Female Bettas

[LauraFrog]

I've got a young PK female that I'm conditioning to spawn, and she's confusing me. How do I tell the difference between obese and full of eggs? She is an absolute pig and will eat every mosquito larva and whitebait sliver and biogold pellet I'm stupid enough to chuck into the tank. How much high protein food is too much?

I'm conditioning the male as well but I'm a bit worried about him. He's a rescue and I'm not sure that he's ready but I'll do my best. A few days after he arrived and he realised that I wasn't like P2P (and didn't think it was FUNNY - yes, FUNNY - to pinch and poke him to make him move) he blew me a massive bubble nest but I haven't seen another one. He's had a pretty traumatic life. The things people do to bettas... horrible. Horrible. Horrible. Standard tiny containers - and if he dared to be bored and not move he got his fins pinched. With a laugh and a few swear words. I just wish I could rescue them all.

Also, will I see vertical bars on a dark bluish green female? I finally found one without a red wash. I'd have preferred a VT since that's what I'm spawning against but VT is dominant anyway, so I guess I'll get mostly VTs. Even if the male is a PK carrier I'll get 50/50 PK/VT and I know somebody who'll take marble PKs in an instant. I want to spawn this male because of his colours... around here DeT/SD/HM/OHM, doubletail and crowntails that are healthy and not sick, weak and inbred are so rare that everyone just buys veiltails. He's very pretty.

BTW - I have a crowntail with very similar markings. I really want to spawn him as well but I was saving him for a CT female. If the rescue VT male won't spawn I'll swap them. What would CT/PK result in?

 

[wackystarfish]

At a guess mostly plakats.
ct x vt = vt combtails and vt
ct x hm = halfmoon combtails or halfsuns eventually with continued breeding of the young
ct x pk = pkct eventually

 

[newfishy]

eggy is mostly in the abdomin, fat is when the whole betta is obese and looks more like an oscar.

here are two examples

my fat ass rt betta

my eggy but slimer female hm

 

[LauraFrog]

Okay thanks! I think I might have to get a bit more condition on her before she really starts to egg up. She was in a tank with much larger fish and I doubt that she got too much food.

Her tail rays branch once, tail doesn't have any real identifiable shape. The anal fin is too short for a VT. That would be PK right?

And when should I put her in the same (divided) tank as the male so she can see him? I know not to release her until she's showing vertical bars and showing interest in him, but will she egg up at all if there's no male in sight? I have to get a spare heater before I can though, I managed to wreck one a few weeks ago and I had to put my spare in the big tank.

 

[newfishy]

she will get healthy and in breeding shape before she meets the male, when she does see the male her eggs will very quickly mature.

though I do have female bettas that egg up and release eggs when in their own tank.

 

[LauraFrog]

I set up the spawning tank today.. she's in a 1/2 gal jar in a 5 gal tank. I've added the male so I guess I'll just see what happens... she had started to egg up before I put her in with him.