shellbell4ever

Can someone PLEASE help me?I keep hearing about vertical / horizontal lines on our lovely betta's... I understand this has something to do with stress,or breeding condition,But I am not really understanding what to look for, and a picture or 2 would surely help...Sorry if this is a stupid question but I'm just not getting it

angelfish220

Vertical bars are a sign of stress. Horizontal are readyness to breed.

Lucy

angelfish, I think it's the other way around.

When Prissy was in the 5g hex she used to get gray horizontal stress lines every time I cleaned her tank or the cat peeked at her.

angelfish220

Oh sorry

Tazmiche

Horizontal lines show when a betta, especially females when they are stressed and unhappy. I see it alot in UK stores here that keep them together in a tank. NOT a nice sight AND it is VERY plain to see the fish is so sad. Vertical lines are re breeding.

Shawnie

I assume, this is for female betta's only? and gosh knows what happens when I assume!

shellbell4ever

Thanks for the quick replies ladies!
But what about in the males?Also how about in the whitish or Flesh colored type of Betta's like my Ripley (Cambodian) do they also get these lines when stressed or ready to breed?How can I tell?
Thanks Again

angelfish220

I think that males get the stress bars, but I dont know about the breeding bars

LetDiceFly

Bettas will also get the vertical bars when showing dominance/aggression from what I read. Apparently they are more visible on some more than others. I have one girl that they are very obvious and the only time the stress lines completely disappear is when I feed her. As soon as the food is in the water they go away, and stay away for a few hours, apparently until she is hungry again. At first I thought she was getting them from stress with the other females, but this is apparently not so. They are definitely directly related to being fed. I have never been able to perceive these lines on any of my other bettas, but she is the only one I've had that is the plakat type.

COBettaCouple

Light colored ones, like our white Betta Angel don't really show the bars, but some like our Betta Sweetie show bars at the first touch of emotion.

Shawnie

women arent emotional!!

COBettaCouple

LOL.. Tell that to Kairi and Sweetie. They usually have happy bars.. especially when Kairi sees Teddy Bear.