# I am thinking of getting a show Betta



## wewered (Jan 6, 2014)

So, I was thinking about getting a show Betta. What do I need to look for in a Betta for it to be 'Show Quality'?


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## Seki (Jul 10, 2012)

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but to show a betta... I think you need to have bred it yourself?


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## wewered (Jan 6, 2014)

Seki said:


> Someone correct me if I am wrong, but to show a betta... I think you need to have bred it yourself?


You do? I thought I heard that some people got them on aquabid but maybe I was mistaken


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yes, that's true. You can buy a good quality pair from a breeder, breed the fish and if the offspring meet the right standards and form then you can show them.


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## wewered (Jan 6, 2014)

dramaqueen said:


> Yes, that's true. You can buy a good quality pair from a breeder, breed the fish and if the offspring meet the right standards and form then you can show them.


Ok


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

They should do a breeder handler things with fish. I breed the fish and give them to someone that wants to pay to show them. As long as I the breeder gets credit for being the breeders let the Fish handler get some credit for picking out a good fish to show. HAHA Just a crazy Idea I came up with.


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## Dakieda (Mar 3, 2014)

Personally I would love to have a show betta. It stinks that you have to breed it yourself though. Of course I understand that because at the end they hold auctions, so its a way to build reputation for the breeders. Hey, thats an idea. You could always attend a show yourself and then buy one at the auction end?


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

to show a betta, you have to have bred it yourself. So if you wanted to get into showing betta, you would have to buy the parents, breed them, and raise the fry to show age


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## Taboo (Jun 28, 2013)

You could buy a show-quality betta without actually entering it in shows, though. It'd really just be for bragging rights. You just might need to win the lotto or something haha


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## bettas4Eva (Jan 6, 2014)

if you do go into the shows with a show betta I think maybe you need to breed your own and hope for the best that the fish is in the right catagories, shape, and whatever else you need to follow in order to even qualify as a competitor but like I said your best bet is to breed babies and hope that one is the best


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## Kylelouis929 (Mar 10, 2014)

You must breed the fish yourself and hope the fish fits the criteria for each category!


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

dramaqueen said:


> Yes, that's true. You can buy a good quality pair from a breeder, breed the fish and if the offspring meet the right standards and form then you can show them.


Most of what is on AB is no where near show quality. Show quality is a term that describes a fish that measure up pretty close to the IBC standard. You have to know the standard to know if you are getting a quality fish. And most are obtained for breeding not being pets. Best recommendation is buy what you like and don't worry about so called show quality unless you are going to breed against the standard and show.


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## daniella3d (Mar 19, 2014)

Well it's not so crazy, that how the dog and cat world work. You can buy a show quality cat or dog and definitely show it and win prize with it. The cat or dog can become champion and it does not matter who's showing it.

wierd that it does not work like that for fish.



snowflake311 said:


> They should do a breeder handler things with fish. I breed the fish and give them to someone that wants to pay to show them. As long as I the breeder gets credit for being the breeders let the Fish handler get some credit for picking out a good fish to show. HAHA Just a crazy Idea I came up with.


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

Showing is not about the fish. It is about the breeder. The points are for the breeder. Grand Champion is the breeder that wins the most. Fish are NOT dogs, cats or horses. It is TOTALLY different. You do not see names if fish and grand champions after them. You see champion breeders.


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## daniella3d (Mar 19, 2014)

I see. But they do have pedigree with bloodlines etc don't they??

I guess you don't have registration like cats and dogs either. This is very interesting. I can understand why the merit would go to the breeder because it takes a great deal of knowledge and probably lots of instinct involved in just choosing the right fish and mating them together. With so many different genetics for colors, shapes and patterns, it must be a real challenge to breed something predictable and beautiful for showing.

AS for me, I leave this to the breeders as they are doing a great job on it, and I buy the fish I love to enjoy it as a pet. You said the fish on Aquabid are not of show quality...if so, I can't imagine how beautiful a show quality fish is because some of those on Aquabid are extremely beautiful to my untrained eye!


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