What about females?

[Diminishedlight]

I have been trying to research on females to see if mine are old enough to breed, but i have a few questions.
What do the stripes mean... i have a female who only gets stripes at night
i know the verticle stripes are 'breeding stripes' but what about
the horizontal stripes?
Also there are little white dots under their bellies, i'm not to sure what
that means. One site said it meant betta pregnancy, but im thinking
they didn't know what they were talking about.

So basically any info i can get on females would be appreciated ^_^

[kuklachica]

Moved to appropriate forum.

[Adastra]

Horizontal stripes can be interpreted in a few different ways. Some juvenile fish begin with horizontal stripes--probably as a form of camouflage, possibly as a gesture of submission if the fish is low in the fry hierarchy. In mature fish, horizontal stripes are usually a sign that the fish is scared or under stress. In females, especially when there are multiple females co-habitating, the stripes can be a gesture of submission to more dominant females.

[Diminishedlight]

She is my most aggressive female... she is half the size of my male and flares at him through the glass, also i dont have her in with any other fish... if they get to cold would the stress marks appear?

[Adastra]

Sometimes you can see them when a fish is cold--I suppose since the stripes would be on the black layer of pigment, when the colors over it (red, blue, green) become more pale due to the cold, the stripes would become visible.

[Diminishedlight]

sounds like i need a heater and thermometer than...

[1fish2fish]

You definitely need a heater. Bettas do best at tropical temps (78-80*) and breeding is best done at 82-84*

[miyko]

i have 4 feamales and last night my tan colored one turned red and started to (to my best explenation) beat up ( like push body against) a smaller red one... is this fighting or some wierd flaunting thing for my male?

[1fish2fish]

Can they see the male? Females will fight for dominance and the right to breed. I would move the male where the females can not see him.

[miyko]

that was a mistake thanks to the pet store they were in with the male.... male has been taken out and new tank is being delivered as i type