# Critique my boys?



## Kdowg2121 (Oct 5, 2014)

I know this will probably irritate someone, so I'm sorry about that... :-?
But I want my two PetSmart boys critiqued! They're both Veiltails, and fairly good looking. I got the best pictures I can, but it's not very easy. I plan on breeding both of them one day, so I want some opinions if you think either one will have some good babies. Thanks! 

First up, Beast:


Second, Banshee:


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

All I have to say is, make darned sure you have homes lined up for your fry before you ever put your fish together. There are thousands of veiltail bettas languishing and dying on pet store shelves as we type, and adding to them is not a good thing.

If you are bound and determined to breed, I'd pick the second guy. Very few people who buy veiltails are looking for perfect form, so pretty colors will win the day and help the kids find homes faster.


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## Kdowg2121 (Oct 5, 2014)

Thank you! I plan on calling all pet stores in my area and seeing if at least half are interested before even buying a suitable female.


Edit: And of course, Craigslist and friends and whatnot. c:


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

There's no reason to ignore form - that's part of what got veils in their mess in the first place: mass breeding without care for the standard, plus neglect of old lines, plus people not sending VT for show, discarding them in favor of HM. Although, I like the form on betta #2, the yellow/blue bicolor, better anyway.

If you plan to show eventually (and you _can _show VT, in the "Variations" catch-all class), or you care about creating quality fish, you'll want to work your way towards a standard. There is no standard for the IBC in area 1, but Bettas4All does have a standard, which I find quite agreeable:

http://www.hollandbettashow.com/bettas4all-standard/chapter-3f-finnage-characteristics-veiltail/

Try to find females that will offset your males' faults. You'll want a good flare pic so you can examine their finnage in relation to this standard, and only then look for girls. For example, a wimpy dorsal like in betta #2, there, can be strengthened by breeding to a female with a very large dorsal, if one can be found.

Try checking the mom & pop pet stores and seeing whether they'd be interested in taking fish, and also check how much they'll pay. You might as well get yourself the best deal while you can.


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## Kdowg2121 (Oct 5, 2014)

You, sir, are awesome. Thank you so much!


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Pretty sure hrutan is not a "sir."


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Here's a picture of what you are looking for in VT's form-wise. To fully critique your boys we need pictures of them flaring completely with their beards out


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

kevinap2 said:


> Pretty sure hrutan is not a "sir."


_Definitely_ not a sir. But that's okay. :lol:


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Just as a heads up, those pics are copyrighted and are from the Bettas4All standards, as there are no standards from the IBC. The link I posted has their complete standards, including both acceptable tail formations. There are two.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah...I know. They don't have the (C) over on their site though, just at the bottom of the page. 

And sorry, I didn't look at your link before.


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## Kdowg2121 (Oct 5, 2014)

Sorry, Hrutan


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah...I know. They don't have the (C) over on their site though, just at the bottom of the page.
> 
> And sorry, I didn't look at your link before.


I'm mostly worried that people won't know which organization uses that standard. I'm aiming for it, but there's no guarantee that IBC will use it when and if VT get some attention...so we don't want people to have a false belief about the diagrams. And I'll admit in part also to being a cranky author who sees my compatriots' stuff get stolen fairly frequently. Copyright is an important thing for me. :| Although the likelihood of someone making their living off that particular image is pretty low, heh.


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