Going Wild with Bettas

Hatchery
Disinfection

IBC & FOTAS 2022

Convention Lineup of Events
The Breeders Corner
Betta simplex

What is at Stake?

FLARE! 1
 IBC Board Members & Committee Chairs
Executive Board
President Luis Navarro president@ibcbettas.org
Vice President Lorena Burgueno vp@ibcbettas.org
Secretary Federico Cuanalo secretary@ibcbettas.org
Treasurer Jacqueline Nicki Gray treasurer@ibcbettas.org
Judging Board Gerald Griffin jbchair@ibcbettas.org
Member-at-Large Paulo Faria ebmember1@ibcbettas.org
Member-at-Large Kenny Seaw ebmember2@ibcbettas.org
Member-at-Large Christina Simpson ebmember3@ibcbettas.org
Area 1 Member-at-Large Heidi Burkle area1member@ibcbettas.org
Area 2 Member-at-Large Petra Stojakovic area2member@ibcbettas.org
Area 3 Member-at-large TBD area3member@ibcbettas.org
Area 4 Member-at-large Fazel Shah area4member@ibcbettas.org
Area 5 Member-at-Large TBD area5member@ibcbettas.org
Area 6 Member-at-Large Gerry Ong Tan area6member@ibcbettas.org
Area 7 Member-at-Large TBD area7member@ibcbettas.org
All Executive Board Members ebmembers@ibcbettas.org
Judging Board
Judging Board Chair Gerald Griffin jbchair@ibcbettas.org
Certification Certification handled by Area Rep certification@ibcbettas.org
Standards All JB Members standards@ibcbettas.org
Training Handled by Area Reps training@ibcbettas.org
Registrar Handled by Area Reps registrar@ibcbettas.org
Area 1 JB Representative Aurelia Ogles representatives@ibcbettas.org
Area 2 JB Representative James King representatives@ibcbettas.org
Area 3 JB Representative Lee Yao Tsung representatives@ibcbettas.org
Area 4 JB Representative TBD representatives@ibcbettas.org
Area 5 JB Representative TBD representatives@ibcbettas.org
Area 6 JB Representative Shalan Nasha representatives@ibcbettas.org
Area 7 JB Representative TBD representatives@ibcbettas.org
executiveboardrep@ibcbettas.
Executive Board JB Representative Christina Simpson
org
All Judging Board Members judgingboard@ibcbettas.org
Committee Chairs
Archives Luis Navarro archives@ibcbettas.org
Awards Aurelia Ogles president@ibcbettas.org
Chapters Kenny Seaw chapters@ibcbettas.org
Constitution Rob Simpson constitution@ibcbettas.org
Events JB Chair, see JB list for Area Specific events@ibcbettas.org
Finance Stacy Fenhaus finance@ibcbettas.org
FLARE! Editor Christina Simpson and Gerald Griffin flareeditor@ibcbettas.org
Marketing TBD marketing@ibcbettas.org
Membership TBD membership@ibcbettas.org
Nomenclature Gene A. Lucas nomenclature@ibcbettas.org
Nominations Jacqueline Nicki Gray nominations@ibcbettas.org
Publications TBD publications@ibcbettas.org
Research and Grants Andres Bendesky research@ibcbettas.org
Species Maintenance Bill Little & Missina Burcaw smp@ibcbettas.org
Technical Assistance Heidi Burkle ta@ibcbettas.org
Web Team Stacy Fenhaus, Larissa Williams webmaster@ibcbettas.org

FLARE! 2
On the cover About Lorena Burgueño:
Burdigala Breeding born in Munro, Buenos Aires in 1983. I
Artwork by Lorena Burgueño am 38 years old, but my spirit feels like
Cover Design: Gerald Griffin 20 ahahahha. I like fish in general since
I was a child, in my house they didn’t
let me have them but when I reached
working age I spent my first salary on
Columns a fish tank where I had my first fish. I
started with a white bellied pangasius
4 Editor’s Message fish, it was with me for many years
and then I went over to the cold water
5 President’s Message carassius side. I study various species,
including Astronotus ocellatus and
Luis Navarro
Angelfish. I started breeding bettas 8
6 From the Judging Board years ago with my husband Mauro, and
Gerald Griffin during that time I used my artistic skills
to portray my observations. I have a
9 The Breeders Corner degree in plastic arts and my profession
Lorena Burgueño gave me tools to apply scientific illus-
tration as a study method. I started
making anatomy drawings and currently I am studying its morphology in depth and
Articles its ethological behavior. Thanks to IBC I have managed to obtain valuable material
7 Betta simplex to be able to illustrate, I have been in the organization for 5 years in which I have
Gerald Griffin shared experiences around the world with breeders specialized in Wild varieties,
they are certainly my favorite Bettas to provide a detailed study and provide assis-
15 Going Wild with Bettas
tance to who just started with these varieties.
Gerald Griffin
22 Hatchery Disinfection
Lorena Burgueño IBC
26 IBC & FOTAS 2022 Convention Lineup of Events 2 Board Members and Committee Chairs
Gerald Griffin 33 Election Materials
30 What is at Stake? 50 Meeting Minutes
Gerald Griffin
57 IBC Code of Ethics

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58 Show Info

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FLARE! 3
Hello IBC Members!
We are now in our third issue since bringing back FLARE! We are still
working out some of the bugs and strive with every issue to bring you
new and exciting content. This issue is going to focus mainly on Wild
Betta Species and Art.
We are always looking for people to join the FLARE! committee so if you
want to do something to help our magazine let us know and we will be
glad to bring you on board.
You will also begin to see regular colums in FLARE! We look forward to
serving you, the IBC membership and give you your magazine which
has been overdue. We hope you enjoy the New FLARE!
Christina Simpson
Gerald Griffin
FLARE! Editorial Team
Christina Simpson, Gerald Griffin, Kayla Griffin, Luis Navarro, Lorena
Burgueño, Valaree Brown, Morgan Ruttle, Julie McKee, Kurt Bihlmayer,
Paulo Faria, Massimo Butera, Raul Brenes and Francisco Alvarez.
IBC Membership Dues
Electronic Membership with Color FLARE!
$20 Individual
$22 Family
$50 Corresponding (fish hobby organizations and commercial entities)
$500 Lifetime Membership (for individuals and families only)
Volume 53 Issue 1
FLARE! Is the official quarterly publication
of the International Betta Congress (IBC),
a non-profit organization. The views and
opinions contained within are not necessarily
those of the editors and/or the officers and
members of the IBC.
FLARE! Submission Guidelines
Articles:
Please submit all articles in electronic
form. We can accept most popular software
formats and fonts. Photos and graphics
are encouraged with your articles! Please
remember to include the photo/graphic
credits. Graphics and photo files may be sub-
mitted in any format, however uncompressed
TIFF, JPEG or vector format is preferred, at
the highest resolution/file size possible. If
you need help with graphics files or your file
is too large to email, please contact me for
alternative submission methods.
Chapter Reports:
All chapters are encouraged to submit news
and chapter items. It is a great opportunity
to attract new club members in your area.
Photos and graphics are encouraged with
your articles! Please remember to include
the photo/graphic credits. See the previous
information on submissions.
Show Information:
Show Chairs are responsible for submitting
Show Information and Show Results. Please
submit results in the electronic format ap-
proved by the Judging Board Registrar. Show
Ads cannot exceed 2 pages in length. If you
need help in creating an ad please contact
the editor.
Art Submission:
Graphics and photo files may be submitted
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publica-
tion may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted, distributed, sold or pub-
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the explicit permission of the International
Betta Congress (IBC),
FLARE! 4
president’s message
S
pring is upon us, and the Bettas are ready to
breed. It’s time to get those breeding pairs in
optimal condition and ready to go! Best of
luck to all those breeders out there and may your
best fish win. I encourage everyone to participate
in as many events as you can and enjoy the com-
petition. We are hoping that the number of shows
will start to grow now that Covid is slowly reced-
ing. Unfortunately, we had several shows canceled
due to organizers being affected by Covid, but we
think that we are about to turn the corner and get
back to normal. The virtual shows are a fun alter-
native to get your feet wet in the betta competition
or in case you are still not able to participate at
an in-person show. We have a virtual show in full
swing as we speak and there is another coming up,
the show name is a ‘A hobby uniting the world’
you can find more information in the IBC web
page or in their Facebook page at: https://www.
facebook.com/groups/991074974572532/?ref=sha
re_group_link As always you can find information
about upcoming shows at the IBC web page.
We have great things coming down the pipe; such
as Elections we have a table full of members run-
ning for different positions in the Executive Board
and Judging Board and are looking forward to
working with the newcomers. This is also the time
to nominate outstanding friends of IBC so get
your pencil ready as you still have time to sub-
mit your nominations. You should have received
email asking for your input, if you have friends or
relatives that you want to nominate get them out
before the end of march deadline. The General
Convention is fast approaching, and we hope you
can make it to Oklahoma so we can meet.
This year we will be holding the convention along
side the FOTAS association so there will be more
fish and aquarist people around, there will be a
larger crowd and should be lots of fun. You can
find more details about the upcoming General
Convention in the IBC web page. (https://www.
ibcbettas.org/convention-confirmation/)
We are always looking for ways to improve so
please feel free to submit your suggestions for im-
provement. Our current plan is to update the tech-
nical assistance library so we are currently working
towards uploading more articles. Keep on the
lookout for new content in that area. We also just
got a new person on board to write new articles, is
has vast experience in betta fish and in writing and
you should soon hear more details on that.
We have exiting months ahead of us with elec-
tions and nominations of outstanding members as
well as the General Convention so we hope to see
you at the convention, stay in touch and get those
breeders breeding.
Until the next time!
Luis I Navarro
President
International Betta Congress
president@ibcbettas.org
FLARE! 5
from the judging board
I
t is that time of year and the Convention season
is almost upon us. Many years I talk about what
Convention means however many have still not
experienced it. To be honest, until you do, you have no
idea what it is really like. It is the only place you can
go and see all things Betta! There will be a Betta show
that is typically much larger than the regular shows
through the year because entrants are vying to score as
many points as possible to win the Presidents Trophy
and to win breeder of the year! It also produces the
biggest auction as a lot of these fish will be retired after
the show season so will be available for purchase at
the Auction on Sunday. Now to top this off the Chap-
ter that was supposed to host the Federation of Texas
Aquarium Societies Convention decided they could
not risk it this year so passed on hosting their Con-
vention. FOTAS has a line up of who is hosting what
years. My clubs, Oklahoma Aquarium Association and
the Oklahoma Betta Breeders Association were slated
with the Northwest Arkansas Aquarium Society to
host the FOTAS Convention in 2023. Since for similar
reasons the IBC Convention fell upon me, I decided to
merge the two into one event. So, what that means is
that you will have two Conventions to attend instead of
just one.
So, this event is going to be a sort of hybrid. We will
have a joint show room, we will have a joint banquet
and the same set of speakers. The difference in the
speakers is that they will not be Betta specific. You
can see the line up in the article where I posted the
lineup. What will happen is that the IBC stuff will go
first then be followed by the FOTAS stuff. The Auction
on Sunday will have the Betta stuff first followed by an
All-Species Auction which will have species from the
FOTAS Region which is Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
and Louisiana. I would expect it to be Catfish and
Cichlid heavy. So, if you are into all sorts of other fish
as well then this is the place for you. We also have a
situation where there were no bids for Convention next
year. I have been asked by the American Livebearer
Association if I was interested in doing some of their
Conventions. So, in the future it might not be out of
the question for you all to see a joint ALA-IBC Con-
vention. We will see how the Triple Crown goes this
year a few weeks following this event to see if they will
stick with that format. I am thinking of attending to
see if this is something the IBC might want to join.
The next thing you have probably noticed is the date
of July 7th – 10th. This is something I had no control
over. When Puerto Rico bowed out, I had to grab what
dates I could closest to the actual time of our normal
Convention. This unfortunately puts us in a little bind
with the Constitution. To start with the IBC has to
have the General Membership meeting in June so this
will be done online. More details to follow on this.
However, the entire rest of the normal stuff can still
happen during this Convention. The IBC Area 1 show
year has been extended to July 11th to allow for this
Convention show to be the last show of the year. So
other than one meeting, everything else will go on like
normal with the exception of other fish geeks joining
you for events. If this hybrid format works, we may do
it again next year!
Until Next Time
Gerald Griffin
Judging Board Chair
FLARE! 6
 Betta simplex
Article by Gerald Griffin
Photos by Kasper Wawryniuk
W
hen I first heard of Betta simplex my
thoughts were “Oh boy another Betta spe-
cies!” Then as I was investigating it I found
it was in the Picta complex and thought well that will
be an easy breed. So, it wasn’t long before I had them
in my hands and they went right to work making
babies. Upon further research I found there were a few
populations all from the Krabi province of the south-
ern peninsular of Thailand. People had classified them
into simplex type 1 and simplex type 2. Then there
was a population around Lake Ao that grew much larg-
er than the other two types. So, upon obtaining both
types side by side the big difference was the amount of
iridescence on the body. However, when I bred type 2
to type 2, I ended up with about 50% type 1 and 50%
type 2. I repeated this for type 1 and got the same
results. This led me to believe they were exactly the
same. The Lake Ao population still intrigued me, but I
was not able to obtain them.
A couple years later I did a consult at the Monterey
Bay Aquarium and supplied them with specimens of
Betta simplex and Betta albimarginata for a display to
go with the fauna found with the small clawed otter. A
couple years later and I happened to be giving a talk
in that part of California so I took the time to get a
behind the scenes tour of the Monterrey Bay Aquari-
um and saw the simplex I had provided got really huge.
Could this explain the Lake Ao population in that they
were same but had access to more water and more
food? Maybe something in the environment was cap-
ping the growth of the other locations. Unfortunately,
we may never know the answer to this as simplex has
moved from vulnerable to critically endangered.
When it comes to keeping wild Betta species simplex is
as the name describes, really simple. They are one of
the most undemanding species of Wild Betta and will
fair in almost any conditions. Betta simplex in the wild
come from alkaline waters (unlike most wild Betta
species) however the pH still is not that high capping
out at about 7.4. They are typically found in limestone
sinkholes near the surface of the water. This water can
be blue-green color from the dissolved calcite. Like the
vast majority of Wild Betta species, they are opportu-
nistic feeders and primarily feed on small crustaceans
and insect larva. They share their environment with
Trigonostigma espei and Barbodes lateristriga. In cap-
tivity they do well on almost any prepared foods how-
ever live foods should be included from time to time.
As to keeping simplex in captivity, they are an easy
species. The first rule in keeping wild Bettas is that
they jump! Also the size of hole they can escape out
of is indirectly proportional to the cost of the fish! So
tight covers are a must. To that end I prefer sponge
filters as you can drill a hole about the size of the air-
line and slide it in where there are no gaps. For a pair
FLARE! 7
I prefer something like a 20 gallon long as it gives
them plenty of room to grow and raise a family. I
have also used a lot of regular 20 gallon tanks. If
I am just spawning them to make babies then a 10
gallon tank works out fine. As mentioned previ-
ously the water conditions are not critical however
clean water is most desirable.

Although they can be kept with various tank mates

if you are going to try to reproduce them for main-
tenance then they should only be kept in pairs
as the tank mates would snack on the babies. Or
worse the female might kill off the tankmates while
defending her territory. Betta simplex is sexually
dimorphic with the Male having a wider head and
a large anal stripe which is primarily characteristic
of the Picta Complex with the exception of edithae
which has a less pronounced anal stripe.

Betta simplex is a paternal mouthbrooder, so the

female typically initiates spawning by nipping at the
male’s caudal fin. Just a note: Females replenish
their eggs in about seven days however the Male
holds for about 10 days. This can create a problem
as a female will initiate new spawning forcing the
male to either swallow the brood or release them
early. Personally, I have noticed the Male’s mouth
reduce in size, then swell back up again and when
he finally released there were two sizes of fry. As it
turned out some of the first brood got released early
and hid in the gravel and then joined the newcom-
ers when it was feeding time. The act of spawn-
ing is just like the majority of Wild Betta species
in which the pair will circle each other and then
embrace. The eggs are caught in the Male’s anal
fin and the female pics them up in her mouth. She
then spits the eggs in front of the Male for him to
grab. However, the Female is also trying to scoop
them into her mouth, so it looks like tease. When
he finally has all of the eggs, she will then initiate
another spawning embrace. Then the process will
repeat over and over again until she is depleted
of eggs. When the fry are released, they are large
enough for brine shrimp nauplii and grow pretty
quickly.

So, if you are into really unique fish and love

Anabantoids then Betta simplex might be the per-
fect addition to your collection.

FLARE! 8
THE BREEDER’S
CORNER
By LORENA BURGUEÑO
Our beloved Breeder’s Corner has been developed
in a time of Covid, as a resource to meet outstanding
breeders in all 7 IBC areas, sadly it came about in a
time of deep regret, but has thrived by encouraging
all those who wish to show their hard work from one
region to the world. Personally, I consider that meet-
ing people from all countries is extremely enriching,
each breeder must solve problems in their own region,
each place has parameters in the water of its network,
temperatures and different climatic variations. It is for
this reason that this column is already a vital part of
FLARE!, a meeting place where we will meet our most
prominent members and all their advice for the com-
munity in each edition.

In this edition we will meet Ioan Nemes, a breeder

from Zamora, Spain. He is the winner of numerous
Virtual Shows and a member of the IBC Area Two
Spain Chapter and Spain Betta Club.

FLARE! 9
 THE POSSIBILITY OF DEVEL-
OPING NEW COLOR PATTERNS
MAKES THEM UNIQUE
Ioan has been breeding bettas for many years,
but he tells us in this interview that 3 years
ago he started selective breeding. He was en-
couraged to breed using the IBC Standard and
decided to participate in the various Shows.
“They always caught my attention, their beau-
tiful colors and character. The possibility of
developing new color patterns makes them
unique and we always find new challenges to
improve color and shape. I want to help devel-
op selective breeding and protect wild species”
FLARE! 10
I have bred several varieties hm, hmpk, ctpk,
vt, wild, but my favorites are the hmpk and the
traditional pk and if they are solid (blue and
copper) better. Of the wild ones I really like
splendens and imbellis.
STARTING A TRAJECTORY IN IBC
I was present at the first international IBC
contest in Spain in 2019, I was impressed with
so many fish. I began to better select my fish to
be able to participate in the next contests. Since I hope this pandemic is over soon to return to
then I signed up for the contests organized by
betta4all at first and then those organized by
the IBC chapters.
EXPLORING VIRTUAL SHOWS
I still consider myself a novice in this beautiful
world but I am eager to learn and improve the
quality of my fish. My experience participating
in the virtual circuit has been very nice and I
met some fans with whom I shared WhatsApp
groups. Virtual shows have brought the con-
nection between members from different areas
closer.
normality and be able to compete in person.
FLARE! 11
Each breeder has to find his method, not all of
us work the same way. The parameters of wa-
ter, food, temperature are different in each city,
country, continent, so we have to adapt them
to our conditions.
Breeding method: The breeding season will
take place at any time of the year. Very import-
ant are optimal conditions such as food and
habitat to have better results.
Always trying to improve and try different-
methods: from clean water to mature water
with leaves, plants and some small planorbis
snail.
Because of the low temperatures I always use
a thermo heater to maintain a temperature of
27-28 C°
THE KEY IS OBSERVATION
Choosing strong and healthy breeders is es-
sential. The couple is previously fed with qual-
ity food, whenever possible it is better live or
frozen food (daphnia, enquitredos, mosquito
larva, tubifex).
Once the urn is prepared with cycled water,
floating plants, java moss and some hiding
place for the female, we proceed to introduce
first the male and then the female in a glass
with small holes for the change of pheromones.
Patience is very important and we have to
observe the behavior of both. The male takes
approximately 1-2 days to build the nest and if
he is very aggressive we can wait one more day
to release the female.
FLARE! 12
The pair embrace many times, the female re- When they are larger, a month, a month and a
leasing eggs, the male fertilizes them and places half, depending on their size, I start with grin-
them in the bubble nest. dal, very small cut tubifex and dryfood in small
quantities so that they get used to it. Water
After spawning I take out the female and leave changes have to be very frequent.
the male alone, I feed him while he is with the
fry once a day in a corner of the urn.

After 3-4 days when they are raised they swim

all over the urn, I take out the male, one day I
will try to leave it with the fry for a longer time.
In the first days the fry are fed with infusoria.
At 4 days I feed with recently hatched artemia
nauplii, vinegar worm, micro oat worm. We can
also use some commercial product to feed.

FLARE! 13
MEETING IOAN

Currently I am fortunate to be meeting many national and international people. My thanks to

Mr. Ángel Martines, András Bai, Vlad Stoica, the c.i.b.c.a.d.s, people who have always been there,
to this day I consider them my friends. It is very nice to share experiences and try to clarify the
doubts that appear in the breeding and selection of the best specimens. I hope that in the future
we will have more members who want to join our Chapter in Spain and that we will organize a
show together.

FLARE! 14

S
o many times I get asked what
do I need to do to work with
wild betta species? This ques-
tion is commonly asking about care
in captivity especially with several
new species becoming available in
the pet market. Since this question
is asked so often an article about
general husbandry would be in
order. Remember that many spe-
cies are found in so many different
environments from Salt marshes of
Mahachai to the Blackwater Peat
Swamps of Selangor to the hard
alkaline waters of Krabi. So how
important is it that I match those
conditions for these wild species?
Well in a word it’s not. The vast
majority of species do fine in neu-
tral water that is clean. I am break-
ing each complex down and going
to cover the general conditions for
each complex. There may be some
exceptions in each complex but for
the most part the general rules will
apply. This is not intended to cover
all species specifically but offer
general patterns of husbandry that
should allow one to keep any of
the species available now and some
that will be available in the future.
If you wish further information I
would recommend buying The Bet-
ta Handbook by Dr. Goldstein, it is
well worth the money and is filled
with lots of invaluable information.
General Information:
With many wild betta species their
wild instincts are intact and captiv-
ity can be very stressful. To mini-
mize stress, tanks should be painted
or covered in paper so that they will
not see movements outside their
tank. In a typical painting scheme
Reprinted from “FOTAS
Fish Tales” Volume 6 Issue 3
the bottom and one side and the
back is typically painted so that
the tank has a visible surface on
one end and the front. If all of
the tanks are painted in the same
manner they can be used on racks
without the fish being able to see
the fish in the other tank which can
cause stress. The bottom should be
painted or papered also so the fish
realize there is a bottom. All wild
bettas are jumpers and their tanks
must be totally covered to prevent
them from jumping out. Do not
underestimate their jumping ability,
if there is a gap or a crack they can
find it. If using outside hang on
back filters I recommend using
cross stitch plastic mesh siliconed
into any gaps the filter creates with
the tank hood. Many species do
well with heavily planted tanks with
flower pot caves and PVC pipe
FLARE! 15
sections or elbows. Most people re-
port the male swallowing the brood
around day three. It has been
surmised that that is when the eggs
hatch and turn into the wiggling
stage and the slightest disturbance
startles the male and causes him
to swallow. For best results after
spawning pull the female and do
not disturb the male.
Bubblenesters:
Splendens complex: This is the
most common complex kept in
captivity. Species include imbellis,
smaragdina, splendens, stiktos, and
mahachaiensis. All of these species
prefer slightly soft, slightly acid-
ic water with the exception of sp.
Mahachai which likes hard alkaline
water with some salt added. This
complex will do well in almost any
water condition. The best set up
for these species would be a species
tank with numerous hiding places
that is well planted. The plants can
be real or artificial as the fish do not
seem to care. Some specimens can
be very shy and some wild caught
specimens will be ambush hunters
that only feed when they feel secure
and will come out of their hiding
Betta simplex (Picta Complex). Photo by Brian Dickson.
Betta patoti (Unimaculata Complex). Photo by Andrew Mills.
places to eat food. The majority
of these individuals will need live
food until they adjust to captive
conditions. As to breeding pairs
what works best, the pair should
be placed in a ten gallon tank with
half the water level. A half sty-
rofoam cup should be floated for
the male to build a nest under. All
species breed in the typical splen-
dens fashion with the exception of
mahachaiensis. Mahachai females
will clamp their pelvic fins to hold
the eggs so they don’t drop and the
male will pick the eggs out of her
fins. The other exception is that
males will build a satellite nest and
after spawning will transfer the eggs
from one nest to the other.
Coccina complex: The red fighter
complex has the most varied spe-
cies in any complex. Three species
have been confirmed mouthbrood-
ing while the vast majority are
submerged bubblenesters. These
species are brownorum, burdi-
gala, coccina, livida, miniopinna,
persephone, rutilans, tussyae, sp.
Pangkalanbun, and sp. Sukadana.
These species typically come from
the peat swamps where the pH is
from 3.9 to 6.5. Many species are
imported with various parasites
which are not typical of their wild
environments but are from the
holding tanks they are placed in.
Since many of these species have
never encountered these parasites
they can be quite deadly to them.
All of these species can be kept in
neutral water that is slightly soft
without any problems and for tank
maintenance this is the best way so
you can have a biological filter. The
vast majority of these species easily
adapt to dry prepared foods but
some may require a transition from
live to frozen to dry food. These
FLARE! 16

Betta albimarginata (Albimarginata Complex). Photo by Natasha Patten.
species are best maintained in
species tanks with numerous hiding
places and is heavily planted. In the
wild these fish come from sterile
environments with little plant ma-
terial other then a few cryptocornes
and overhanging vegetation where
they feed primarily on insects that
fall into the swamp such as ants
and flying insects. Many of these
species will spawn in pairs but
sometimes need to see a rogue male
to get the male into the breeding/
territorial mode he needs to be in
for spawning. Sometimes a gallon
of distilled water with blackwater
extract will stimulate the male to
spawn. Males will often seek out
dark submerged spawning sites
such as large leafed cryptocornes.
To give the pair spawning sites,
one inch diameter black PVC pipe
cut in 2 inch lengths or black film
canisters have been used with great
success and males seem to prefer
them over large leafed plants. Fry
should be started on vinegar eels
and switched over to baby brine
in a week. Fry are slow growing
reaching adult size in a year.
Bellica Complex: Rarely kept in
captivity these are the big bubble-
nesters which can get to almost five
inches in length but most never get
more then four inches. Two species
are recognized, bellica and simo-
rum and their husbandry is iden-
tical. Males tend to be larger and
have a spike caudal fin, females will
have rounded abdomens. Because
of their large size the breeding tank
should be a twenty gallon or larger.
These bubblenesters make larger
bubbles and should have surface
plants such as water sprite to sup-
port the nests. Water conditions
should be soft and pH should be
around neutral. To induce spawn
Betta simorum (Bellica Complex). Photo by April Ransom.
ing high temperatures are some-
times required, high 80s to 90
degrees. Do not exceed 90 degrees
F for any wild betta.
Mouthbrooders:
Picta Complex: These mouth-
brooders are the most common
kept in captivity and consist of pic-
ta, simplex, falx, taeniata and Gold-
stein places edithae in this group.
The majority of these species rarely
exceed two inches in length, taeni-
ata will reach just over three inches
and edithae can reach four inches.
These species are quite adaptable
to the aquarium except for taeni-
ata which can be problematic. All
of these species will eat prepared
foods but relish live foods and live
and frozen foods help condition
them for spawning. The spawning
tank should be a ten gallon aquari-
um around 76 degrees F. The tank
should have some caves so that
either fish could retreat if needed
and plants are also helpful. The
courtship can last a few days with
the male displaying for the female.
When the female is ready she will
signal the male by nipping at his
caudal fin and the two will em-
FLARE! 17

A good example of a planted tank set up for wild Betta species. Photo by
Jessica Gibson.
brace at the bottom of the tank.
Many embraces may take place
before eggs are produced. Once
the eggs are produced the female
will pick up the eggs in her mouth
and spit them out and take them
up until the male takes them from
her. Once the male has all of the
eggs from the embrace the pair will
embrace again. Spawning can take
a day to complete. Taeniata can
produce 300 eggs in a spawning.
Although incubation can be from
9 to 12 days most species incubate
for 10 days except for edithae which
incubates for 7 to 10 days. Females
should be removed after spawning
as their egg cycle is seven days and
a female could reinitiate spawning
forcing the male to swallow or pre-
maturely releasing the fry. These
species are quite tolerant of pH and
hardness but do require clean water
conditions. Taeniata are prone to
sickness when water conditions are
not kept clean.
Pugnax Complex: These are also
commonly kept in the aquarium
and grow quite a bit larger then the
picta complex with some species
reaching 5 inches in length. This
complex includes pugnax, pulchra,
breviobesus, enisae, schalleri, fusca,
lehi, raja, pallida, prima, stigmo-
sa, and cracens. These species are
typically a brown in coloration with
green or gold iridescence. Males
typically have a spike tail and long
anal and pelvic fins. For spawning,
pairs should be placed in twenty
gallon aquariums that are heavily
planted with flower pots or PVC
sections or elbows for retreat.
Typically the male will display for
the female like the picta complex
and the female signals readiness
by biting on the males caudal fin.
In some species non receptive
males will be killed by females and
females can be quite territorial
chasing off or killing intruders. The
species in this complex typically
incubate the fry for 14 days but can
go as long as 21 days depending on
water temperature. Usually a pair
will ignore the fry after they emerge
if kept in a well planted tank. Fry
are large enough to take baby brine
shrimp and grow at moderate rate
taking about a year to reach full
size.
Waseri Complex: These are the
big “yellow” bettas which are
quite stocky, some species attain
a length of five inches most stay
a bit smaller. The species include
waseri, tomi, spilotogena, pi, renata,
hipposideros, and chloropharynx.
All of the species are identified by
their face markings and by location.
Many of these species come from
blackwater habitats that are less
then 5.5 pH. Most of the species do
well in almost any water condition
however for spawning soft water
is needed and sometimes a lower
pH spike from blackwater extract
added to a gallon of distilled water
will initiate spawning. These spe-
cies require area more then volume
so thirty gallon tanks are best used
for these fish. These fish are quite
tolerant of each other and seldom
have the aggressive displays that
so many of the other species have.
Spawning produces between 100
to 200 eggs and the released fry are
large and take baby brine shrimp
immediately.
Akarensis Complex: These are
large bettas up to about six inches
in length with green or gold irides-
cence. Species include akarensis,
balunga, chini, aurigans, obscura,
ibanorum, and pinguis. They are
identified by the stripes on their
faces and by location. These are
medium sized bettas between three
to five inches in length. Some
species come from blackwater
environments and others from
more neutral waters. Feeding does
not pose a problem as they adapt
quite readily to prepared foods how
ever; to bring any fish into spawn-
ing condition live foods are best.
The females of the species initiate
spawning by nudging the male’s
caudal fin. Males hold for 12 to 15
days with 14 days being the typical.
These species often produce
FLARE! 18
broods of 100 or more which are
able to take baby brine shrimp
immediately with the exception of
chini which produce 40 to 50. The
breeding tank should be soft water
and neutral to acidic. Water quality
is important for these species so
good filtration is very important.
Members of this complex have been
noted spawning in mid water but
typically spawn in caves. As with
other species their tanks should
be covered or painted and surface
plants used to subdue the light
coming into the tank.
Unimaculata Complex: Species
include unimaculata, patoti, palli-
fina, ocellata, gladiator, and mac-
rostoma. These are large slender
wild bettas not exceeding six inches
in length. These slender fish have
a very pronounced jumping ability.
In the wild these species come from
swifter moving waters that vary
in pH from alkaline to blackwater
environments. These fish are quite
adaptable to the aquarium and like
the waseri complex can develop a
pet like relationship with the owner.
This complex appears to be very
inquisitive and can be very aggres-
sive. Betta gladiator was said to not
tolerate any others in its territory
hence its species name but those
reports were highly exaggerated. In
this complex the female has defi-
nitely been noted as defending the
male and the territory during and
after the spawning. In captivity
these fish are quite adaptable and
will tolerate almost any water con-
dition with one exception - Betta
macrostoma is very sensitive during
acclimation. To acclimate mac-
rostoma use the saltwater method
of using a baster and placing one
ounce of water in it’s bag every fif-
teen minutes for about four hours.
After that they can be released
Betta hendra (Coccina Complex) tending nest. Photo by Cori McWay.
and will tolerate virtually any
water condition. However the
water must be well filtered and
kept very clean. These fish should
be definitely kept in pairs and not
in communal settings. These fish
also need caves and heavily planted
tanks to feel secure. Spawning is in
the typical mouthbrooder fashion
and the males brood for around
10 days. They are very sensitive
when brooding so a totally covered
tank is the best option and period-
ically checking on the male as to
not spook him. The fry can reach
adulthood in 6 months to a year.
Albimarginata Complex: Cur-
rently species include albimarginata
and channoides however there are
many populations with distinct dif-
ferences so they could be classified
as separate species before long. As
a general rule if you have location
data for a species do not mix it with
the same species without location
unless no choice is available. These
fish come from blackwater environ-
ments but are not required for cap-
tivity. Albimarginata can be kept
in almost any environment but do
best in soft acidic water. Channoi-
des require some iron in its water
for its health. Dry foods are not
recommended. These species are
not gluttonous eaters but are more
of a foraging eater. For best health
live foods that they can casually
feed on is best. Examples would
be grindal worms and daphnia.
These species are high in demand
because of their brilliant coloration
which the males tend to keep in the
aquarium even when not spawn-
ing however during spawning the
already bright colors intensify
beyond belief. They do best with a
lot of aquatic vegetation and flower
pots for hiding spaces. The pair
will spawn at the bottom of the
tank and spawning can take half a
day. These species incubate under
two weeks. Goldstein recommends
moving a male to a livebearer trap
at day 7.
Foerschi Complex: These fish
come from blackwater environ-
ments and can be fragile in cap-
tivity. They do best in soft acidic
water but will reproduce in non
blackwater conditions. Tank size
can be from ten gallon to twenty
gallon, the larger the tank the better
and tanks should be well filtered
and these fish prefer leaf litter, as
FLARE! 19
or on thesubstrate. Species include
foerschi, strohi,mandor and rubra.
All of these species are available in
the hobby occasionally. Incubation
is around 14 days and broods typi-
cally are around 40 which can take
baby brine shrimp immediately.

Hopefully this is enough informa-

tion to get one started. Before pur-
chasing any species one should do
their homework but with a number
of the new species coming in, there
is no literature. By following these
simple guidelines one should be
successful in maintaining any of the
species. If there are specific ques-
tions you can contact me through
the International Betta Congress or
emal me at herpchat at yahoo.com
Gerald Griffin
Betta smaragdina (Splendens Complex) tending nest. Photo by Natasha
References: Patten.

Goldstein, Robert J. The Betta

Handbook, Hauppauge, New York:
Barron’s Educational Series, 2004

IBC-SMP Website, http://www.

ibcbettas.org/smp/

Betta burdigala (Coccina Complex) posing. Photo by Ronald Marcos.

FLARE! 20
Betta macrostoma (Unimaculata Complex), still considered the holy grail of Betta Collectors. Photo by Ronald
Marcos.

Betta hendra (Coccina Complex) is one of the recently described species. Photo by Ronald Marcos.

FLARE! 21
 Hatchery
Disinfection

Article by
Lorena Burgueño

T
he following article has been developed by the Argentine Betta Fish Scientific Association Chap-
ter, I wish to thank Mr. Fabián Alvarez for helping in all the points mentioned in this informative
document

Within a hatchery, the flow of fish from other establishments is a cause of diseases for our lines. To avoid
the spread of diseases caused by lack of a rigorous quarantine or by diseases from situations where our
kennel is affected by water agents, lack of hygiene, you should take into account this article that will help
you keep your Bettas healthy.

To be able to pick the correct disinfection procedure you must account for what is being disinfected
keeping in mind the size, quantity, and type of materials to be disinfected. Make sure to disinfect the
skin of any part of your body that will go into the aquarium water should be disinfected with a non-cor-
rosive material.

There are different materials to be disinfected and some are more difficult to disinfect such as cloth from
weaved materials and nets, hard surfaces (Plastic, cement), permeable materials (sand and gravel). The
degree of difficulty to disinfect permeable materials is greater and require more time.

FLARE! 22
The use of chemical products implies the implementation of measures to protect the breeder or
whoever assists him in the maintenance task and the bettas, in addition to mitigating the envi-
ronmental effects.

First it is necessary to protect the skin, the eyes from contact with dangerous substances, using
waterproof clothing if possible with an apron that meets this specification, boots are also recom-
mended. In the use of disinfectants such as formaldehyde, the respiratory tract must be protect-
ed with masks and glasses or goggles for this purpose, the breeder must not touch any food if
he has not previously washed his hands. Finally, the product must be stored in such a way that it
does not present any direct or indirect danger to animals, fish, humans or the environment.

There are various methods used divided into two different procedures:

• Physical procedures such as sun drying, heat drying, humid heat and UVC ultraviolet rays
(254 nm). They are used for disinfection of aquariums, pathogens,viruses, bacteria and infec-
tious pancreatic necrosis (IPN).

• Chemical Procedures: Acetic acid, Sodium hypochlorite *, Iodine (Iodophos), Formalin,

Calcium hypochlorite*, Quaternary ammonium among others to combat various pathogens,
consult a veterinarian to specify the appropriate use for each particular example.

Remember that chemicals are highly dangerous and should not be handled without prior knowl-
edge.

Organic material that was generated during the cleaning procedure, such as sediment from
ponds, etc. it must also be disposed of properly to prevent the spread of disease by the material
and to be environmentally safe.

The toxicological and eco-toxicological properties of the products must be seriouslyconsidered

every time drugs or disinfection materials are used.

After disinfection or total eradication of pathogens, the establishment must be replenished from
a disease-free source.

THE MATERIAL MUST BE CAREFULLY CLEANED BEFORE DISINFECTION.

FLARE! 23
Sending samples to laboratories

After having one or more suspicious deaths in the hatcheries or aquariums, the main concern is
to clearly detect a virus, bacteria or other pathogen that is making the specimens sick. A series of
procedures must be taken into account to be able to keep a fish in optimal conditions for its cor-
rect evaluation within a laboratory, since many users send decomposing fish and this prevents
necropsies from being carried out correctly.

The reasons for which samples are taken from the specimens are the following:

• HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY
• BLOOD EXAM
• BACTERIOLOGICAL STUDY
• MOLECULAR STUDY, PCR, (POLYMERASE CHAINREACTION)

One recommendation is to choose live, dying, or recently dead fish. One hour afterdeath, the
autolysis (putrefaction) processes start and confuse the results (DO NOT TAKE SAMPLES OF
FISH THAT ARE MORE THAN ONE HOUR DEAD).

For the shipment of samples you must place in a sterile container (the one used for urine sam-
ples is the most recommended), a preparation that can be ordered in a pharmacy of 20% Formol.
In case of preparing it, you must place the following proportions:

Formol 20 ml
Distilled water 80 ml

FLARE! 24
Label the sample with a form number (I recommend that you create a form so you can tell what
you are submitting).

Once the Form has been filled in, it must be sent together with the sample in awell-sealed sty-
rofoam preservative box, the form must be placed in a protective plastic sheet to prevent it from
being damaged by any spillage of material.

To prevent the study material from being damaged, the word Fragile should be placed on the
outside of the box, indicate the correct position with an arrow indicating its correct handling.

Check that the sample bottle is properly sealed, if you wish for more security you can place it
closed inside a properly closed fish transfer bag.

The external label must include:

DESTINATION/PLACE: Here you place the chosen laboratory

SENDER (Your personal data):
Name and surname:
Company / Establishment:
Address:
Telephone:
Form No.:

To keep in mind, always make a duplicate of the form, one will keep it for you for any inconve-
nience of loss or misplacement. It is also advisable to send an email to the laboratory attaching
a form to avoid inconveniences if the sample arrives improperly closed and an accident occurs
with the form that is inside the thermal box.

FLARE! 25
 IBC & FOTAS
2022 Convention
Lineup of Events

T
his year Convention is going to be quite a bit
different than previous years. This year the
Federation of Texas Aquarium Societies will in-
tegrated into our yearly Convention. This Convention
will have all of the things we have always had at the
yearly IBC Convention however it will now have an all
species show going on at the same time. The speaker
lineup is going to be both Betta and non-Betta so it will
be quite a departure from the typical IBC Convention.
ma Aquarium Association, Oklahoma Betta Breeders
Association, and the Northwest Arkansas Aquarium
Society. This is going to be a fun event for all! Our
speakers will be Dave Schumacker, Peter DeSouza,
Michael Gaines and Gerald Griffin. Hope you decide
to join us and have some fun!
To Register for Convention go to;

https://forms.gle/V1hkNdRorVnscVb56
The FOTAS specific events will be integrated into the
Convention space making for a very unique experi-
ence. The clubs sponsoring this event are the Oklaho-

FLARE! 26
 International Betta Congress and
Federation of Texas Aquarium Societies
Joint Convention 2022 Schedule of Events
Thursday - July 07, 2022
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration, walk-ins
Noon – 2:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm – 5:30 pm Show room is open for viewing
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Dinner
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Seminar (Evolution of Fish Gerald Griffin)
10:00pm – Midnight Presidents Reception (open), hospitality suite
Friday – July 08, 2022
7:00 am – 8:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am – 11:00 am Registration
8:00 am – 9:00 am Judging Seminar 1
9:00 am – 10:30 am Judging Seminar 2
9:00 am – 12:30 pm Show room is open for viewing
10:30 am – 12:00 J-board meeting (open)
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Break for lunch
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm Betta Show room is closed for judging
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm Judging Seminar 3 (show judging)
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Dinner
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Show room is open for viewing
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Seminar (Mbuna Dave Schumacher)
10:00 pm – Midnight Hospitality suite is open
Saturday – July 09, 2022
7:00 am – 8:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am – 9:00 am (?) IBC Written Judges Exam
9:00 am – 2:30 pm Show room is open for viewing
9:00 am – 10:00 am E-board meeting (open)
10:00 am – 11:00 am Seminar (Cold Water Fish Rooms - Michael Gaines)
11:00 am – Noon Seminar (Wild Bettas - Gerald Griffin)
Noon – 2:00 pm Lunch (FOTAS Board Meeting)
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm General Membership meeting (members only)
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Seminar (Collecting in Cameroon Peter DeSouza)
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm AWARDS BANQUET
8:30 pm - ??? Show room disassembly
??? – Midnight Hospitality room will open immediately following
disassembly of showroom
Sunday – July 10, 2022
7:00 am – 8:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am – 10:00 am Auction set-up
10:00 am – 5:00 pm Auction
5:00 pm-------- Convention pack-up

FLARE! 27
 IBC & FOTAS All Species Auction
10 July 2022
Tulsa Midtown Hilton Garden Inn
4518 E Skelly Dr
Tulsa, OK 74135
Sunday Auction Rules
OKAA/OBBA/NWAAS will not accept responsibility for any item’s safe keeping nor its condition before or after
the sale.

SALES
• Cash only! 75%/25% Seller/Host Club
• IBC Auction Items will be the first to be Auctioned then the All Species

ITEMS
• Only fish or aquarium related products are allowed in the auction.
• All items must be properly bagged.
• Proper fish bags must be used.
• Zip-locks and baggies are unacceptable.
• Live animals must be properly bagged with air and water. Please double bag.
• Larger fish may be kept in buckets or other suitable containers, but the bucket becomes property
of the buyer.
• Items such as driftwood or decorations do not need to be bagged; however, they must be labeled
appropriately.
• Items not properly bagged will be rebagged by OKAA/OBBA/NWAAS volunteers. There will be a $2
fee for items that need to be rebagged. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE.

LABELS / SELLER SHEETS

• All Sellers must fill out a seller sheet.
• Your Seller ID are your initials. For example, if your name is Homer Jay Simpson, your Seller ID
would be HJS.
• All items that you are selling must be listed on your seller sheet.
• All items must be labeled with your Seller ID and Item Number.
• Your labels should match the numbers on your seller sheet.
• You may put a reserve price on your item. EXAMPLES OF SELLER TAGS
• Below are examples of acceptable labels:
HJS 007 (Sellers 3 Abr Code and Item number)
TIMES Pygmy Chain Sword (Item description)
• 9:00 am - 11:00 am Registration (Echinodorus tenellus) (Species-helpful but not needed)
• 11:00 am - 6:00 pm Auction Reserve $5 (Not needed)

Notes: Species names can be vitally important and help

your sales of particular species as well as location data
if known. All IBC Items have a mininum of $5 unless
waived.
FLARE! 28
 IBC & FOTAS Convention 2022
July 07th to 10th
Hosted by OBBA, OKAA, & NWAAS
Hilton Garden Inn Tulsa Midtown
4518 E Skelly Drive
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135
918-878-7777
(Code Betta for room discounts)
Room rates are $107 plus tax
Free parking
FULL CONVENTION PACKAGE INCLUDES:
Breakfasts with Registered Hotel Room.
3 Dinners (includes Awards Banquet, Thursday and Friday night)*
President's Reception/Hospitality Suite
Convention T-Shirt
All workshops, (including Judging Seminars I & II)
IBC General Membership Meeting (members only)
Open Executive and Judging Board Meetings
Convention Auction
ALL SPECIES AUCTION (Following IBC Convention Auction)

PACKAGE PRICING:
FULL PACKAGE $150.00
*Friday – Sunday FULL PACKAGE $130
MEALS ONLY $110.00
BANQUET ONLY $ 60.00
WORKSHOPS ONLY $ 50.00
ADDITIONAL T-SHIRTS $15

CLASS SPONSORSHIPS $20.00 PER CLASS

ALL PRICES WILL INCREASE $20 AFTER MAY 1, 2022

Registration Payments can be made by PayPal to herpchat@yahoo.com

Checks can be mailed to;
Gerald Griffin
PO Box 143
Talala OK 74080

There is no Hotel Shuttle, if flying in contact us for

arrangements!
**Details subject to change
FLARE! 29
 What is at Stake?

Opinion Article by
Gerald Griffin

E
very few years or so Animal Rights Activists Groups try to pass legislation designed to destroy the pet
trade. Sometimes their moves are bold and sometimes they are sneaky. This latest attempt was their
sneakiest yet. After HR 4521 passed the House floor they snuck in some legislation (Sec. 71102) specifi-
cally targeting the Lacey Act. House Resolution 4521 is called the COMPETES Act and is designed to make the
United States more competitive against China. Overall, this piece of legislation is not bad, except for that tiny bit
that was slipped in after the act was passed in the House targeting the Pet Industry. This Sec. 71102 has absolute-
ly nothing to do with the intentions of the COMPETES Act. You have a lot of people saying a lot of things from
this is a good thing to it will totally destroy the Pet Industry. So, what is the truth? The truth is somewhat mid-
road. Looking at other countries that have enacted similar legislation, they lost about 60% of their Pet Trades. In
the United States that would translate into Billions of Dollars.

So why is it bad? First off what this legislation does is create a “whitelist” of species no longer able to be trans-
ported across “State Lines*”. For those unfamiliar with a “whitelist” it means that if a species name does not
appear on the approved list, it is illegal in the pet trade to be transported across State Lines. So that new species
of Cichlid that was just discovered? You can’t have it! As to the Betta side, Domestic Bettas would not be af-
fected however many Wild Betta species would be. Amateur Conservation would be totally shut down unless
you are determined to break the Law if this legislation passed. The enforcement of this would fall to the US Fish
and Wildlife Department. They do not have a good track record with anything. The perfect example of this are
Snakeheads. Basically 3 out of the 51 some species of Channa are invasive, however their take on this was to
ban all imports of Channa and Parachanna. The vast majority of these species would be great Aquarium Fish
and have been in the United States for years. My worst, or best example, depending on how you look at it was a
Herpetologist who had legally obtained Gila Monsters. He was breeding these lizards and had quite a reputation
being an expert and a popular Zoo Keeper of Reptiles. One day the Fish and Wildlife officers raided his place
and confiscated all of his Gila Monsters and put them in a holding facility. This raid was 100% against the law!
FLARE! 30
At this point they expected him to fold and give up on his Gilas. He did not, he mortgaged his house to pay for
a lawyer to fight the Government for his Gilas. The court ruled in his favor and ordered damages and the return
of his Gilas. During the ending statements the Fish and Wildlife knew what they did was illegal however they
stated that they did not believe anyone should own Gila Monsters, so they targeted him because he had the vast
majority in captivity at the time. As a result of these Gilas being in Federal Custody over half of them died from
lack of appropriate care. With first-hand knowledge of this event, why would I trust the Government with the
enforcement and care of my animals? There have been a few states who have tried “whitelists” and have shown
that they fail. The next thing about this “whitelist” is that any animal not on the published list is automatically
listed as injurious which means invasive species. Here is what the legislation does;
• expand the authority of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prevent interstate transport between states in
the continental U.S. of species listed as injurious;
• create a whitelist of approved species that can be imported, where any animal not listed is treated as an
injurious species by default and banned from importation into the U.S.
• grant the Secretary of the Interior emergency powers to use an “emergency declaration” to prohibit
importation of a species found to be injurious to humans, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, wildlife,
or wildlife resources for no more than 3 years. The “emergency declaration” would be effective immedi
ately on publication in the Federal Register, unless extended up to 60 days.

So, when it comes to Government actions, this legislation is very overreaching! Currently the Pet Industry is ac-
tually quite well regulated despite what various Animal Groups might want you to believe. These are the current
regulations on the Pet Industry;
• The responsible and legal U.S. pet trade is already well-regulated through federal and state permit re-
quirements.
• Importation of certain species into the U.S. for use as pets is currently regulated and licensed activily by
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under Title 50 CFR Parts 10, 13, and 14.
• State agencies continue to examine their state regulations on importation, possession, and sale of cer
tain species based on injurious concerns specific to their state since the 2017 DC Circuit court interpreta
tion of the Lacey shipment clause1.
• Many state regulations, including Florida’s Captive Wildlife Rules (68A-6 F.A.C.), include requirements
such as:
o Animal and enclosure inspections for certain categories species;
o Permit requirements for possession, import/export, and transportation;
o Bio security requirements for enclosures and transport; and
o Federal and state license requirements depending on species and activity.

So, what would be legal if this legislation passed? Under the proposed guidelines those animals that are already
established in the pet trade in sufficient numbers would not be affected. What does this even mean? Who
decides what these numbers are? There are far more questions than answers and the legislators who slipped this
legislation in cannot answer these questions. We have actually tried to get answers from them. The experts in
the field conclude that the majority of the species you see at your Petco or PetSmart would be what would be
allowed. This accounts for about 40% of the species in the Pet Trade. I personally do not keep a lot of the com-
mon stuff so this would have a drastic impact on the species I keep. So, what would a Lacey Violation look like?
“Prosecution under the Lacey Act can be severe and heavy handed. Each violation can be prosecuted as a federal
felony with a maximum punishment of $20,000 and/or five years imprisonment. Additional civil penalties could
also be levied.”2 Another issue with a “Whitelist” would be enforcement by Fish and Wildlife Services. Officers
are woefully equipped to understand and deal with species not listed on the approved species list. Many years
ago, during the “Snakehead” ban we had a shipment of Betta channoides get seized and ultimately destroyed as
they were convinced, we were trying to smuggle in Snakeheads. Had those officers understood what they were
looking at, they would have been able to determine that Snakeheads have a long continuous dorsal fin whereas
Bettas do not. So, you are on vacation and stop at a pet shop and see some really cute snails, you buy them and
FLARE! 31
take them home crossing a state line. Did you break the law? Probably-because of the status of various snails
across the United States. This is how complicated these types of laws are. If for whatever reason you do get
stopped, would the officer be able to tell what species it is? Probably not. Also, this legislation would now su-
persede all previous legislation which took years to establish. So, combined with the fact that this legislation was
slipped into HR 4521 without any public discussion and the fact that the legislators who slipped this in cannot
answer any meaningful questions about this legislation how can we trust it? There is no doubt that it was slipped
in to avoid any public scrutiny and to bypass any congressional hearings.

Where we are. The House moved this legislation to the Senate on February 8th, 2022. It is up to the Senate to
either reconcile this legislation with their own version USICA (S. 1260) or they can go with the House version or
ignore the House and go with their version. So, what are the odds of this passing? Very hard to say, some in-
dustry insiders place it at 0% of passing while others put it at 25% of passing. Even at such low a percentage, this
needs to be a wakeup call as this organization is not done with trying to destroy the Pet Trade. If this fails, you
can be sure that they will try again in a few years with new pieces of legislation. We must be ever vigilant against
these attacks. So, what can you do? Go to this website https://petadvocacy.org/lacey-act-campaign and follow
the instructions. It will send your comments to your state Senators. However, the best course of action is to
print off the talking points and call your Senators. Phone calls work much better as anyone can generate thou-
sands of electronic messages. Legislators respond far more to actual phone calls.

In closing, this is just another phase in the war of these “Animal Rights” groups that are bent on destroying the
ability for people to have pets. They might not be successful, this time but what about next time? They have
shown their ability to change tactics and have proven by this Legislation that they are not above trying covert and
underhanded legislative techniques. Their goal is obvious, and they have a lot of money and will play the long
game to achieve their goals.

1 USFWS. “USARK_ruling_talking_points_and_Q_A_final.Pdf.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2017.

2 https://www.naiaonline.org/articles/article/federal-legislation-threatens-pets-zoos-and-aquariums-and-bio-
medical-research#sthash.bqHuCDvP.vbMpn8eV.dpbs

Other references;
https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2022/02/12/video-the-endangered-aquarium-trade/?fbclid=IwAR2_pi4ezx-
oEZc6WFYVYU0vA2Hxq_vcqlP1TyDPBLQoY8jdsDbF7FpwYi9Y

https://www.clownfishcove.com/blogs/blog/america-competes-act-will-not-kill-reef-aquatics-trade

https://petadvocacy.org/

FLARE! 32
FLARE! 33
 Sample Ballot: IBC Elections 2022 - Sample Ballot
Ballots will be sent via email for online voting in May. If you wish a paper ballot mailed to you, contact your Area
Representative so you can be mailed a paper ballot in June. Return postmarked no later than June 10.
Al l v o t e s , o n l i n e o r p a p e r m u s t b e r e c e i v e d b y J u n e 1 5 .
1 y e ar t e r ms ar e t o b r i ng p o s i t i o ns i n l i ne w i t h ame nd me nt ap p r o v e d b y me mb e r s h i p i n 2 0 2 1 .
I n f u t u r e y e ar s al l p o s i t i o ns w i l l b e f o r 2 y e ar t e r ms .

E x e c u t iv e B o a r d
P o s it io n
Un le s s n o t e d , s e le c t 1 c a n d id a t e C a n d id a t e
E B V ic e P r e s id e n t - 2 y e a r t e r m Lorena Burgueno
(Se le c t 1 c a n d id a t e ) Simon Yeo
E B Se c r e t a r y - 2 Y e a r t e r m Federico Cuanalo
E B Tr e as ur e r - 1 Ye ar Te r m Jacqueline Gray
Paulo Faria
E B Me m b e r s a t La r g e - 2 Y e a r t e r m Dominikus Ferdinand
(Se le c t 3 c a n d id a t e s ) Darwin Quaristino
Morgan Ruttle
Gladys Tan
V o t e o n l y f o r y o u r o w n Ar e a ' s EB R e p r e s e n t a t i v e . I f y o u l i v e i n Ar e a 3 , v o t e o n l y f o r Ar e a 3 R e p .
E B Ar e a 1 - 1 y e ar Te r m Heidi Burkle (A1 - USA-Georgia)
E B Ar e a 2 - 2 y e ar t e r m Petra Stojakovic (A2 - Croatia)
E B Ar e a 3 - 1 y e ar Te r m Lee Yeonkyo (A3 - Korea)
E B Ar e a 4 - 2 Ye ar t e r m Fazal Shah (A4 - Trinidad & Tobago)
E B Ar e a 6 - 2 Ye ar Te r m Kenny Seaw (A6 - Singapore)
(Se le c t 1 c a n d id a t e ) Gerry Ong Tan (A6 - Philappines)

Judging Board
P o s it io n C a n d id a t e
Kurt Bihlmayer
Bobby Chua
J B Me m b e r s a t La r g e - 2 Y e a r t e r m Daniel Indarta
(Se le c t 3 c a n d id a t e s ) Hiroki Ishizu
Raja Karunanethi
Stevanus Sihol
V o t e o n l y f o r y o u r o w n Ar e a ' s J B R e p r e s e n t a t i v e . I f y o u l i v e i n Ar e a 3 , v o t e o n l y f o r Ar e a 3 R e p .
J B Ar e a 1 - 1 Ye ar t e r m Hector de la Torre (A1 - Mexico)
J B Ar e a 2 - 2 Ye ar t e r m Jamie King (A2 - Czech Republic)
J B Ar e a 3 - 1 Ye ar Te r m Lee Yao Tsung (A3 - Taiwan)
J B Ar e a 4 - 2 Ye ar t e r m Daniel Legnaro (A4 - Brazil)
J B Ar e a 6 - 2 Ye ar Te r m Shalan Nasha (A6 - Singapore)
Ar e a 5 and Ar e 7 d o no t y e t q u al i f y f o r Ar e a R e p r e s e nt at i v e s p e r t h e Co ns t i t u t i o n

Sample Ballot: IBC Elections 2022 - Sample Ballot

FLARE! 34
Elections 2022 compiled by Aurelia Ogles, Nominations Chair

This will be a transition year to accommodate the constitutional amendments approved by the membership in 2021.
The Area Reps for Areas 1 and 3 will serve 1 year terms to bring them in line with the amendments. Appointments
also are elected for one year until their term of office ends. Next year they will be able to run for 2 year terms. The
term for each position will be noted on the ballot. Ballots will be sent to members’ emails in mid May to complete
online. If a member does not have access to the internet or prefers a paper ballot, a paper ballot will be sent to
him/her upon request. Please let your Executive Board Area Representative know if you want a paper ballot. Paper
ballots will need to be postmarked by June 10, 2022 to be received by the election deadline of June 15 2022.

2022 Candidate Statements: Executive Board

Lorena Burgueño for Vice President
Tengo el gran placer de expresar mi agradecimiento por la
confianza que los miembros de esta organización han
depositado en mí. El mundo ha atravesado muchas fases
crueles y amargas, el Covid es un enemigo implacable, en
esta era tan oscura he podido coordinar actividades junto a
todos mis colegas para poder brindar desde IBC un espacio
virtual y seguro de encuentro. Una vez más estoy ante
todos ustedes en este momento tan crucial para IBC, aquí
preparada para tomar nuevamente decisiones que
cambien el rumbo de nuestra organización.
Implementando junto a mis colegas nuevas directrices
para actualizar múltiples factores que deben acompañar
esta era tecnológica. Es por eso que he llevado propuestas
efectivas, como el comité de shows virtuales, reglamentos
para jueces en la clase de Arte y Artesanías. He
acompañado el cambio con la traducción del Estándar al
Español y la revista Flare. Pero considero que mi trabajo no
ha terminado, hay mucho por hacer y aprender desde el
puesto de la vicepresidencia. Sin duda, quedan por delante
muchos retos que debemos encarar mediante un esfuerzo
concertado de toda la junta directiva y me gustaría poder
acompañar en cada decisión que se tome. No tenemos
otra opción que seguir haciendo frente a la cuestión
del Covid con firmeza y eficacia mediante la cooperación
entre los representantes de cada Área a fin de que la EB
sea un instrumento eficaz, que promueva con éxito las
actividades actuales sobre los shows, programas
especiales y propagación del saber, creando un nuevo
marco para nuestra labor futura, sobre la base de los logros
alcanzados hasta la fecha y de las metas previstas.
Puesto que me han elegido para la vicepresidencia hasta el
próximo período de elecciones, quisiera asegurar a todos
los miembros que estaré a su disposición en nuestro
esfuerzo conjunto por afianzar y fortalecer cada área de
IBC. Confío en la asistencia y la cooperación de todos los
Miembros de la EB y JB. Sólo me uniré a la justicia, la
seguridad, la paz y los intereses comunes de toda la
comunidad internacional. Muchas gracias por su tiempo,
por su decisión pasada en elegirme y espero que depositen
nuevamente su confianza en mi persona en este nuevo
periodo de elecciones.
Lorena Burgueño (English version)
It gives me great pleasure to express my gratitude for
the trust that the members of this organization have
placed in me. The world has gone through many cruel
and bitter phases, Covid is an implacable enemy, in this
dark era I have been able to coordinate activities
together with all my colleagues to be able to provide
from IBC a virtual and safe meeting space. Once again I
stand before all of you in this crucial moment for IBC,
here ready to take again decisions that will change the
course of our organization. Together with my colleagues,
I am implementing new guidelines to update multiple
factors that must accompany this technological era.
That is why I have brought effective proposals, such as
the virtual show committee, regulations for judges in
the Arts and Crafts class. I have accompanied the
change with the translation of the Standard into
Spanish and the Flare magazine. But I consider that my
work is not finished, there is much to do and learn from
the position of vice-president. Undoubtedly, there are
many challenges ahead that we must face through a
concerted effort of the entire board of directors and I
would like to be able to accompany in every decision
that is made. We have no choice but to continue to
address the Covid issue firmly and effectively through
cooperation between the representatives of each Area
in order to make the EB an effective instrument,
successfully promoting the current activities on the
shows, special programs and knowledge propagation,
creating a new framework for our future work, based on
the achievements to date and the goals envisaged.
Since I have been elected to the vice presidency until
the next election period, I would like to assure all
members that I will be at your disposal in our joint effort
to consolidate and strengthen every area of IBC. I rely
on the assistance and cooperation of all EB and JB
Members. I will only stand together for justice, security,
peace and the common interests of the entire
international community. Thank you very much for your
time, for your past decision in electing me and I hope
that you will again place your trust in me in this new
election period.
Lorena Burgueño (A4-Argentina)
Vice President Continued. Next page
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 Emergency Exectuative Board Meeting
September 29th, 2021
The meeting was held in the Slack Chatroom #ExecutiveBoard.

The meeting was called to order By Roll Call

EB Members Present Online: Lorena Burgueno, Gerald Griffin, Fazal Shah, Kasey Clark, Kenny Seaw, Christina
Simpson, Stacy Fenhaus, Luis Navarro.

EB Members Not Present: Jamie Stine, Gerry Ong Tan, Heidi Burkle.

Votes Conducted:
Accept Agenda: 8 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain
Accept Jacqueline-Nicki Gray As Treasurer: 7 yes, 0 no
Accept Frederico Cunanalo as Secretary: 7 yes, 0 no
Adjourn meeting 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain

Discussion

Resignation of Treasurer

1. The IBC has received a letter of resignation from Stacy Fenhaus in respect to her position as Treasurer and
committees she is currently on, effective October 1, 2021. Resignation was accepted by President Luis Navarro.

2. Pursuant to the resignation of the Treasurer, Luis Navarro submits the nomination of Nicki Gray as Treasurer
for the remainder of the open term (through June 30, 2023).

3. Nomination was accepted by Executive Board members present and a vote to appoint Jacqueline Nicki Gray
was called for.

4. Appointment of Nicki Gray as Treasurer was approved by a vote of 7 to 0.

Resignation of Secretary

5. The IBC has received a letter of resignation from Jamie Stine in respect to her position as Secretary, effective
October 1, 2021. Resignation was accepted by President Luis Navarro.

6. Pursuant to the resignation of the Secretary, Luis Navarro submits the nomination of Federico Cuanalo as
Secretary for the remainder of the open term (through June 30, 2023).

7. Nomination was accepted by Executive Board members present and a vote to appoint Federico Cuanalo was
called for.

8. Appointment of Federico Cuanalo as Secretary was approved by a vote of 7 to 0.

The meeting was adjourned by vote at approximately 8:30 AM CST on September 29th by majority vote

FLARE! 50
 General Convention Meeting Minutes
June 2021
The meeting was held at the General Convention Meeting Room
The meeting was called to order by Holly Rutan, President at 1 PM EST

• EB Members Present: Holly Rutan, Gerald Griffin, Christina Simpson, Luis Navarro, Heidi Burkle, Kasey Clark
• EB Members Not Present: Jamie A. Stine (excused), Stacy Fenhaus (excused), Kenny Seaw, Fazal Shah (Ex-
cused) Gerry Ong Tan

Votes Conducted:
• Name Kayla Griffin as Membership Chairperson.
• Name Gerald Griffin and Christina Simpson as Co-Editors of FLARE! Magazine.
• Adjourn Meeting: yes

Discussion/Old Business:
• Holly Rutan, President presided over the meeting.
• Election - Kasey Clark EB Presiding Member, Mike Cuaresma, Evan Thio and Dodi Sunjaya were selected as
the Election Committee to count the votes.
• The new standards were discussed and agreed that we would have the final version by the end of July
• Why was Flare! Magazine not being published?
• Discussion on continuing the publishing the monthly bulletin.
• Kayla Griffin agreed to step in as the membership committee chair.
• Election Results were read near the end of the meeting.

Discussion/New Business:
• Flare! was discussed and agreed to publish it in a quarterly digital format with Gerald Griffin and Christina
Simpson as Editors.
• The current monthly bulletin was debated. Christina Simpson made it clear she was not going continue as it
stands. A new editor was going to be needed if the monthly bulletin was going to continue.

• The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3 PM EST by majority vote.

Election Results
• Executive Board
o President - Luis Navarro
o Vice President - Lorena Burgueño
o Treasurer - Stacy Fenhaus
o Secretary - Jamie Stine

• Judging Board
o Judging Board Member At Large - Joty Atmadjaja
o Judging Board Member At Large - Gerald Griffin
o Judging Board Member At Large - Mulyadi

FLARE! 51
 Executive Board Meeting Minutes.
January 15th, 2022.
This Meeting was held in the Slack Chatroom #ExecutiveBoard.
The meeting was called to order at approximately 8:00 AM CST By Roll Call.

EB Members Present Online : (12 total) : Fazal Shah, Cristina Simpson, Luis Navarro, Gerry Tan, Nicki Gray, Heidi Burkle,
Federico Cuanalo, Paulo Faria, Lorena Burgueno, Kenny Seaw, Gerald Griffin, Petra.

EB Members NOT Present : (0 total) : none

VOTES CONDUCTED :
Give General Convention to Asociacion Mesoamericana y del Caribe del Pez Betta (12 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain) 20-Dec
Requesting approval to ship important IBC banking documents to the new IBC Treasurer via Fedex or UPS. (Transfer of
bank account ownership documentation from previous president and treasurer (11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain) 22-Dec
The compensation for hosting the General Convention hasn’t changed since 2018 - Compensate $1500 for Hosting the
General Convention (9 yes, 0 no, 2 abstain) 30-Dec
IBC Judges slandering IBC judges in Malaysia. Transfer this complaint to the Judging Board to be handled (11 yes, 0 no, 0
Abstain) 31-Dec
Assign all new complaints to the Judging Board since the previous December meeting since they are all JB Matters - See the
comment I just posted above in Slack (9 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain) 10-Jan
Assign the General Convention to the Oklahoma Betta Breeders chapter (11 yes, 0 no, 0 Abstain) 11-jan
Due to unforeseen circumstances we are voting to change the date of the General Convention date to July 7 to July 10 2022.
The original hosting chapter canceled their bid yesterday January 11. (10 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain) 12-Jan
Approval of Consent Agenda (10 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain)
Approval of Financial Report and JB report (9 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Approve adding EB members to the Chapters Committee (12 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
@herpchat @luis.i.navarro and convention chair to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss and resolve issues the Consti-
tution Chair about voting process due to change of convention date (11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Form the xxxxxx committee to address complaints against him. (12 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Form a committee to evaluate possible solutions to the membership issues (11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Adjourn the meeting ? (9 Yes. 0 No, 0 Abstain )

DISCUSSION / OLD BUSINESS:

Gerald Griffin, report :
Area Show Lists were submitted and approved.
Standard revision for cycle 2022 has begun.
A Complaint against xxxxxx was dismissed.
Malasyans groups are trying to push out IBC of Area 6, JB is working.
Kanny Seaw made a proposal to clean chapter information. Second by majority.

DISCUSSION / NEW BUSINESS:

General convention has been reassigned to Tulsa.
Nominations for the EB and JB need to be published in the next Flare Magazine
June elections are not in the minutes (Need to add minutes and approve)
We found it hard to maintain membership, 600 accounts with bad data. Found expired members still active.

The Meeting was Adjourned at Approximately 10:15 AM CSR by majority vote. Minute done by Federico Cuanalo

FLARE! 52
 Executive Board Meeting Minutes.
February 19th, 2022.
This Meeting was held in the Slack Chatroom #ExecutiveBoard.
The meeting was called to order at approximately 8:02 AM CST By Roll Call.

EB Members Present Online : (12 total) :

Fazal Shah, Cristina Simpson, Luis Navarro, Gerry Tan, Nicki Gray, Heidi Burkle, Federico Cuanalo, Paulo Faria,
Lorena Burgueno, Kenny Seaw, Gerald Griffin, Petra.

EB Members NOT Present : (0 total) : None

NEW CHAPTERS APPROVED

Area 6 – PUTRAJAYA BETTAHOOD (Malaysia)
Area 6 – Kelab Pencinta Ikan Laga Miri (Malaysia),
Area 6 – Malaysia – Balakong Betta Gallery Community (BBGC)
Area 1 – Costa Rica – Costa Rica Betta chapter (CRBC)

VOTES CONDUCTED :
[Jan-18-2022] Approved by majority to vote manually when automatic Polls are not available using @yes @no @
abstain text. (8 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
[Feb-16-2022] Approve General Meeting Minutes and EB Emergency Meeting Minutes. (9 yes, 1 no, 0 abstain)
Approval of Consent Agenda (11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Approve the General Meeting Minutes (11 yes, 1 no, 0 Abstain)
Approve the September 2021 Meeting Minutes (11 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain)
Approve the January 2022 Meeting Minutes (10 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Approve Kenny Seaw’s proposal for Chapter Maintenance (11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Remove the 5 year option from Renewal options at Web Page. (9 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Split out the Complains from the general EB Topic (11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Add the option for the members to see print their membership card (9 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
add the IBC logo to the COMPETES Act (9 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain)
Adjourn the meeting ? around 10:15am (11 Yes. 0 No, 0 Abstain )

DISCUSSION / OLD BUSINESS:

[Jan-24-2022] Nicki Gray informed : “The refund for our canceled Hotel Reservation deposit in Puerto Rico has
been received.“
Area 1 Report (Heidi) : nothing to Report.
General Convention bid for 2023 will be at next Flare.

DISCUSSION / NEW BUSINESS:

Disputes about the next voting process, use the same method used last year, or change it ?
Nomination process, Please make sure that you submit your candidates.
Membership Clean up, now you can get your IBC membership ID number by opening My account at IBC web
Page. Done by Luis Navarro.

The Meeting was Adjourned at Approximately 10:15 AM CSR by majority vote. Minute done by Federico Cuana-
lo

FLARE! 53
 Minutes of Judging Board Meeting 08-09 January 2022
Conducted in the Slack Chatroom #JudgingBoard

Meeting called to order at 08:01 AM CST by Gerald Griffin

JB Members in Attendance: Gerald Griffin, Aurelia Ogles, Joty Atmadjaja, Hiroki Ishizu, Shalan Nasha, Kurt Bihlmayer, Lee Yao Tsung,
Mulyadi, Jamie King, and Mike Cuaresma

Members Excused: Christina Simpson

JB Members not in Attendance:

Votes Conducted:
Approve Agenda
Yes 11 No 0
Approve Minutes from November Meeting
Yes 10 No 0
All Bettas below 3.75 cm for males and 3.25 cm for females be reclassed to Junior Class if available in your Area Shows
Yes 7 No 2 Abstain 0
All Bettas in the Junior classes below 3.0 cm for males and 2.5 cm for females be disqualified
Yes 10 No 0 Abstain 0
Approve the Class Lists as Presented
Yes 7 No 0 Abstain 1
Change the IBC Standard to Metric System as Primary Measurement
Yes 7 No 0
Approve the January JB State for release to the Membership
Yes 8 No 0 Abstain 1
Adjourn Meeting
Yes 10 No 0 Abstain 0

Discussion
Analysis of the Junior class. Not very logically laid out as someone could technically show fry and be within the rules. It was decid-
ed that the undersized that formerly were classified as a severe fault would now be the rules for the Junior class. For Body size males
must be under 3.75 cm to 3.0 cm. Any males below 3.0 cm would be disqualified. For females body size under 3.25 cm to 2.5 cm. Any
females with body size below 2.5 cm would be disqualified.

Standard Revision would have five groups and members in the Committee could work in any group or all groups if they desired. The
Groups were defined as;
1. Revisions to Existing Standards
2. New Standards for Development (Trials)
3. Wilds Chapter 8
4. Corrections for Errors
5. Multicolor / Marble

Post Meeting Discussions:

Numerous complaints from Area 1 and Area 6 to be addressed in the next Judging Board Meeting 05-06 February 2022

Post Meeting Votes

09 January
Approve Area 6 and Area 3 District Lists
Yes 09 No 0 Abstain 0

FLARE! 54
 Minutes of Judging Board Meeting 05-06 February 2022
Conducted in the Slack Chatroom #JudgingBoard

Meeting called to order at 07:01 AM CST by Gerald Griffin

JB Members in Attendance: Gerald Griffin, Aurelia Ogles, Jamie King, Joty Atmadjaja, Hiroki Ishizu, Shalan Nasha, Mike
Cuaresma, Kurt Bihlmayer, Luis Navarro, Christina Simpson, Lee Yao Tsung

Members Excused:

JB Members not in Attendance:

Votes Conducted:
Approve Agenda
Yes 11 No 0
Approve Minutes from January Meeting
Yes 10 No 0
Approve Letter sent to xxxx and New Chapter in xxxxxx
Yes 12 No 0 Abstain 0
Dismiss Complaints against Mulyadi
Yes 11 No 0 Abstain 0
Removing the Optional status from Arts and Crafts Classes making them Mandatory. This would create an Art Category
Award for End of Year Awards
Yes 6 No 0 Abstain 4
Approve an Extension to the Area 1 show year to July 11th 2022
Yes 10 No 0 Abstain 1
Approve Dominikus to Conduct the Seminars I, II, and III at his next show
Yes 8 No 0 Abstain 2
Stipulate that Jono take the written test again since he failed the visual test
Yes 11 No 0 Abstain 0
Adjourn Meeting
Yes 11 No 0

Discussion
A lot of finger pointing and positioning in the xxxxxx chapter with no solid proof of anything. Warning letter written
by Aurelia Ogles approved to be sent to all individuals involved warning them that any further inappropriate actions will
result in punitive actions taken against individuals and the chapters involved.

Complaints against xxxxxx dealt with xxxxxx judging a non-IBC show the same weekend as a sanctioned IBC show.
xxxxxx provided proof that the IBC show had been cancelled so he agreed to judge the Non-IBC show. Then the IBC show
was then placed back on the books and xxxxxx was already committed to the Non-IBC show. Complaints were dropped.

Removing the Optional classification on the Artwork was hotly debated. By removing the optional classification Artwork
now becomes a mandatory category on the IBC show lists for those Areas that have it. This now creates an end of year Art
Award.

Size: Some JB members tried out the new regulations on the Junior classes at a few shows and caused a backlash. First
these new rules were not to take effect until the next show year. However, it did open up a need to revise these new rules.
This will be discussed in the March JB Meeting.

FLARE! 55
 Minutes of Judging Board Meeting 05-06 March 2022
Conducted in the Slack Chatroom #JudgingBoard

Meeting called to order at 07:09 AM CST by Gerald Griffin

JB Members in Attendance: Gerald Griffin, Aurelia Ogles, Jamie King, Joty Atmadjaja, Hiroki Ishizu, Shalan Na-
sha, Kurt Bihlmayer, Lee Yao Tsung

Members Excused: Christina Simpson, Mike Cuaresma

JB Members not in Attendance:

Votes Conducted:
Approve Agenda
Yes 08 No 0
Approve Minutes from February Meeting
Yes 8 No 0
How do we handle fish that fall in between full size and junior size
DQ 02 Severe Fault 4 Abstain 0
Approve the Area 6 Proposal for Size Categories for Junior Class
Yes 11 No 0 Abstain 0
Those fish that fall between the established sizes will follow
Universal Rule 0 Let each Area decide 10 Abstain 0
Judges must maintain Individual Memberships
Yes 09 No 0 Abstain 0
Approve Japan moving to Area 07
Yes 10 No 0 Abstain 0
Allowing the Area 6 Districts to still continue to use the International Show Lists for District Competitions
Yes 10 No 0 Abstain 0
Adjourn Meeting
Yes 11 No 0

Discussion
Now the Minimum size for a show Betta is 3.75 cm for males. Juniors must be between 3 to 3.25 cm. That leaves
a gap between 3.74 to 3.26 cm. We are asking judges to use their best judgement for the fish that fall into these
ranges. Your Area will determine if these intermediates are DQed or Severely Faulted.

Moving Japan to Area 7 made a lot of sense logistically as Japan and Australia have the same philosophies when
it comes to show Bettas.

Because of Covid and the lack of travel in Area 6, they are going to form district and have district champion-
ships. Because of the size of these shows, the International Show list only make sense. Therefore the JB approves
Area 6 to create district champion circuits.

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 IBC Code of Ethics
The IBC welcomes everyone who is interested in bettas, whether new at owning and/or raising betta or an old pro that
has raised thousands. The IBC feels there is room for all betta enthusiasts, young or old, new or experienced, individuals,
families, team or commercial breeder.

The IBC is a club of individuals, families, teams, and commercial breeders who support the keeping, breeding, and or the
showing of betta bred by members, the research into the genetics of the betta, and support of the preservation of the wild
species through the Species Maintenance Program.

All Judges, Officials and Members are representatives of the IBC, and of the betta hobby. As such, all members of the IBC
shall agree to act honorably in their pursuit of the betta hobby. In betta related ventures, members shall strive to promote
the hobby; they shall embody the virtues of sportsmanship and esteem.

All members shall conduct themselves to reflect credit on the betta hobby in the general and the IBC in particular. This
includes respect for the IBC, affiliated chapters, and for fellow betta breeders and enthusiasts.

Conduct shall be directed toward educating the public, improving one’s own knowledge and demonstrating integrity. Ac-
tions should complement the IBC’s goal of promoting betta breeding and showing.

Members should take care to be good representatives at show sites, national/international conventions, on internet forums
and lists, and other social media that is in any way related to the betta hobby.

Should a member behave in a manner contrary to the above, bringing discredit to the IBC or affiliated IBC Chapter, or
causing strife to other members, a complaint may be lodged with the Executive Board using the IBC Complaint Process.

It is the policy of the IBC that members who sell, trade or give bettas to others must represent the description of the betta
in a proper manner so as to assure that the buyers, consumers or recipients are not misled. An intentional misrepresenta-
tion would be a violation of the IBC policy and Code of Ethics.

Moreover, it is the policy of the IBC that when bettas are entered in a show, the fish should be raised and bred by the
entrant or exhibitor unless clearly stated otherwise. Failure to comply with this policy would be contrary to the IBC Show
Standards.

The IBC does not participate in the fighting of fish for any reason and does not condone the fighting of bettas by others;
nor does it support any individual or organization that does.

The International Betta Congress expects all members to conduct transactions with all parties in a responsible, fair and
ethical manner in all business dealings concerning the purchase and sale of betta stock and supplies. While we hope that all
disputes be amicably resolved among the parties, the Congress, however, is not an enforcement agency for the transaction
of betta stock and/or supplies– nor can the IBC mediate disputes involving members or any individuals over said transac-
tions.

In the interest of fairness, the IBC does not endorse individual business enterprises and does not allow the promotion of
those enterprises in posts on the IBC weblist, whether they are personal testimonials or commercial advertisements.

The IBC believes that if all members abide by these simple guidelines we will have a happy, fun and stimulating club.

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SEE IN
THE NEXT ISSUE OF FLARE!?

EMAIL
FLAREEDITOR@IBCBETTAS.ORG

INTERNATIONAL BETTA CONGRESS

10408 E. Cloudcroft Dr.
Hereford, AS 85615
USA

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