I had a real blast going to Friedrichshaffen, Germany this past weekend to apprentice judge at the Kampffishfruende Area 2 IBC Convention! I met so many wonderful betta people in Europe, and it is my new personal goal to breed bettas that would be competitive in Europe so that I can take fish over there (as well as bring many back!)
I took lots of pictures and will be adding them in a later post. For now I just wanted to put up a short video that I made.
I took lots of pictures and will be adding them in a later post. For now I just wanted to put up a short video that I made.
There were many differences between US and European shows:
- Many exhibitors travel to the shows in Europe, which gives it a really nice close-knit community feel. This would be very difficult for people in the US, since the distances are far greater. The only show that gains real attendance from the majority of the IBC community is the annual convention, which most serious US breeders try to fly to every year.
- Breeders in Europe are more likely to maintain lines for generations, and to trade fish from related lines at shows. I really loved this part, because I believe that is what selective breeding is all about. It also further contributes to the community feeling of showing and breeding bettas.
- Most of the breeders in Europe were much younger than those in the US. I believe that this is one reason why they are so rapidly expanding and taking advantage of new technologies to further the hobby.
- Bettas are far more expensive and valuable. The difficulty with importation into European countries no doubt contributes, giving rise to a bottleneck effect on supply versus high demand. Many bettas went for 10 to 35-40 euros, sometimes even higher.
- Since bettas are so expensive, I believe that people here become much more knowledgeable about bettas prior to purchasing such an investment. It also probably contributes to the intensive linebreeding. In contrast, breeders in the US are able to easily purchase bettas from overseas and breed them rather than focus on particular lines. Fish from Thailand and other SE Asian countries tend to have muddled genetics, making establishment of pure lines and even obtaining the knowledge of basic genetics difficult for the average US breeder.
- Disqualification during judging is very common in European shows. Small size and scale faults are [u]not[/u] tolerated. I believe that this practice should be adopted in the US shows - however, it is possible that ruthless DQ's in the US would discourage breeders from entering shows, where attendance is already low. Since MOST Americans have not actually attended a show, new breeders are very wary to send their fish, since they have no idea if their fish are competitive or not. I always tell people it is better to send! You never know!
- Since the shows are generally at large aquarium-based fish fairs, a very large crowd is attracted to the auction. Fish are placed in a small light box with mirrors, and live video is projected on a screen for all the auction attendees. Large fairs dedicated to aquarium hobbies are few and far between in the US, so adopting this would be difficult. However, hosting the shows in hotels is great for all day seminars, lunches, and dinners, which makes the experience very intense and fosters even more communication between breeders.
- In that line, the aquarium hobby in general is taken very seriously (in Germany at least). Many highly-regarded books are printed only in German, and a lot of knowledge of the aquarium hobby originates from Germany in the first place.
- The show tanks are larger, and have lights built-in to the shelves, which makes viewing the fish much easier on the bench. The tanks were also heated from underneath with flexwatt heat mats, and the bettas were very happy in these conditions. By the second or third day, most males had constructed a bubblenest, and most bettas flared on sight!
- European shows suffer a similar fate as US shows when Asian fish enter the competition - although the best fish are of course comparable and compete well for awards, the points awarded to Asian fish go nowhere. It is a particular problem with Asian-bought fish shown as a team with the owner - the points are lost. Reconciling this problem will be a big step for the IBC.
- Set-up and take-down was highly efficient! I cannot believe how well the Kampffischfreunde team worked together, like a well-oiled machine. Peter even built the trailer containing all the equipment by hand, so everything fits *literally* perfectly inside it!
- Betta people the world over are incredibly generous, kind, friendly, and overall wonderful people. The European contingent was particularly discerning in looking at the qualities of a given fish, and meticulous in their selective breeding. They were incredibly honest about their fish, and would describe in detail the faults of their brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents prior to giving me a fish from their line. I had a truly wonderful experience, and am even entertaining a move in the future...perhaps an overseas post-doc?
- Many exhibitors travel to the shows in Europe, which gives it a really nice close-knit community feel. This would be very difficult for people in the US, since the distances are far greater. The only show that gains real attendance from the majority of the IBC community is the annual convention, which most serious US breeders try to fly to every year.
- Breeders in Europe are more likely to maintain lines for generations, and to trade fish from related lines at shows. I really loved this part, because I believe that is what selective breeding is all about. It also further contributes to the community feeling of showing and breeding bettas.
- Most of the breeders in Europe were much younger than those in the US. I believe that this is one reason why they are so rapidly expanding and taking advantage of new technologies to further the hobby.
- Bettas are far more expensive and valuable. The difficulty with importation into European countries no doubt contributes, giving rise to a bottleneck effect on supply versus high demand. Many bettas went for 10 to 35-40 euros, sometimes even higher.
- Since bettas are so expensive, I believe that people here become much more knowledgeable about bettas prior to purchasing such an investment. It also probably contributes to the intensive linebreeding. In contrast, breeders in the US are able to easily purchase bettas from overseas and breed them rather than focus on particular lines. Fish from Thailand and other SE Asian countries tend to have muddled genetics, making establishment of pure lines and even obtaining the knowledge of basic genetics difficult for the average US breeder.
- Disqualification during judging is very common in European shows. Small size and scale faults are [u]not[/u] tolerated. I believe that this practice should be adopted in the US shows - however, it is possible that ruthless DQ's in the US would discourage breeders from entering shows, where attendance is already low. Since MOST Americans have not actually attended a show, new breeders are very wary to send their fish, since they have no idea if their fish are competitive or not. I always tell people it is better to send! You never know!
- Since the shows are generally at large aquarium-based fish fairs, a very large crowd is attracted to the auction. Fish are placed in a small light box with mirrors, and live video is projected on a screen for all the auction attendees. Large fairs dedicated to aquarium hobbies are few and far between in the US, so adopting this would be difficult. However, hosting the shows in hotels is great for all day seminars, lunches, and dinners, which makes the experience very intense and fosters even more communication between breeders.
- In that line, the aquarium hobby in general is taken very seriously (in Germany at least). Many highly-regarded books are printed only in German, and a lot of knowledge of the aquarium hobby originates from Germany in the first place.
- The show tanks are larger, and have lights built-in to the shelves, which makes viewing the fish much easier on the bench. The tanks were also heated from underneath with flexwatt heat mats, and the bettas were very happy in these conditions. By the second or third day, most males had constructed a bubblenest, and most bettas flared on sight!
- European shows suffer a similar fate as US shows when Asian fish enter the competition - although the best fish are of course comparable and compete well for awards, the points awarded to Asian fish go nowhere. It is a particular problem with Asian-bought fish shown as a team with the owner - the points are lost. Reconciling this problem will be a big step for the IBC.
- Set-up and take-down was highly efficient! I cannot believe how well the Kampffischfreunde team worked together, like a well-oiled machine. Peter even built the trailer containing all the equipment by hand, so everything fits *literally* perfectly inside it!
- Betta people the world over are incredibly generous, kind, friendly, and overall wonderful people. The European contingent was particularly discerning in looking at the qualities of a given fish, and meticulous in their selective breeding. They were incredibly honest about their fish, and would describe in detail the faults of their brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents prior to giving me a fish from their line. I had a truly wonderful experience, and am even entertaining a move in the future...perhaps an overseas post-doc?
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