Pics of Pheobe and Chester

[HD4life]

Ok heres some pics, they are not the best but at least you can see what I have so far.

[HD4life]

Pheobe is a little darker than this pic, I just put her in the vase so she was a little scared. I will be getting more plants before placing them in the spawning tank also.

[1fish2fish]

Your female doesn't look very well conditioned. She should be round with eggs. How did you condition them?

[HD4life]

She is fairly small also so for her it would not be as noticible as some females. Just a day or two ago she had very noticable vertical bars but she does not have a swollen belly. She is still in her own vase not in the tank. Im feeding live food a few more days before introducing the pair to the spawning tank, she is interested in the male from a distance also.

[DarkMoon17]

I agree, the female doesn't look conditioned. How long have you conditioned them so far? How often are you feeding them per day and what exactly are you giving them? Do you know about how old the female is?

[HD4life]

I'm feeding mosquito larva and the occasional maggot. But I will watch her and keep feeding until people are comfortable with her size. If she doesn't change much then I may just have to use another female. I will post pics after a few more days

[DarkMoon17]

In addition to the live foods, offer her frozen bloodworms, glassworms, and/or brine shrimp. She will also need a staple betta pellet since they are filled with essential nutrients that you might not be able to replicate in captivity. Spend a few extra bucks to get a good food like Atison's betta pro. Make sure you feed them 2-3 times per day. I usually do pellets in the AM and live/frozen food in the PM.

[bettafish15]

...maggot? I wasnt aware that you can feed maggots to bettas o__o that wouldnt be in their natural diet, so I dont know how nutritious they are...

Conditioning isnt just about the food, its about giving them clean water too.

[1fish2fish]

I think you need to be feeding her more. Conditioning fish should have nice round bellies after each meanl but not look bloated. A variety of foods and daily water changes are essential.

[DarkMoon17]

bettafish15, most insects/larva would be part of their diet. They are opportunistic feeders so anything that falls in the water is fair game. Of course, there are tons of insects/larva that are found in their native home that can't be found here and vis versa.