# activity of show bettas



## marktrc (Jun 6, 2012)

i was wondering, since show bettas have alot of finnage, do they often have a low amount of activity since their fins are heavy?

when the fish are judged, do they put another fish or mirror up to them and just judge on the flaring? 

if the betta is mostly resting on the bottom and only moves and flares for the mirror or another betta, is that points against them because of their lethargy?

conversely do they get more points if they are active and spreading their fins without any outside influence?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

marktrc said:


> i was wondering, since show bettas have alot of finnage, do they often have a low amount of activity since their fins are heavy?
> 
> when the fish are judged, do they put another fish or mirror up to them and just judge on the flaring?
> 
> ...


 A healthy Betta is active with long fins they swim as hard as possible and struggle.


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Chocolate Betta. Thats not true. First of all not all show bettas are long finned males. there are just as many Plakats, HMPKS, and females.. if not more.. I have watched a betta show and the majority of the bettas effortlessly swim. The place fish side by side and judge them on the overall form including color.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I meant show as long finned sorry. I was referring to elephant ears which swim as hard as possible and still struggle. Sorry was not clear.


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## marktrc (Jun 6, 2012)

i was more curious about the long finned HMs. sorry i should have been more specific


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> I meant show as long finned sorry. I was referring to elephant ears which swim as hard as possible and still struggle. Sorry was not clear.


Elephant ears usually arent shown due to It messing up symettry. A big ear rarely wins


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

we just got an EE (named him Hannibal, after the roman general who used war elephants to scare his enemies) and he hasn't shown any kind of difficulty swimming, even though his pectorals are so big you can barely see his ventrals.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Mo said:


> Elephant ears usually arent shown due to It messing up symettry. A big ear rarely wins


I meant like you know fish with giant fins.


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Then why did you say Big Ears? Anyways. a female with large fins gets disqualified. Its a Disqualifying fault


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Sory thought I said like elephant ears.


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## inareverie85 (Apr 18, 2008)

Show bettas are expected to be very healthy, aggressive, and active. This is a very important part of judging. If the fish tires too quickly and doesn't flare, he won't place. This is why breeders regularly exercise their fish and keep them on diets consisting of very high-quality high-energy foods.


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## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

Here is one of my show fish, he's won Reserve best of show and class wins and some others. The remark i hear most from the people at the shows is "he's got great attitude" meaning his aggressiveness, and willingness to flare.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4658307094356&set=vb.1193750656&type=2

Mind you this video is from one day after his second show trip. Out of 4 weeks he was only fed 10 days in between the two shows and spent a grand total of 16 days in a box moving back and forth. And he's still this energetic!

And he zips around like that regardless of whether he can see his neighbor. All day, every day.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Are show Bettas hardy enough to live in hard water?


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Any water. if a show bett isnt inbred then its like any other betta


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Really so pet store bettas are inbred and apshows are not but what about other pet shows like guppies and dogs those are inbred aren't those colors and fins achieved through inbreeding.


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Im not sure. This isnt a Dog or Guppy forum anyways.. But a healthy Show betta that isnt inbred isnt different than any other betta in regards to hardiness..


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Are they inbred a little bit because it seems like all show animals are inbred.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think a good breeder isn't going to inbreeding too much because you end up getting fish with deformities and genetic problems. I don't know anything about that kind of stuff. Maybe Martinsmommy or Basement Bettas can give some impute about that kind of stuff.


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

I've seen many "good Breeders" that produce fish with many deformities due to inbreeding


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I was just wondering I knew there would be at least a little inbreeding.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Yes it's normal to inbreed a little to preserve sought after traits, especially with siblings, but I think most people try to avoid doing it excessively. One or two generations where siblings are bred will easily be corrected in a single generation where an unrelated fish is a parent. More than that and the percentage of deformities begins to noticeably increase with successive generations because the same bad genes get passed on by both parents, so even recessive problems become frequent. This is true for dogs and humans too.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Makes tons of sense.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

+1 Babystarz.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Yeah without inbreeding recessive traits could not be fixed.


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