'm getting an IBC membership as an early Christmas present, so I can finally read The Almighty Handbook!
 
#5 ·
In the IBC, in general, if there's a class for it, people breed it.

I'm not sure what the most "popular" classes are, honestly. There are plenty of breeders within each of the classes.

I say don't go for what's popular or what is rare.. Breed what you like best. :) It makes the whole process more exciting.
 
#63 ·
There is no place for orchid as far as coloration. This would be a faulted black.
 
#11 ·
wasn't it just earlier this year that rosetails and feathertails were considered a cull-able flaw? now, it seems like the more branching you can put out the better, without the little guys ripping their fins into confetti, of course!
 
#12 ·
A qoute from Karen Mac Auley. Last years grand champion of the IBC with over 10 awards in 3-4 years for BOS fish
"Most of my fish are extreme OHM.....All of my BOS fish are OHM......"

Heavily branched fish seem to be preferred by judges now. But some people still don't advocate the breeding of this characteristic
 
#13 ·
i can see that, from a purely humane standpoint. has anyone done a study of any kind on just how much quality of life is lost in extreme-finned bettas?
 
#17 ·
well i'd be interested to see one. then again if i did, i might be traumatised into only keeping plakats if the results showed horribly negative for long-fins.
 
#19 ·
so do ours, i'm just curious how much extra effort they have to put into moving at the same speed. there are plenty of people who can run very fast wearing ankle weights, but they run even faster without them :)
 
#21 ·
My orange OHM male, Quasar, has a bit of a rosetail. It doesn't seem to affect his quality of life at all - in fact, he's my feistiest fish! Always flaring and swimming around, never a dull moment with this guy. I think his branching is part of what makes him beautiful. I don't think the issue should be with branching so much, but with the strength of the rays. Look at Karen's fish, for instance. Hers have lots of branching, but they have amazingly thick, strong rays, which allow them to carry their huge fins well. Which is why I'm planning on outcrossing heavily to strong HMPK s if I continue my non-red HM line, to get nice strong rays.
 
#23 ·
Ive been considering crossing my OHM to a HMPK, the Rosetail quality seems difficult to manage, and risky in breeding for the young. What are the statistics on crossing OHM with HMPK? Is it usually a solid improvement? Or is there a bit of line breeding work involved?
 
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