New betta owner question

[gummi]

Hello everyone. I've been out of the hobby for some time now and just recently decided to get back into it. I wanted to start back with a simple 5 gallon setup, so a betta was the best choice for me. I cycled my tank and finally bought this betta which was sold to me as a male dragonscale. Now that I have it in the tank I'm wondering if it is indeed a male. I looked for the ovipositor between the ventrals and didn't see one, but it's kind of hard telling for sure with the white body. It's is a very active fish, and hard to photograph, but after a frustrating half hour I was able to get a few semi-decent pictures. When I woke today to see the bubble nest I thought it was a male for sure, only to read that females will also blow nests at times. Most of you have been at this much longer than I have, so I thought I'd get your opinions on the sex. Thanks a lot for any help you can give.





Hanging out under the bubble nest.

[bettafish15]

He's a beautiful boy! :D

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of Betta keeping...you have a lovely male Betta.....

[Sakura8]

Looks like a male to me and he must be happy and comfy since he's already bubble-nesting. The best time to look for the ovipositor, I found, is right after a meal. Then their fat little bellies are plump and sometimes the ovipositor sticks out more. I looked and looked for the one on my female to make sure she was, indeed, a female and it wasn't until today, a week after I got her, that I finally spied it after she had chowed down. Also, I've noticed the swimbladder in females is a little more pointed than males. It's hard to describe but uhm right behind their ventrals and the gills, the female's stomach has a very small point. In the male, it doesn't, it's smooth and rounded.

[gummi]

Thank for the help everyone.

[Neil D]

Sorry to butt in but we forumers like to refer to our betta friends as "him" or "Her." Just sayin' Welcome to the forum and I love the colors on your betta!

[Sakura8]

Originally Posted by Neil D

Sorry to butt in but we forumers like to refer to our betta friends as "him" or "Her." Just sayin' Welcome to the forum and I love the colors on your betta!

I think the fish was being referred to as an "it" until "it's" gender could be concretely determined.

[gummi]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

I think the fish was being referred to as an "it" until "it's" gender could be concretely determined.

Exactly right. Seemed a little odd to me to refer to it as him before I knew for sure. Thanks for all the replies.

[PewPewPew]

He's beautiful! Cant wait to see more of him and his tank! <3

[gummi]

The next photos may have to wait a while. It looks like he may have some fin rot starting. I was surprised because the water is clean, all parameters are good, and he seems healthy and is very active. He did have a small 3mm split on the tip of his dorsal which must have been what started it. It happened pretty much overnight. I'm going to see if some aquarium salt will remedy it before I try medicating.