Siamese fighting fish (Betta Splenden)

Question
Hi, I have two male and two female Siamese fighting fish (Betta Splenden), which I keep separate from one another.I want to breed them, and have read a number of books on the subject, but I don't know if the females are ready to breed. I bought them from a petshop two weeks ago, they couldn't tell me how old they are. They look quite small to me, about half the males size. I just wanted to know, how old, or what size must they be before I can breed them. Or are there any signs I can look for to help me tell if I can breed them yet.

Thanks, hope to hear from you soon.


Answer
Hi Jenny!

When your females are ready to breed, they should swell up with eggs and look fairly plump. If they can see the male from their tanks, and get vertical dark stripes on their bodies, then they are ready to spawn. Watch out for horizontal stripes - This means she's not ready. Try placing their bowls together and see how the fish react.

Feel free to write back with any followup questions!
-Amber Worman