najrick Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Its been brought to my attention that we all have our weak spots when it comes to our Bettas. Lilli loves her perfect anal fin, while Stefan in addicted to the perfect body shape, and we all know that edie loves his branching. So what gets you going? What is the one thing that draws your eye to a fish? For me its the colour. I love nothing more then a stunning coloured Betta. A number of my favourite fish have had obvious faults, but they still become my favourites as I feel their colour just lights up the room when you walk in. You can see this in the CT in my banner. I know that he has the most undesirable body shape, but he has to be one of my all time favourite fish as even in a room full of Bettas he will be the first that everybody sees. Guest are just drawn to him as his colour and pattern are simply stunning. So fess up, what do you find irresistible in your Bettas? Najina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 I love how they have flowining fins. Nothing is more spectatular then a Red betta will flowing fins. I bought a Red HM pair off JL over a year ago and to date he is my favourite betta. His fins are like velvet and he looks a different Red depending on the light. Even his regrowth from past illness looks great So, it is the flowing velveting fins for me. (And the pouty faces too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 The thing i look for is a perfect Caudal fin and perfect colour. I love a perfect 180o tail with nice strait edges and no curved top and bottom. Colour is just as important, especially if it is a marble. If those 2 things are great, i can let a poor anal fin and dorsal fin slip :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickiPS Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Colour, yep! Flowing fins, yep! Tail type doesn't matter, but I love to see full, lush-looking finnage and vivid colour. Some HMs don't turn me on -- pale yellows, cellos etc tend to look 'flimsy' to me, even if they are OHM. I I don't like the so-called "perfect HM". A fully symmetrical capital-D shaped fish doesn't look natural to my eye -- nature is never symmetrical. I'm a sucker for full, broad dorsals, and quite like the look of rounded dorsals. But I really dislike the grossly exaggerated dorsals on extreme DTs. What really gets me going is nice eyes My pastel girl from Lilli (Petal) and her fry all had lovely big dark eyes -- you could amost imagine eyelashes :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Vicki, petals grandkids have distinctive eyes aswell As some support to my post above, i guess my perfect fish is the green marble i posted in the critiqe, just so you know what i am talking about, even though he is an ohm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 I'll go for any of the boys that can seriously shake their tailfeather I can cope with average colouring. I do like a good topline and balanced finnage, but overall, they have to have that "i'm hot stuff baby!" attitude :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 its the colour that first draws my eye. Green, Platinum and Blue/Yellow Mg's are my major weaknesses, but really its a combination of colour, form and personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Anal fins are probably my achilles heel rather than what draws me to betts! LOL! It's colour for me too. remember the first time you ever saw a metallic betta in the flesh? ..... that feeling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettabegood Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 For me it's the whole package - colour and fins and personality. I'd never kept fish in my life, I found them so boring ... until I saw my first betta, that is. He was a red/blue VT and I thought he looked absolutely stunning with his bright colours and flashy long tail and arrogant, "look-at-me, aren't-I-special" attitude. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mishy Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Personality.. I love my feisty fishes... but i like them to be gentle in the breeding process.. feisty yet gentle... Movement of the fish is what attracts me at an aquarium. I also love unusual colouring. My fish that's currently a 'regular colour' is my melano and the red HM. Rest of them I have no idea what you'd call them. Physically.. ventrals... mmmm.... Those flowing ventrals on the male plakats, mmmmm.... I could do with some of that that baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 I love a betta with perfect, balanced form. Short, even, oblong anal fin that is directed forwards, a nice broad and full dorsal (but not with DT shape), and a very full Hm - OHm caudal, preferably with alot of branching without scalloping and extreme rosetail features...nice and smooth edged and straight outer rays. I prefer the ventrals to be no longer than the anal fin, and very full. Large pectorals are nice as well. No ray extensions in any fins, and no curled rays. As for color, I prefer Royal Blue, Green and Turquoise, Metallic Royal Blue, Metallic Green/Turquoise, Copper Gold, and Copper-green and Copper-blue I also don't mind marbles if they are of these colors. No redwash!!! For me, body shape must be nice and strong, slim but not thin, and not DT-thick either. Absolutely no dents or bumps or irregularities at all, and no extreme humpbacks either, as in where the back suddenly becomes the head. The perfect topline should be smooth and curved but not very arched. I also like to see a betta that can move with grace and vigor, be able to move easily and quickly, flare readily. I like a male that wants to rip his neighbour's guts out but treat his mate with the respect and care she deserves Females should be able to carry themselves with pride and to have nice, full fins with lots of ray branching and 180+* caudal spread, and very well balanced. I am in in the process of drawing my perfect HM pair ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpearce Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 The colours for me! I love a evenly coloured betta, the brighter the better. Not terribly fussed on marbles. I like an all over colour. Metallics also...mmmmmm. I'd like to get my own little rainbow in my divided tank. Just need to get hold of a good purple some day. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
najrick Posted November 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Umm sorry Stefan I think you misinterpreted my original post. We all know what a perfect HM should look like, but what I wanted to know was what little feature you like the most on your fish. What I want you to do is go sit in front of your fish and just watch them. What little thing do they do, or what feature makes you smile? Is it the way their colour shimmers, or is it the shape of their fins, or the way they move? What you have written is fine, but to analyse the perfect HM takes time and experience. I was more interested in the little things that take your fancy and make you smile. Najina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
najrick Posted November 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 It's colour for me too. remember the first time you ever saw a metallic betta in the flesh? ..... that feeling! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I remember the first time natural sunlight hit my first Copper/Gold. It was like watching a fish with a 1000 colours instead of just one. Still gives me goose bumps when I see it. Najina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren MacFish Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 I like colour too, multi-colours especially, and some ballooning between the rays. Some bettas with lots of branching have crowded, heavy looking tails that don't flow as well as more simple tails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mishy Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Tee hee.. i love their grumpy faces? Does this count Najina? Ooo.. and the 1/2 masked girls with coloured lips... makes me want to kiss them ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbies Betta Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 First thing that draws me to a betta would have to be it's colour. Good solid nice clean colours tho pref in Green, Blue, Platinum and Pastels. Also, any type of metallic that fits into these categories Also the velvety fins is what first drew me to a betta (VT), that and the fact he was Blue (well a royal blue multi) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta_Di Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 The thing that drew me to bettas in the first place was the colours. Now a "special" betta will be one with 'tude and who is highly interactive. One of my first bettas used to stalk me about his tank - checking on what I was doing wherever I was in the room. I'm also a sucker for the pouty mouths. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Um, yeah...ok... The thing that draws me to a betta is perfect form, color, and personality and character. Also the way a young healthy male moves and struts his stuff, and the gracefull beauty of a stunning female I am starting to like the color contrast in marbles. I tend to be overly-analytical about bettas, so if just one thing isnt up to scratch about them, I cannot really appreciate any of the other, more desireble features that they possess. What attracts me to a betta has to be the whole, perfect package; form, color, character etc, all in balance and harmony. Thats why I just described my perfect betta, instead of a particular feature... am I making sense? To me it's like, you can't have one without the other And every betta is different anyway, so they all have something different to offer ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 I remember the first time natural sunlight hit my first Copper/Gold. It was like watching a fish with a 1000 colours instead of just one. Still gives me goose bumps when I see it. Najina <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I cant wait for that day to come Hopefully it will come soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 It was like watching a fish with a 1000 colours instead of just one Exactly! Exactly, exactly!! Non-betta people ask me what is so interesting about a "brown" fish (as coppers so often appear in photos). UI tel them they're not brown, they're every colour of the rainbow. Like when you see petrol on water! Sin named her copper gold Exxon after I gave this analogy ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xysti53 Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 I must be honest and say that I have a soft spot for Plakats . But having said that the first thing I look for is body shape the thing I dislike is a fish that has an over large keel on the caudal just looks wrong ( double tails tend to have more than most) After the body it has to the fins again depending on the type of Betta either nice full round fins no clamping and no ray twists or bends. After judging a couple of the fighter show last year the number of fish that had bent or twisted rays was amazinging high. In the end if I was buying for myself I would end up with red Plakats. The most stunning I have seen was the red gold popcorn scale Plakats that went to Mrs Grump off Aquabid earlier this year. Graeme :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Like when you see petrol on water! Sin named her copper gold Exxon after I gave this analogy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually, she came right home and looked up how to spell Exxon :rant: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted November 19, 2005 Report Share Posted November 19, 2005 Cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy_dragonfly Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Personality!!! Fins and things are importaint paticularly with breeding fish but I like to appreciate my bettas as ornimental fish and animal companions. I use personaility to help identify pets that are identical visually and also monitor changes in behaviour for health reasons. Plus you get to enjoy them more. Visually I like blue and white BF or marbles any tail type, I also like hyper red and platinum is nice. I feel sorry for deltas without HM history they are not often spoken of, even VT get more attention. I have seen and owned some very nice deltas they tend to be more durable then other long finned bettas. Personality, I like the active bettas, ones that have a bit of attitude but not over agressive and not too timid. I find that breeding with this personality type results in less torn fins although it does take longer to get results they are also more interactive, you can play chase-the-finger, and they learn to jump for food (occasional excercise), when Sparkey (copper HM male) was younger he could jump clear out of the water. It's really cool they brace themselves in striking pose like a snake and flick their tails to catch their prey :tongue: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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