This question came about because of the critique thread on the crowntail.
I know there are Betta Clubs and all of that, who are part of the IBC. Are there any breeding teams out there, not necessarily a club, but two or three people who all help in one shape or form to produce the best possible fish and enter in IBC sanctioned shows (i.e., one breeds, one finances the operation, one <you enter here>, etc)?
Are there any interested breeders that need help with the other stuff and willing to form a team?
Unsure about teams, but a lot of breeders will trade breeding stock with people they know (or met through different clubs) regularly, or will send out males/females to other breeders for free.
That is all that I know of.. people will offer help and advice regularly, but since most don't end up living near one another the only thing they really can do is share breeders/spawns to help each other. I've been given a few breeding males/females for free myself from other breeders when they are done breeding them, etc.
Just because I haven't seen it, doesn't mean they don't have teams - if I lived near another active breeder who shows I would work with them to help create some show quality fish.
We don't do teams. We do the work and pay for it ourselves. It does not lend itself to being a team sport unless you are married to or have parent or child for the other team player.
It is very interesting. I understand that breeding/showing can be thought of more as a one person operation, but wouldn't it be easier if you had help? I know it probably would not make sense for the more established breeders - since you've already surpassed the "startup" hardships, but what about the up and comers or those just considering about starting but for one reason or another (i.e., can't afford to but equipment/stock or has the money but doesn't have the means to send fish to shows economically)?
I guess what I'm getting at is, if down the line someone came to you and said - "Hey, I'd like to form a team - we agree what we want to breed, you do the breeding and I'll finance the operation." Would an up and comer who is serious about breeding with the goal of winning in shows take up that offer? Would that be considered a "team" in the eyes of the more established breeders/IBC officials, or something that would be frowned upon and hurt both "team" members?
Who would take the credit, who would keep the awards/ribbons earned? The person who spent the money, or the person who spent the hours a day it takes to raise them?
I suppose it's up to each person whether or not they would work good with another to raise and show fish. Having a good, trustworthy friend in the business is a plus in many ways and others do have that.. can share fish, tips, etc.
I don't see why people can't be teams if they can work out the small details.. they would probably need to live real close to one another - as the person who is financing it would feel out of the loop and not involved if they live in another state and isn't doing anything other than watching their money go away. And if they do live close by, the person financing it may want to be hands on - and there you run the risk of the finance person feeling as if the other is getting a "free ride" in time. Competitions can easily bring out competitive feelings/behavior and the person who is paying for everything will have the one-up on the person who isn't.
On the flip side - say the other person does 100% of the work in breeding/raising and may feel like they deserve more due to doing all the work, etc.
This is based on a 2-3 person team.. there are groups out there or large "teams" but they tend to show their own personal fish.
There are a lot of cons in doing this in teams - and the pros you can get without being in a team and just being active in the community.
Personally I think it would work best if it was a group/club thing where there are multiple people who help one another, trade fish, etc.. which those are all over the place. If you want to start a team then by all means I don't see why you can't create one.
Is that what you will be showing under this spring?
No it's not so much of a showing team, I exchange show quality fish with the locals and we form a group of breeders. We are all showing, none of us have plans to show together. I think we all secretly want to win.
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