# Fancies



## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

What are fancies exactly? When I see them they are always different things, some look like Koi, some are marbles, and some just look like bi-colored or multicolored fish with bad washes. Is it the type of scales or pattern they show that tells they are a fancy or do people just throw it around to make their fish seem more special?


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

According to a person I was talking to recently, who is a long time IBC member, Fancies are really only just bad marbles. *bad according to IBC standards for marbles*
It's not a technical term, and a lot of people are throwing everything that doesnt fit under solid, multi, or bi color perfetly into that category now. SO many fish that dont look "fancy" in any way shape or form, just some bad wash, are being sold under that description now, which I'm not a fan of.


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

I figured it was something like that. xD since most of the fish listed as fancy looked like something else like marbles, Koi's, even a bi-colored with bad wash and all patchy I wasn't too keen about.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Haha yeah, all they are, is some type of marble, or have bad wash. Great to look at, but apparently not really show quality. I love them though! Have you seen the new "tigers" they have out? All they are is a marble, not even any stripes, but called a tiger haha (absolutely gorgeous though! I hope to own one soon!)


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

I haven't seen the tigers but then again I mostly am looking at HMPK on Aquabid and searching for either marbles or whites most of the time >.<

Note to self, avoid all fish with Fancy in it's title.

Do you know if you get a fancy is it more so a genetic thing you have to breed out or just that fish in the spawn had a bad color patterns but it's siblings might have been better marbles? I have been hunting for marble females for my boy and I can't seem to find any that are NOT fancy. T.T


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## Hadoken Kitty (Jan 24, 2013)

Honestly, it sounds like someone doesn't know how to name a color pattern, or is too ashamed to say it's real one, so they slap on the term "fancy". :roll:


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

I dunno for sure. I was told by a Thai breeder last year it was used as a term for Betta with 3 plus colors. My Fancy betta are no fancier than any other Betta, but the goal was to breed multi color genetics together with multi marbles in experiment and not to offend.


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## Hadoken Kitty (Jan 24, 2013)

I most definitely should have said I was only joking with my statement. I sounded really snarky in that last comment.

How would they offend, though?


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

Oh its Ok! Im glad your not offended im not, There are so many terms used in the betta world Im still trying to get my head around it all.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Hmm, to answer an earlier question:
I think that it could very easily be just that particular fish, I'm sure that a lot in a fancyxfancy spawn would have the parents colors, but not in the same way the parent had.

Like with the tiger I was looking at, which is a "fancy", he was mostly white but had grey and blue all over his body, and a sibling female I was going to get was pure white with grey and blue in a BF pattern meaning she would have been a decent show quality fish (IMO)


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## inareverie85 (Apr 18, 2008)

Fairly sure the term just means a 3+ color marble, though sometimes I see regular 'ol multis given the term. 

It's actually pretty tough to get a "good" marble by IBC standard.. The marbling has to be distributed in an even 50/50 ratio on the fins and body.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

inareverie85 said:


> It's actually pretty tough to get a "good" marble by IBC standard.. The marbling has to be distributed in an even 50/50 ratio on the fins and body.


I never knew that! I mean I knew it was tough to get a good marble, but I was never told it had to be 50/50. I just spawned a blue dalmation type marble girl, and a MG type fancy boy, in hopes of getting some interesting show quality fry...so I'm glad I know this now! Thanks! (I guess I should have researched through the handbook a little more before spawning them lol)


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Happy I know this too.

I have an MG type boy and I want to breed him to a marble girl and make a nice marble strain with him. Also want to breed him to another MG type female as well and get straight up clean crisp MG patterns.


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## Hadoken Kitty (Jan 24, 2013)

DOesn't marbling refer to color changing...? Does that mean that my tri-colored "fancy" male that I just bought is going to continue changing color? -.-


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

This is an example of a marble. It's not so much they change color as it's they are like 'calico's'. Their pattern changes.


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## inareverie85 (Apr 18, 2008)

Hakoden Kitty, your boy looks more like a Grizzle, which doesn't change color nearly as dramatically as your regular marble. I think they share some similarities in their genetics, but I own many grizzles myself for my own breeding programs, and they never changed color on me yet.


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## Hadoken Kitty (Jan 24, 2013)

Okay, whew. I didn't think he looked like a marble, but he was labeled a fancy. I was looking more at the image than the labeling. So...just a matter of mis-labeling? I usually pay more attention to the fish itself, and the description, than the label. Since so many people seem to have discrepancies regarding such.


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## Signature Farms (Nov 23, 2012)

So what exactly *is* a tiger and why do they call the color/pattern that? I tried googling but only found the wild type.


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## VictorP (Jun 5, 2012)

Tigers is just a marketing term for orange bettas with black spots. They don't have any stripes. So I guess they should be called leopard bettas LOL.


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## Signature Farms (Nov 23, 2012)

I actually prefer the name Leopard Betta! If that's all tigers are, I guess I have a few of those! Two PK males yellow/orange with black spots, and a female of the same. Theyre absolutelt gorgeous. I'm imagining the pattern possibilities their babies would have...


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

I've seen fancy used to term a marble. I have seen it on two and three colored fish. Now they tend to use the term Koi on the three colored ones. It is basically a name to get you to look at the fish. If you use the thumbnail option and forget the name you do much better on AB.. lol


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