Males can get stress stripes. My formerly-female-but-apparently-is-a-male male always got stress stripes when I cupped him/her for water changes. He would also make big poos for some reason.

 

Haha, thanks gmd!

Now I just need to know if males can get breeding stripes!

 

Yes they can but they are not "breeding bars". Vertical bars in males are signs of submission and also stress.

 

OK. Thanks 1f2f!

I put my two males, (one I KNOW is a male, the other was labeled a female but I believe she is a male) in a divided 5.5 gallon tank. They seemed to flare for a minute, and then the female-male seemed to get breeding bars. So I am not sure if she is a male or female anymore :$
I had a thread, asking if he was a girl or boy, and the response was all males. He seems to flare like a boy, but when I watched my girl Drama Queen flare, she flared in a similar way. So I compared the flare between my female-male to my for sure male, and the for sure male had a fuller beard when flaring. The female-male has a bit of an indent near where the chin would be. I am so confused right now. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=68571
The female-male has an egg spot, but its very faint. So I am very confused! LOL