# ages and maturing



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Helllo everyone:-D,

I was just looking at one of my female bettas for about an hour because she interests me and i think she is interested in a male. Also because the male keeps flirting with her and they flaring at each other. What i did was stare at her and him and analysed them both. What i did do was i thought of how old the female and the male is.

So i realized that the female is older than the male and she is IMO past breeding age. I think he is too, but when i was looking at her she was filling up with eggs and a lot of them. So my first question is, is this behavior normal for a betta that is past the breeding age?

My next question is, how old does the betta have to be until it passes breeding age.

Neptune (the female betta) is one of my females that i had for about 6 or 7 months and i got her when she was very small and a little cutie. So i think she is past breeding age so is she? if she is then why is she filling up with eggs.:-?

As for Marki (male betta) i dont know how old he is i got him about two months ago from wal-mart.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Females will have eggs their entire life, they absorb them, drop and eat them on a regular basis.
In most animals the drive to reproduce is strong-their goal in life is to pass their genes to make a new generation and given the chance they will reproduce at any age.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

really, but i thought that people said that bettas will stop producing after they pass a certain age?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Mine don't, and I have used females well into their second year heading into the third.

I think it is more related to vigor than egg production, however, I haven't seen a change in that with my older Bettas as long as they are healthy


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> Mine don't, and I have used females well into their second year heading into the third.
> 
> I think it is more related to vigor than egg production, however, I haven't seen a change in that with my older Bettas as long as they are healthy


yes of course.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They probably produce better offspring when they're younger.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

i know i was just curious i am not actually going to breed her though i have tried when she was younger.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Like any animal the older the female is the more chances there are for genetic deformity. That being said the breeders in my group have males that are 2 years old and still breeding.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

ohh okay i see so how does that two year old male produce? good fry or only deformed??

also what do you mean by your "breeding group"? what is a breeding group?


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## Jooleeah (Feb 20, 2010)

i think 1f2f meant the fish in her whole group of fish that were being bred
not a specific group for breeding fish
though i might be wrong D:


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

well either of those make sense


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Actually I do mean a fish breeding group :-D 

I'm a member of Georgia Betta Breeders Association. Its a club affiliated with the IBC that meets bi-monthly to discuss breeding, shows, etc.

I don't know the percent with genetic deformity that her males were throwing but I assume she would cull them anyways.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Jackie, are you a member of the IBC?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

No, not yet. It costs $20 to join and I just haven't had the extra cash lying around. I'll probably join soon now that I'll be getting a regular paycheck.

Most IBC groups don't require you to be a member of the IBC to join the group. I think there's only 3-4 people in our group that are actually in the IBC.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

so how many people total? in your group?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm not really sure. At any meeting we generally have 6-8 people show up but there are more who are members but can't/don't come to the meetings or who only come to the meetings that are nearest to them (since the meetings are held all over Middle GA).

The GA group is pretty small. Other groups like CBS (California) and the Florida group (I don't remember their name) are bigger. The mid-west Betta society is the biggest membership but it doesn't have physical meetings since members of that group are from all over the country.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

wow i wish we had one well maybe there is one but 1 question, how did YOU find them?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Someone on another forum I'm on is a member of GBBA and told me about the group. You can search for groups in your area by going to www.ibcbettas.org and looking under the "Chapters" section.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

I would think it would be the same as any other animal.

In humans if they reproduce later in life, it can be dangerous for the mother and the offspring. I'm not sure about deformities, but I wouldn't take the chance.


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