# I keep hearing about "mutts"



## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

But I don't know what they look like! Been lurking the site, and found my way into the breeding section.. Curious, it says not to mix tails for you will get 'messy' tails and mutts! I just want to know an example of what a messy tail is! I haven't seen an ugly betta other than those with detrimental mutations, I guess cause no one is taking pictures of them? :lol: 

Just wondering!  Not like I'm planning breeding. I don't even have my fish yet, but if you know me, you know I'm a research nut  I tend to 'plan ahead' and learn for things that may ever POSSIBLY come up in the future! With all this research I doubt I'll ever breed, if I did it would be with a pair that I know would have very pretty fry and I would make sure there were people to take them. 

This is more a question of curiosity about the tails I guess! I like trying to figure out what the bettas are in some pictures I see, which is tricky enough with the mutations within each specific tail type..  I figure a mutt must be a betta not up to show standards, though from the difference in a crown and a veil tail, I bet some pretty wonky traits show up!

Oh, and I think I've chosen the website I hope to buy my future fishy from! I actually have a couple of sites I am looking at..but I'm excited. These are such the prettiest fish! I can't wait to have my little boy! I don't mind paying for shipping.. The fish themselves, even the pricey ones seem so affordable compared to even the beautiful leopard gecko morphs out there XD


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Mutt is mainly a term for pet store fish. They aren't selectively bred but just thrown together to make babies with no attention at all paid to form and color.

Here's just some examples from my personal fish..
Bad fins (a VT's caudal fin should come to a point, not a square). Damon,








Blue Jeans on the other hand is a pet store fish who's fins nearly meet VT standards.









Bad color. Red/blue mixes are all over pet stores. This would be considered a "mutt color"









There's nothing wrong with Mutts.. they just aren't the greatest choice for breeding stock. Now when it comes to mixing tail types the number 1 most frowned upon is CT mixes because you end up with fish with tattered looking fins because they have varying degrees of web reduction. Other mixes generally aren't as bad but its still best to stick within a certain tail type especially for new breeders.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Nothing is wrong with them other then they aren't good to breed as Jackie said. 

I personally don't really have many mutts, but I think they are all beautiful.


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

Ok, so it is just an opinion thing! Thanks a ton for the answer!  I think they are just lovely too! Unique quirks can be fun.. I saw a blue Betta in a pet store with a red spot on his fins that looked like a heart when he flared out XD that was the coolest!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well its not really an opinion. Its an (albeit, insulting) term for badly bred fish.


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## Sarada (May 11, 2010)

My Bob is a mutt, he has NEVER been sick other then the odd tail biting expedition. I'd take him over any of the other high maintenance fish I have had.


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

Marmaduke is my "muttiest" boy. However, I've found that my mutts are generally healthier than my non-mutt bettas... it's probably generally not true, but it seems like it in this case!
Anyway...


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

I meant opinion in that some people wouldn't want to buy what they consider an 'ugly' fish, while others would find the mutt beautiful despite his flaws! I know 'mutt' is really a term for a fish without any real line, and I definitely get the importance of not breeding them(especially beginners)

I personally think some of the mutts are some of the prettiest because they don't look like other fish! When you have a bunch of breeders all buying from each other and continuing the same lines.. Using similar fish, all the babies start to look similar!  sorta fun to have a random color to spice things up! 

I can see the value in the pure breds... BEAUTIFUL! But in the future when looking for new fish, I would enjoy adopting/purchasing fish who would otherwise have to be culled!


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## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

I guess all my present and past are mutts beacause they all have came from pet stores. I from what I've seen and heard it sounds true. I do agree about mutts being mostly pettyier than fish that come from lines. Dogs that are mutts are also can be prettyier then line bread ones. On the other I do think line animals are pretty, but are a bit pricey for exmaple a blue DT for $20.00 when I can get a mutt for which may be one of a kind as in color for $7.00.


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

I guess all mine would be mutts then. Oh well, I think there really preatty.


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## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

Thats pretty much what I wrote.


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## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

Lucky is my "Muttiest" Fish As Well:
http://www.bettafish.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16007&stc=1&d=1282173976


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

I love em' all!!!! Sorry just had to put that in there because everything else important has been said and i dont want to repeat:/


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## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

It's kind of weird that red and blue bettas are placed as "mutts". It is like insulting where they come from (Thailand). They usually have white in them and that's the exact colors of their flag. 
O-o


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## Maryrox247 (Aug 10, 2009)

I think roger is the only "mutt" i have and i love him dearly! He is absolutely adorable at least IMO.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I think you've all misunderstood. "Mutts" are uneven/unequal fin forms (eg. CT are suppose to have equal ray lengths) AND OR with a color mixture that's not harmonious (more of an opinion). So VT's are not mutts. They are a specific fin type.
Young VT usually have an oval - square tail shape. As they get older, their tail will curve downwards. These are not mutts.

Some individuals may have a deformity - curled fins. Even the best pair of the same tail type may produce offspring with this deformity. And it is apparent only when the individual fish is fully developed.
A once sick betta may have clamped fins which sometimes can't open as it should when it is better or at least needs a long time to redevelop its fins. 
These are not mutts.

In short, the bettas posted, IMO, are not mutts. They are simply several varieties of VT.


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## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

Aww! You rewend our Fun! LOL J/K!
Well, I guess you learn something new everyday!


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## peaches3221 (Jun 1, 2010)

my boys are Walmart mutts, but i think they are beautiful! :-D


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