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The little white tube on the belly of the female, called ovopositor in spanish (not sure in English), how big is this thing supposed to be?

I ask this because my female has something little and white on her belly, which Im sure is that little tube but I dont know if its supposed to get long or how big its supposed to be?

I read somewhere that if its showing, the female is ready, so Im wondering if she can be put in with one of the males to attempt a breeding?

Thanks.

Condition the pair for awhile first.

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Theyve been eating bloodworms n other things for at least a week now, the terminalia catappa leaves haves been added to their water.

Regarding the white tube thing, can ya help me out or anyone else please?

They show constantly from when the fish is about 2-3 months old.

It generally doesn't get bigger, and if it does you should be careful that you are not dealing with eggbinding or constipation forcing the internal organs out of there. (you'd spot that pretty quick, it usually looks pinker than the ovipositor)

It should be about the size of a human whitehead pimple (and THAT is my most revolting size description ever, but I can't think of anything better!) AND remember that with inbreeding and constant mutations, these are showing up on MALE fish occasionally too. Do not rely on this for sexing.

When you say put in with the male, do you mean loose in the tank or in view of the male in a hurricane lamp or something? There are other signs you'd want to see first before you release her with the male, such as vertical bars/striping (these usually are only visible on darker fish) and the head-down dance, where the female looks towards the male or the nest, stays in roughly the same level of water, puts her head down and wiggles.

Those two things would be the big signs that she is ready to be in with the male.





For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Hey Call, thanks for your help, I appreciate it a whole lot.

The males and females are still in separate tanks.

I think the female has a certain whitish underbelly which might mean she has eggs there. She is blue and red so it contrasts with the white.


I have a question though, could it be possible for a female to chase the other females? One of the females kinda bosses the others around.....

Most definitely.

There is always a pecking order with fish in community groups, and female bettas show it really obviously. The girls will often flare and nip and carry on a bit to get their point across.



For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I dont know if you'll find this funny Call, but I put her in one of those hurricane lamp things just in case she were a male so she wouldnt go crazy on the females while Im off to work

Sounds like a fair option until you can be sure

Any chance of a picture of the 'girl'?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Hey Call, very strange thing happened this morning....

I go to the tank and I see little white spots where the female is. I didnt have a lamp thingie so I put her in a guppy breeder box, where she is clearly visible to the male because it is transparent but yet she is protected. There were little white spots in there, some floating some not. I wasnt sure if they were little balls of styrofoam from the cup or not. I thought maybe they were eggs. I let them loose in the tank as well as her. The male seemed to ignore her at first, he went and either ate or picked up all the white dots (eggs) and seemed to continue making trips to the nest. Not sure if he was eating them or taking them to the nest.

He then went after the female but it looked like he was hurting her (ripping her fin) so I put her back in the guppy breeeder box.

May I have your opinion on this? Have you ever heard of the female laying eggs by herself? Not sure about any of this.

Thanks alot for any help Call.

Oh and more thing, must she have the vertical line striping for her to breed? She is deep blue and red so the lines would show. If these are not present, would it mean she is not ready?

Again, thanks.

I've heard of females that will build a nest, release their eggs, and then care for them until they start to rot. Its uncommon, but not unheard of
Usually the female will drop eggs, either all or just part of what she is carrying, if she gets overstimulated. If she was watching the male and filling up with eggs, and he wasn't quite ready or available, then she's probably just taken matters into her own hands.

The eggs will probably be infertile, but give them 3 weeks or so and try again

The stripes aren't strictly necessary, but they are good to have. My main tell is when the female does the 'head down dance' where she looks at the male and sort of swims around a little flirtatiously with her head lowered.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett