How to sex your betta.

[bettaboy]

well, thought this might be helpful to some people. First off, you may want to study betta anatomy first...


Source: www.bettatalk.com

Males typically have longer tails, and a longer anal fin. Males also blow bubble nests, and flare. Females have an "egg spot" on their bellies right in front of their anal fin. If you don't know what gender your betta is, try the following tips:

1) Place a mirror in front of your betta. If your betta starts to open his fins up, and swim towards the mirror, almost trying to attack it... you are probably in the presence of a male, hm hmm. What the probable male is doing, is called displaying, or FLARING. If your betta doesnt react, don't worry! your betta could still be male, just an older male....

2) Are there bubbles at the top of your betta's home? If so, you are looking at what is called a bubble nest. Your betta is almost definitely male, since it is EXTREMELY EXTREMELY EXTREMELY RARE.... like so rare that betta hobbyists for 50 years havent encountered it... for females to blow bubble nests. But don't worry, if there are no bubbles your betta could still be a [lethargic, unhealthy] male. But more likely unhealthy, or very old, since lethargic bettas blow bubble nests often.

3) Is there a tiny white spot on your betta's belly? One that is right in front of the anal fin? If so, you are either in front of a very pathetic juvenile male, or a female :). Juvenile males look nearly identical to females as far as finnage goes, but they can blow bubble nests and flare.

Sound confusing? I bet. Here are some tips:

1) Females don't have large fins. If you have an old betta who won't flare at his reflection and blow bubble nests... and has too big of fins to check for an egg spot - fear not! Old bettas are notorious for BIGBIG fins. Most pet store bettas are old. Because ignorant people wont even look at a betta who doesnt have huge fins. Little do they know, Their betta is viewing his stay at their home as a nursing home... the last stop in his journey of life before he kicks the bucket.

2) Females are solemnly sold at pet stores, so if you got your betta at a pet store it is probably male. Ho-hum. It is also probably old.

3) Males are generally more appealing and attractive than females.

[Meatpuppet]

this is a good post. has good info and good diagram. it could go nicley in the betta care sticky or memeber submited articles section.

Originally Posted by bettaboy

But more likely unhealthy, or very old, since lethargic bettas blow bubble nests often.

i did not know that. i thought it was the opposite.

[SlavetoImpulse]

My female blows bubbles. Is that weird?

[bettaboy]

she's probably not female. Picture?

[okiemavis]

Yeah, she/he's probably just a mislabeled plakat, they're short finned so uninformed store clerks will assume they are all females. Have you looked for the white dot? That's the most foolproof way I've found. If you've had it for a while, so you know it's mature, if there's no white dot it's pretty definitively a male.

[SlavetoImpulse]

No, she's indesputably female. Not only was the cup marked female--though, I know stores do make mistakes--she's also considerably smaller than my two males, with distinctly smaller fins. I'm certain it's a girl.

[SlavetoImpulse]

Originally Posted by okiemavis

Yeah, she/he's probably just a mislabeled plakat, they're short finned so uninformed store clerks will assume they are all females. Have you looked for the white dot? That's the most foolproof way I've found. If you've had it for a while, so you know it's mature, if there's no white dot it's pretty definitively a male.

If she's white, how do I find a white dot? And where would it be?

[bettaboy]

On her belly in front of the anal fin.

Also, your describing a mislabeled plakat, to me.

[SlavetoImpulse]

Found the dot. :)

[okiemavis]

Cool, the dot thing sure makes things easy. It isn't 100% accurate, but darn, once you get a hang of looking for them, they're SO obvious.

Although, it's also possible it's a hermaphrodite. They're more common in bettas than you would expect. A lot of the breeders (especially big farm ones) use testosterone to increase color vibrancy. If a female makes it in the group, the testosterone exposure at a young age can make them one very confused fish! I saw one recently, it had a smallish white dot, but wasn't completely female or male. I'd say it's about 50/50 for it to be a female or a hermaphrodite.