You male is very nice but that female should raise big red flags.
Not only is her topline "bumpy" but her scales are not uniform.
She even looks sickly to me... how long have you had her?
What other female you have for him?
She's 7 months old, according to the breeder. I've had them both for 2 and a half months and they've been doing very well, quite healthy. They're nearly identical, I would say Gwen has a deeper blue iridescence layer than Shimmer. They do have the iridescence to their scales so that may be throwing things off a bit?
vilmarisv, I don't understand what you mean when you mention scale uniformity? Do you mean the size of the scales?
Maybe I should pop into the Betta shop tomorrow and see if they have any mustard halfmoon females in their new shipment.
The scales should be perfectly aligned and smooth looking. Your female has some issues in this area. She has great coloring but the overal form is not good. I'm sorry it sounds so critical but a good breeder shoud've offered this fish as a cull that needs a home and not sold her as a breeder female.
The scales should be perfectly aligned and smooth looking. Your female has some issues in this area. She has great coloring but the overal form is not good. I'm sorry it sounds so critical but a good breeder shoud've offered this fish as a cull that needs a home and not sold her as a breeder female.
No, it's ok, I would much rather know this information now as opposed to later. I understand that good animal husbandry means that it's not a good idea to breed individuals with problems they could pass on. So thank you for being honest about this female. I agree that the breeder should not have advertised her as breeding quality.
I'm getting up early tomorrow (today) to get some errands done. I'll have time to swing by the shop and look at the new shipment and ask for the store owner's advice. He's really knowledgeable about breeding stock and I know he can help me pick out a female with excellent qualities. I just hope he has one who is mustard gas or pineapple in coloring.
I don't usually do this but I'm going to post an example for you of a good female below.
Notice the smooth topline, even scales, sharp 180 caudal, full & tall dorsal, and the tight anal fin. She has no gaps between fins and the edges her her fins have uniform reductions between rays.
Good luck with your search... I hope you find a nice female!
Oh, and if you find a white or yellow with good form it will be a good match for your boy too!
Thanks vilmarisv, I appreciate all the help. I'm understanding much more about form now. I feel like I need to invest in an LED flashlight to examine my fish with, I'm sure they'll be thrilled :P
I have good news too! Tony just happened to have one pineapple female in Wednesday's shipment and no one had scooped her up yesterday :) As always he was super helpful. The female has way better body form than Gwen & Shimmer and size-wise she is a much better match for my male. Her fins are her weak point, especially her little dorsal. But I realize I can't have everything be perfect and I think daddy will more than compensate in the fin department :) They are the exact same shade in body coloring and both have some lovely iridescence on their bodies, so it looks like I will have lots and lots of pretty pineapple babies ^^
She's already getting comfortable in her tank, and she's not hiding in a corner all pale like shipped fish. It's nice to have a local betta shop to buy from because I don't have to worry about fish getting stressed out from shipping. I did take her along to my appointment to pick up 120 mason jars and carried the bag she was in around because I was worried about leaving it in the car XD The whole appointment took 5 minutes though and then I was on the way home, so it wasn't a big deal.
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