# Critique My Betta



## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)

How can you guys grade him? His anal goes too far down, his ventrals are not wide enough, and his rays tick out on the dorsal too much. Anything good?


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## Feanor (Nov 13, 2020)

Ok - I‘ll give it a novice try😀:

He has a nice upper body line and is well balanced in general.

If his outer Caudal rays are slightly shorter than the other caudal rays (not clearly visible due to overlapping of Dorsal and Anal) this would be a minor fault = rounded edges (IBC standard Show Plakat). If clear D-shape = good. Some upper rays slightly bended.

Ventrals are single tipped = good (although I agree that rays could reach further down and they also look a bit bended).

Dorsal could have less smaller rays at the beginning, however it shows overlapping with the caudal = good. If seen correctly in the picture, dorsal fails to have primary branching - at least in the rear part = minor fault.

Anal is fine and trapezoid shaped and comes to an definite end (some may prefer sharper ends, but his should meet the standard).

Personally: An adorable, beautifully coloured fish ☺.


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## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)

That's nice! I thought most show fish have like blue eyes, not black, he was the only guy with solidly colored eyes lol. h








His tail looks like that, im not sure if thats HM or over HM


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Need a photo of him flaring to get a true idea of his form and fins. I have an impossible time distinguishing the traditional, etc., Plakat. So here's Halfmoon standards with drawings of Traditional and Show below.

@indjo please correct me where I'm wrong..

*Ventral fins:* The ventral fins should be in balance of length of the rest of the unpaired fins to
preserve the symmetrical look. Ventral fins are not expected to be of length comparable to that of the body. -
- -The length should be about twice the height of the anal fin.

He has extended ventrals rays; they should taper. When determining proper size I don't know if you measure by the rays or by the actual ventral?









*Dorsal fin*: -, The dorsal fin may be of any shape. A larger, better matching to anal fin. is preferred
over a smaller one, provided that the size does not distract from the symmetry of the fish. Like the anal a
slightly longer (1/16”) fin is tolerated. The desired effect is typically achieved by an increase in the number of
fin rays.

I see a stair-stepped dorsal; it does point forward which is good and pretty hard to find if looking on eBay, especially. I think it matches his anal fin as described.

Caudal doesn't appear to be smooth (most noticeable at center ray). But this could be the photo.

Body is good but topline appears to be sloping at the front and not in a smooth line. Can't tell about his lateral line as he's not straight. Peduncle appears nice and strong.









I have difficulty with rays but I don't see secondary branching in your boy.










Anyhow, that's what I see but I've been wrong before. 

BTW, he is the Koi color I love...mostly red and black with next to no white. I would take him in a heartbeat!


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## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)

hes my fishie  no take
Yeah, his caudal is like very bumpy. Need to work on that. Could I breed him with a female koi, or will they be VT?
I can post more pics















sorry for low quality, he's really zoomy


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## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)




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## MABetta (Jan 10, 2021)

He is beautiful. What is your breeding goal? That should determine which female you should breed him to.


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## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)

MABetta said:


> He is beautiful. What is your breeding goal? That should determine which female you should breed him to.


Sharper fin edges, keep the staircasing (dorsal rays sticking out), and more bebes. (not too many though) Is he too old to breed also? I've had him for almost 6 months, so maybe he's too old


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

My take;

Body is close to perfect. Though top line could be smoother, but in general it's fairly balanced and has wide penducle.

Dorsal rather stairstep. You want to pair it to a female with a perfectly half circle/oval dorsal. Even better, one that has ray branching. . . . Ideally perfect females are not usually sold. . . .

Caudal looks fine - 4 large ray = ideal. However the outer line could be smoother (not sure if its due to color).

Anal is perfect for an assymetrical PK. Ventrals could be wider. And is a bit too long (it should be as long as the longest point of anal fin). Plus ventrals end with protruding rays - you want blade shape ending at a point.
. . . . . . . . 
I don't limit age for breeding. As long as they are healthy and active (or have the energy) to breed. 

Pair to a female that compliments his faults to produce better form. Colorwise - pair to a female with similar color pattern to hopefully produce more of such pattern. If you pair to a solid colors, you may need to breed to F2-3 to regain pattern. . . . .to my knowledge, marbles are unpredictable and mutated marbles are rather recessive against regular/solid colors.


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## itsme_bettafishlover (Mar 16, 2021)

I think he is perfect! Totally breed him. Would love to see pics of offspring!


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## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)

got a chunk of mopani instead of a gf


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## spanch-moss (Nov 6, 2020)

roomba is down bad


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