This is like watching someone trying to do surgery for the first time while reading a medical journal.

His bottom fin is longer than his tail. For a halfmoon it needs to form a perfect half circle. That category is very hard to get. Some people cheat by cutting/trimming the tail

I think he’s perfect. Don’t listen to the haters Julian.

Look, my friend, I’m going to speak to you from a technical standpoint, since I’ve served as a judge at various shows and know what I’m talking about. I don't think you should worry about competition standards if that isn't your goal. You aren't a dedicated Betta breeder; for you, they’re just beautiful fish or pets—and that’s perfectly fine. I’ve been in this hobby for 40 years, and I certainly don't mean to disparage your video. Let’s get straight to the point. Any Betta that meets certain basic criteria can enter a competition before potentially being disqualified or eliminated. You have one advantage with this fish: as you mentioned, it’s a standard Plakat, not a Halfmoon Plakat (HMPK). That would allow you to enter the competition. As for whether it would win a prize—well, I highly doubt it. It has several flaws, such as a long anal fin with a poorly defined tip, and some areas that look torn. The dorsal fin isn't great, and the body is quite long. Adherence to standard measurements is more important than color. The ventral fins you mentioned don't hang vertically enough. Then there's the caudal fin ray count; they should be evenly branched—if it were an HMPK, there would need to be 10 rays, with no rounded edges. So, you have a nice fish, and you should be happy with that. I have plenty like that myself, and I’m content with them because they’re living creatures and I enjoy raising them. Competition is a different story. Good luck, and enjoy your pet.

Your java fern is making babies out of desperation because you planted it. Java fern grows on rock and driftwood not in the soil.  It will make babies and start dying off unless you unplant it and attached to rocks or wood.

It would be so awesome if you did make this an annual thing; maybe you could have your viewers submit photos of their bettas, and make a video judging them and picking a winner

As a betta enthusiast, I've always been fascinated with competitions, would love more content like this!

I kept and raised betas 35 years ago and then got out of it. When I became interested in fish again a few years ago I was amazed with all the different hybrids people have managed to breed.

fyi, it's not recommended to plant java fern in substrate due to it being an epiphyte. Tie/wedge it into rocks or expose the rhizome. If you already know this, you can ignore the comment, i'm just trying to be supportive. Good job and keep making videos!

10:57 I LOVE the little swirl on Julian’s back, just behind the head! It’s perfect, reminds me of the waves in traditional Japanese art 🥺

2:43 naw, my LFS has divided tanks for their beautiful healthy bettas. If an independent store can do it, the chains can and should too-- we need to make more people aware that a betta need not be sentenced to death in a cup.

The only perfect betta out there is the betta that you love [your pet betta].

Awww.  He's got such a personality! That's really cute.

A rare day to see another connoisseur of the highly esteemed Trailer Park Boys

I would like more videos like this  specifically about competition grooming of all fishes

6:22 seeing rocks on glass makes me so uncomfortable

The best way to join a betta show is by selecting them when they;re young. That's how breeders do it. They put them in bottles, spam live foods and choose the potentials. Usually, they're based by finnage, body proportions, and color obviously. It doesnt take much to groom/prep it for a show. With the short finnage bettas, they usually stick with 4x6x8 dimentions, focusing on the water quality, and regular flaring with or without the flare sticks for deportment. Mean while for the longer finnage, they usally do atleast 8x8x10, to avoid faults on the finnage of the fish. No decorations, just pure clean water, indian almond leaf, nd rock salt, thats it! I've seen bettas pushed through their most potential (Brigther colors, very aggressive, dominant, strong and thickfinage). Secret is live foods, and water quality.

Give Julian a mirror to see himself.  He will become excited to show all his beauty!

heyyy ive been trying to fix my attention span and watced this at 1x speed instead of 2x like normal and i wanna say cgs on making this so engaging!!

A hammerhead shark needs 40 gallons??