2 week conditioning a must?

[marktrc]

Why is the magic number 14 days? Does anyone really wait the full 2 weeks?

[indjo]

It really depends on how you keep/feed them. I never condition because my bettas are always conditioned and most are ready to breed any time. For some females, my idea of conditioning is actually putting them on a diet to make them thinner. This has it's flaws (female become weaker) but sometimes a must because the male wouldn't be able to embrace her properly (if I don't have a much bigger male).

[BeautifulBetta123]

Depends on the breeder some like to condition the whole two weeks and others much less. They say two weeks because it often takes roughly that amount of time for the female to become filled with eggs as soon as the female is full you can begin breeding. Indigo says he doesn't condition most likely because his fish are already on a high protein food. My female I purchased swelled with eggs after eating omega 1 betta pellets so it depends on the fish too some take longer to create eggs and others make them quickly without much extro protein.

[tpocicat]

Also, since the male isn't usually fed while he is taking care of the eggs/fry, it's always a good idea to feed him really well before spawning.

[EvilVOG]

Pretty much reflecting what everyone else is saying. It's mostly about making sure your fish has enough strength to make it through the breeding process and time without food, and hopefully prevent the parents from eating the eggs/ fry.

Some of us are much more liberal with our normal feedings that we feel comfortable just pulling them to breed at any time. Some of the fish i bred and sold were making spawns of their own inside of a week of me shipping them with no ill effects. Those fish were without food for 2 days prior to shipping and three days in transit :X

Basically it's a judgement call, but unless you know for sure, two weeks is a good assurance for the best possible result.