Male or female betta

[Mrs.JP]

Does anyone know of some good betta sites that have comparative photos?

The reason is that I got up this morning to find that my red and white female betta has built a bubble nest. She has been playing with it all day.

I didn't think females build nests. So now I am thinking she is a he with short fins. This could be why she didn't get along with the bluered female.

Jackie

[thegrandpoohbah]

Hmm... sounds like someone sold you a plakat instead of a female. Sorry, can't help you with the betta sites though...

[fishenthusiast]

There are a number of ways to determine if your fish is a male or a female. Female bettas have a white spot on their bellies, it is their oviposter. They are usually rounder than the males as well. They do build bubble nests, I have had a female that not only built a nest she dropped eggs and put them in the nest as well.

This site has a good photo of a female with an oviposter. You will also notice that she is much rounder than her male counterpart.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/abc/range3.html

This is a crummy photo of my plakat(short tailed) male for comparison:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/Fishenthusiast/the%20crew/marble.jpg

Also, female bettas can flare just like the males, but they lack the "beard" that boys have.

This is a photo of one of my males flaring, you can clearly see his beard:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/Fishenthusiast/the%20crew/PICT0067.jpg

[CACAdmin]

There are a number of ways to determine if your fish is a male or a female. Female bettas have a white spot on their bellies, it is their oviposter. They are usually rounder than the males as well. They do build bubble nests, I have had a female that not only built a nest she dropped eggs and put them in the nest as well.

I know little about bettas.This is fascinating info. Talk about an independent female... why wait for the male to build the bubble nest when you can do it yourself?! :laugh: Is this common behavior?

[fishenthusiast]

It is my understanding that it is common for dominant females to blow bubble nests. While it isn't common to see them drop eggs and put them in their own bubble nest it isn't unheard of.

I had that particular female within sight of a male. I never put them together, but their tanks were side by side. She had always been an eggy girl, with a big round belly. When she was exposed to the male she got very excited and built her nest. A couple days later I looked at the top of her tank and saw little white dots in the nest. She was guarding it like any male would.

This is her nest, you can see it is quite small and if you look closely those white dots are the eggs.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/Fishenthusiast/PICT0024.jpg

Unfortunately she got egg bound and horribly enough she literally burst. I came home one day to find her swimming around with a hole in her side and hundreds of eggs littered on the bottom of her tank. I euthanized her not long after that. It was a lesson learned, and I will never put a female next to a male for extended periods of time again. That is if I ever keep more than one betta again (I used to have something like 15 males).

[Mrs.JP]

Thank you fishenthusiast. She looks alot like your plaket but she has a pointier dorsil fin. Is his rounder or does it come to a point?

I think it is a female though. I think I can see eggs. My camera is not cooperating with me today,I will try to get some pics done.

Sorry to hear about your female. Did it happen around the same time that you saw her drop eggs or was it the next time she should of droped eggs. Is there anything that can be done?

jackie

[fishykisses]

a photo would help a lot but here's a couple pics of some females and a couple plakat males so you can see the difference...as slight as it is unless you know what you're looking for.
females
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/a01381f2.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/d89d32b3.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/26345a7b.jpg
and plakat males
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/2b24c1d4.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/f98e9ce3.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/3682a82b.jpg
I hope that helps
But definately the round belly and oviposter are the surest ways to tell male and female.
If you can post a pic.

[Mrs.JP]

Here are the pics I gothttp://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/MrsJP/femalebettanest.jpghttp://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/MrsJP/redwhitefemalebetta.jpg

[Mrs.JP]

Here is the nesthttp://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/MrsJP/femalebettasbubble.jpg

[fishykisses]

i think you're the proud owner of a happy female. All my bettas...all 24 adults bubble nested after water changes and before big rain storms.

[Mrs.JP]

Thank you fishkisses your pictures are great.

Jackie

[Mrs.JP]

I was use to the boys building them but this is the first time one of the girls did.

Although the thought of having a plaket wasn't all bad.

Jackie