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History

 

The International Betta Congress (IBC) is a worldwide union of Betta-lovers and breeders. It was founded in the United States in 1966 by Dr. Gene Lucas (known as the father of the IBC) and others as a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting bettas and researching them. The first international betta show took place in 1967 with a large participation of 60 IBC members and another 150 interested breeders. At that first show, there were over 200 fish judged.

A year later, there were 120 members and a team of 12 directors. The organization’s magazine FLARE! was brought to life, and a Class Standard was developed to allow fair and equal judgment during shows.

Today, the IBC exists in all parts of the world, with the largest memberships being in the United States (Area 1), Asia (Area 6), and Europe (Area 2). We have over 50 certified judges who are represented in every continent, and every month there are several sanctioned shows taking place somewhere around the globe.  Shows draw on average between 300 – 1400 bettas.
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Ethics of Showing

Showing is very much on an honor system for the people entering the shows. We expect that all other people entering the show will also hold to the high standards of breeding and showing. This includes following all the rules set out in the IBC Exhibition Standards, no matter if anybody can see you following them or not. We expect that the bettas you enter in Groups A and B (Self-Bred and New Breeders) will be bred by yourself, and grown to show size and trained for showing by yourself, using your own fishroom resources. If using shared resources, you’ll enter as a family or collaboration.

(Areas 3 and 6 have a show exemption on bred bettas, and fish shown in Group C – Purchased are not self-bred. Purchased fish must, however, be held by the owners for at least one month prior to showing.)

The IBC respects bettas in their natural state and strives to have the best possible fish from the work of breeding show lines. We expect the shown fish in all groups to be in their natural, originally bred condition and their fins are not “trimmed” nor any other alterations. We expect all fish to be treated humanely and respectfully, and we do not condone fighting bettas nor abuse of bettas. We expect entrants to engage in fair and friendly competition without interfering with fellow competitors.