# Over 180?



## Amanda1798 (Oct 29, 2016)

Is a tail span of over 180 degrees considered a fault? I stumbled upon a photo of a betta who's tail I'm pretty sure, spans wider than 180 degrees.

And is the caudal peduncle wrong if it kind of curves upwards?

Thanks!


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I believe it is. Caudal should only spread to 180* and the peduncle should be straight or caudal at 90* to body.

Tbh, I'm not keeping up with show rules anymore. And our rules differ to US. So, wait and see what US members say.


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## ambooz (Sep 16, 2016)

this guy was the winner in dragon class hmpk. In this year Singapore IBC so i dont think its a rule to have 180 cadual. 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Tapatalk


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## BettaMas (May 10, 2011)

Hi Amanda. As per IBC standards, caudals which spread over 180° (over-halfmoon a.k.a OHM), is not a fault.

Halfmoon caudals are faulted if the spread falls short of 180°. At 180° or more, no fault applies. There are some judging communities which show preference towards OHMs (>180 caudals), but these are just personal preference and are not guided by any prominent standards. IBC states that "Caudal fins that exceed 180° spread are not favored over fish displaying 180° spread". So, it is clear that neither caudals with spreads above 180° nor at exactly 180° are preferred over one another.

Some things to watchout tho:
- It is important for caudals to have a top-bottom symmetry. Non-symmetry is faulted, regardless of the caudal spread. Particulary when judging OHMs in shows, this should be given particular attention.
- A common problem with some OHMs is excessive ray branching and bent rays, which are faulted.

For your caudal peduncle question, are you referring to the caudal or the peduncle? Maybe you can attach a picture which shows exactly which part of the fish you are referring to.


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## Amanda1798 (Oct 29, 2016)

> For your caudal peduncle question, are you referring to the caudal or the peduncle? Maybe you can attach a picture which shows exactly which part of the fish you are referring to.


Ahh, I see 
That bit that kind of curves up a bit at the end. Which so far I've seen only in OHMs.
Thanks!


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## BettaMas (May 10, 2011)

Alright. I see that you are referring to the peduncle. It is quite common to see certain fish having their peduncles bent upward like that when they are doing a full side-flare (regardless of the caudal spread), but the peduncles revert to being straight at other times. I personally do not fault this when judging at shows, and do not find this mentioned as a fault in the IBC standards (do point it out to me if I am wrong). 

There is however a type of body fault which applies to the peduncle. It is common to find certain DTs or DT-geno STs having (permanently) bent peduncles. This type of bend is most noticeable when viewing the fish from above, and are faulted according to its degree of defect.

It is good to take note of statements from the IBC standards which read _"The body should be nearly symmetrical above and below an imaginary mid-lateral line, excepting the region forward of the anal fin where body organs are housed"_ and _"The ideal show Betta presents nearly mirror-image symmetry above and below an imaginary mid-lateral line"_, and depending on the degree of deviation from this ideal definition, the degree of fault is applied accordingly. Severe fault or disqualification will apply to fish with a malformed body.


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