What is a Halfmoon?

I see a lot of fishes termed as Halfmoons and Halfmoon Plakats, but are they really Halfmoons? I think with a lot of new hobbyists, it's a good thing that we back to basics.

A Halfmoon ("HM"), as it's name refers to, requires a betta's caudal to form a nice 'D' shape (180 degree spread), so those that don't reach a 'D' are at best Superdeltas or SDs. To be even more exact, the outermost caudal edge must also be as long as the caudal fin, so as to form a 'D', otherwise the caudal has a rounded edge. Think of a protracter that you might have used in school.

This is the most basic criteria for a long-tail betta to be called a HM. But to be considered a good Halfmoon, there's more to it than just the caudal. But that's another story for the future.

What about HMPKs? For this, there are two main schools of thought. The first school of thought takes the same definition from long-tail bettas, that a 'D' caudal (180 degrees spread) is required. The second school of thought is that anything with 4-rays and above would be considered, whether or not the 'D' caudal is achieved. I leave it to your own choice on which school of thought you would like to follow.

Hope this helps our new friends on this forum. When they see a fish called "HM", they would at least think hard whether it qualifies. Not every fish called a HM, is one. And for very obvious reasons.

All the best in your betta hobby.

[Happyjo]

Thanks for the clarification! Was confused when some call their pk as hmpk when i don't see the 'D' shape... so it belongs to the second school of thought...

Thanks for the information Mod.

[Leong68]

Thanks for the infor. Mod

Thanks for sharing the info.

[kian_john]

Originally Posted by CharlieBrown

I see a lot of fishes termed as Halfmoons and Halfmoon Plakats, but are they really Halfmoons? I think with a lot of new hobbyists, it's a good thing that we back to basics.

A Halfmoon ("HM"), as it's name refers to, requires a betta's caudal to form a nice 'D' shape (180 degree spread), so those that don't reach a 'D' are at best Superdeltas or SDs. To be even more exact, the outermost caudal edge must also be as long as the caudal fin, so as to form a 'D', otherwise the caudal has a rounded edge. Think of a protracter that you might have used in school.

This is the most basic criteria for a long-tail betta to be called a HM. But to be considered a good Halfmoon, there's more to it than just the caudal. But that's another story for the future.

What about HMPKs? For this, there are two main schools of thought. The first school of thought takes the same definition from long-tail bettas, that a 'D' caudal (180 degrees spread) is required. The second school of thought is that anything with 4-rays and above would be considered, whether or not the 'D' caudal is achieved. I leave it to your own choice on which school of thought you would like to follow.

Hope this helps our new friends on this forum. When they see a fish called "HM", they would at least think hard whether it qualifies. Not every fish called a HM, is one. And for very obvious reasons.

All the best in your betta hobby.

but if the parent both are HM and the out come if haven reach a HM we call it SDs?are you trying to say that 804 HM are SDs?==> http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=329466 ? mind explain?

arh~ no i noe min must see 4 rays... tks mod!

Originally Posted by kian_john

but if the parent both are HM and the out come if haven reach a HM we call it SDs?are you trying to say that 804 HM are SDs?==> http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=329466 ? mind explain?

For some reason, I knew this question would be asked.

To state this up front, I wrote this without reference to any thread. I wrote it even before I opened your referenced thread. My purpose is to share with everyone, especially new hobbyists, what a HM should be. The definition is used for mature fish, not really for young fish.

For young fish, I would not term them HMs if they cannot satisfy the definition I gave. However, it does not mean that they cannot become HMs at some point in the future. Even for some young fish, they can already satisfy that definition.

HM is not controlled by a single gene, thus a spawn of HM parents will give you a higher percentage of HMs, but not all offspring will become HMs. If they mature into HMs, then well and fine. But if they do not, then you can call them anything but HMs.

For experienced hobbyists, they will definitely yield greater number of HMs because they are able to groom the young fish well. For less experienced, even if the young fish is HM, when older these may not be HMs.

That's why HMs are so challenging. Hope this helps.

u the know answer liao ma... so do i .. and so do some of the forumer here in af... but as usual... black dark u shd know...

but i have 1 qns... OHM need to have straight or sharp edge?

Originally Posted by kian_john

but if the parent both are HM and the out come if haven reach a HM we call it SDs?are you trying to say that 804 HM are SDs?==> http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=329466 ? mind explain?

those are young fish...they are still growing... only when 3mths then can confirm...