Are my bettas all that I think that they are?

[Sakura8]

I'm very glad to hear that, crowntaillove. :)

[Basement Bettas]

Originally Posted by bryanacute

Hey, that was VERY VERY rude!!! She is new to betta keeping, and this as made me very upset...

First of all .. and am not a he.

She may be new but she came to the SHOW area of this forum and ASKED for an opinion relating to the quality of her fish. If she had done it elsewhere she could have gotten the warm fuzzies. I am NOT going to tell someone they have a great fish in a section for SHOW fish. If you can not deal with the fact your fish is not worth breeding or showing in the eyes of a breeder that competes.. and your gonna get all offended then put your request some where else. Again.. this is a SHOW fish section.

And about the fish from pet shops winning new breeder... you have never been to a shows and seen the class. New breeder is ENTIRELY different than the regular classes and the competition in the past has not been what it is this season. When his fish win a Best of Variety of Show.. then and ONLY then can you tell me pet shop bettas produce show quality fish.

[Basement Bettas]

Originally Posted by bryanacute

I know. But the comment Basement Bettas comment was a bit rude to a new user. I am very aware of all the things about petstores.

Enough about me being rude. This was the request:
"Hey, guys. I was just curious to see if my bettas are show or breeding quality. I'll take any comments on them that you have!"

I replied they were pet quality. What would you expect me to say. They were nice and go ahead and breed the fins off them? Give me a break. You want me to tear them apart fault by fault? I was very nice.. considering what was asked. Now leave it alone or go to another part of the forum.

[ChoclateBetta]

Plus Petstore bettas are usually to old to breed.

[dramaqueen]

Guys, if you ask a breeder to critique your fish you have to be ready to accept what they say especially if you're showing them a petstore fish then that fish will probably have a lot of faults form wise. Just because someone tells you your fish has bad form doesn't mean they're trying to be mean. They're just telling it how they see it. I don't think anyone that goes to a show,shows their fish and has a judge say what the fish 's faults whines about how mean the judge was for critiquing their fish.

[crowntaillove3]

Knock it off!!! I'm not offended, and I was ready to take anything thrown at me! I did ask for other people's opinion, and although I am grateful that you were concerned for me, Bryana, I was ready to take it. I'm not defending anyone. I went into this knowing what some people might say. I appreciate your concern, but I'm okay.

[Sakura8]

Well said, Crowntaillove.

[crowntaillove3]

And I would actually appreciate tearing them apart fault by fault. This is a learning experience and I would like to know what is good about my fish and what is not. The point of this forum is for new owners to learn, and I would like to learn something about show quality bettas. That is why I started this thread.

[crowntaillove3]

I think no less of my bettas. They are my fish, and because of that I like them better than any show quality betta. They are my favorite because they are MINE!! :). But, it is a small dream of mine to become a breeder and to enter shows. So I want to know.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Originally Posted by Basement Bettas

... Breeders have a saying. Breed the best.. show second best and cull the rest.. Thai breeders the same. They breed their best., show second best.. and they compete as commercial breeders.. then what they offer for sale are their CULLS. The better ones go on AB and they try to get some money for the interesting ones and better bred ones. The rest.. and the ones they just breed for sheer numbers are sent to pet shops.

This makes perfect sense to me. A breeder (of any species, not just fish), is going to hold onto his/her BEST offspring in order to produce future generations. Everything the breeder doesn't keep is, in effect, a cull. So everyone who buys a fish on AB is, basically, getting another breeder's cull - which means that the only way to have a fish that isn't a cull is to breed it yourself.

If you want to know what is and is not show quality.. join the IBC. or join my facebook page and read the reviews I do on the ones that make listed on AB.

Just read two reviews on your FB page. Both were VERY informative! You described how the fish compared to show standards (color, form, condition, etc.). You even give recommendations on breeding in order to improve the line.... And, I should add, neither was your fish - but you still provided links to the AB auctions.

I think that anyone looking to purchase bettas for breeding would find a lot of excellent info in your FB reviews.