I do not think his fins or color are quite up to show standard, but he is a beauty nonetheless. I'd say about 1 in 100 store-bought bettas are show quality. Even bettas from breeders are not always up to show standards.

 

Is there a link you could share with me that outlines the qualifications for show and what they look for? I googled it but didn't find many details about it.

 

Go to IBC (International Betta Congress) website. They have Exhibition Standards information.

 

Thank you!

This is how to evaluate a good Halfmoon:

View attachment 889945

Thanks, Russell! Did you just post that for example or did you mean that my betta is a Half Moon? I was told by a betta fish organization that I sent a pic to on social media that he's a Delta Tail. What do you think?

 

Try to get a full flare photo. That's the only way to truly evaluate for proportion, evenness of color, etc.

 

This is how to evaluate a good Halfmoon:

 

Definitely not show grade.
But still something worth keeping

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Try placing bright light on top (to get rid of reflection). A mirror on the side gor him to flare at. Take a side view picture without blits/flash.

By the way he looks, I don't think he is delta. He should be HM. But he is not show quality as both color and form must conform with IBC standards.

Fins must be equal lengths, all 3 fins must meet/slightly over lap. Dorsal and anal leaning forward.

As a bicolor, his fins should be totally one color and body different color. No color bleed on either of them.
If fins have color bands (butterfly), the color bands should equal (50%) and should be the same on ALL fins.
A solid color means, the fish is totally one color - including ventrals and preferably pectorals too. For base colors, the head is allowed to be black/dark since it's not caused by color genes. But masking should merit points.

Actually, he could be show quality apparently. I emailed the president and some judges from International Betta Congress with some pics of Ananda. Here is their reply:

"He is a single tail bi-color blue/green and amber yellow. He comes from a line that has been commercially named mustard gas because of the appearance of the yellow on the fins. If you bred him to another mustard gas you would get a fish that looks like him and likely multi-colors and butterflies.

He has a nice shape in the dorsal (front edge moving forward). The anal fin length and ventral fins length are uniform. His tail would be longer to meet the anal fin edge more uniformly when he flares. Body shape is good! His body to fin proportion is great! Overall a very nice fish!"

 

This is my show grade turquoise.

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Try placing bright light on top (to get rid of reflection). A mirror on the side gor him to flare at. Take a side view picture without blits/flash.

By the way he looks, I don't think he is delta. He should be HM. But he is not show quality as both color and form must conform with IBC standards.

Fins must be equal lengths, all 3 fins must meet/slightly over lap. Dorsal and anal leaning forward.

As a bicolor, his fins should be totally one color and body different color. No color bleed on either of them.
If fins have color bands (butterfly), the color bands should equal (50%) and should be the same on ALL fins.
A solid color means, the fish is totally one color - including ventrals and preferably pectorals too. For base colors, the head is allowed to be black/dark since it's not caused by color genes. But masking should merit points.

 

I'm not an expert. This is what I think. When you see a betta you don't mind spending over $100, it's a show quality or close to it. I think my betta is pretty enough, but no way it would have spent more than $15 to get him. He is definitely not a show grade ;-)
You can see a lot of high grade betta on aquabid. Some of them are incredibly gorgeous!

 

I'm not an expert. This is what I think. When you see a betta you don't mind spending $100 to get, it's a show quality or close to it. I think my betta is pretty enough, but no way it would have spent more than $15 to get him. He is definitely not a show grade ;-)
You can see a lot of high grade betta on aquabid. Some of them are incredibly gorgeous!

Wow do they really cost that much!? And I thought I paid a lot for mine ($20) lol. See my post above. IBC replied to me!

 

Actually, people would pay even more for "perfect" betta. A lot of breeders/sellers are located in Thailand, so shipping itself costs $$$... You'll be able to spend hours browsing gorgeous betta on aquabid.


Ananda is sure a pretty boy. I'm glad the guy replied

 

Yours is gorgeous too! And thanks! I was shocked because I wasn't even asking him if he was show quality (I never expected that)...I was simply asking if he was Delta Tail or Half Moon and he went into great detail. But didn't actually say which one he was. lol I replied and asked more specifically so I'm waiting to hear back on that...

 

They said he is a nice fish (which he is), but they did not say he was show quality.

 

He sent me literature for entering him in a show. Which I am NOT going to do (too stressful for him). But I was still surprised.

As others have said, he is worth keeping. He might not be show grade, but paired to the right female could produce awsome fry.

"He is a single tail bi-color blue/green and amber yellow. He comes from a line that has been commercially named mustard gas because of the appearance of the yellow on the fins. If you bred him to another mustard gas you would get a fish that looks like him and likely multi-colors and butterflies.

*** I agree. Though he has color bleed on fins, he can produce clean bicolors if paired to the right female.

He has a nice shape in the dorsal (front edge moving forward). The anal fin length and ventral fins length are uniform. His tail would be longer to meet the anal fin edge more uniformly when he flares. Body shape is good! His body to fin proportion is great! Overall a very nice fish!"

*** I don't think his caudal is as long as his anal, even when flaring. You need to pair him to a balanced female to fix that

Nah...I just love him to death but not interested in showing him or breeding him. I was just curious. I DO think it would awesome to attend a betta show though - just to see all the different ones.

 

As others have said, he is worth keeping. He might not be show grade, but paired to the right female could produce awsome fry.

"He is a single tail bi-color blue/green and amber yellow. He comes from a line that has been commercially named mustard gas because of the appearance of the yellow on the fins. If you bred him to another mustard gas you would get a fish that looks like him and likely multi-colors and butterflies.

*** I agree. Though he has color bleed on fins, he can produce clean bicolors if paired to the right female.

He has a nice shape in the dorsal (front edge moving forward). The anal fin length and ventral fins length are uniform. His tail would be longer to meet the anal fin edge more uniformly when he flares. Body shape is good! His body to fin proportion is great! Overall a very nice fish!"

*** I don't think his caudal is as long as his anal, even when flaring. You need to pair him to a balanced female to fix that