[twinjupiter]

So I think it happened again. I stopped by my lfs to pic up the last of the supplies i needed for my new 20gal, and noticed for the first time in months they had female bettas. They were nearly all spade tails, and i bought a blue one with an unusual light blue stripe on her side.
Got her home and set up the tank.
Here are pictures of her while floating in the bag to acclimate to the temperature.

Then, this happened.

Is it just me, or does "she" have a beard?

I would really appreciate some feed back on whether or not this is a male, as I have not released her/him into the tank yet. She/he is still in the bag. If she is actually a he, I need to return him to the lfs.
I am rather pissed about this, as if this fish is a male, this is the second time this has happened at this particular store.

 

[BeautifulBetta]

Definitely has a 'boy' face, the full-on spade tail and longer ventrals make it look like a male as well :S Some pet stores are ridiculous. I'd get a second opinion though, not just mine haha

 

[Luimeril]

hhmm... it's hard to say, but it's beard IS bigger than most of my female's... and the ventrils are pretty long.... my guess is male. :I very young veil. but, i could be VERY wrong..

 

[betta lover1507]

she has an egg spot though. but it could be a young male though

 

[damo2904]

That is a young VT male, the tail will extend further than that. Spade Tails can be confusing, they usually turn out to be young VT's.... Males can have what appears to be egg spots aswell.

 

[bahamut285]

Not to play Devil's advocate here, but if you and even some of us on the forum are having difficulty sexing your betta, what makes you think an LFS employee can do it? They probably have some random highschool employee sexing them with some basic rules (short tail = girl) sitting in the back room chucking fish into bags/cups/whatever.


In any case, I agree with Luimeril, I can see an egg spot but his/her ventrals are VERY long for a female...

 

[betta lover1507]

i had a very long fin female:

 

[twinjupiter]

Almost positive the new "girl" is a young male.
Here are some additional pics.

here you can see the light blue stripe that made me buy him/her.

VIDEO: http://youtu.be/zvN2XRs_fsw

The fish he/she is flaring at is Faustine. Faustine clearly does NOT like this new fish. She's never done this little dance and flare to any other of my girls. She also has an egg spot which you can see clearly here:

Also, a huge disappointment-I am also pretty sure Lumen is a young male. Flaring, picking fights, has a beard.. :----(

I have cupped Lumen until i can think of something to do with him.

 

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

I think it's a young male.

 

[wystearya]

Not to play Devil's advocate here, but if you and even some of us on the forum are having difficulty sexing your betta, what makes you think an LFS employee can do it? They probably have some random highschool employee sexing them with some basic rules (short tail = girl) sitting in the back room chucking fish into bags/cups/whatever.

Well, I think I am safe to say that customers expect employees to be knowledgeable able their 'products'. It wouldn't kill pet stores to educate their employees about the proper care, etc. of the animals they sell. Unfortunately what you said is correct, the employees do not know. There in lies the problem and the reason for the poster's frustration.

 

[MrVampire181]

Young males without a question...

 

[bahamut285]

Therein lies the problem and the reason for the poster's frustration.

I guess I'm just the only person who doesn't RAGEQUIT at something I can't control...I mean, how dare they mis-sex a betta? For shame.

 

[Jessicatm137]

He's a male. :/ He's handsome though!

 

[BeautifulBetta]

I guess I'm just the only person who doesn't RAGEQUIT at something I can't control...I mean, how dare they mis-sex a betta? For shame.

Well we're working from pictures though, the employees can see the fish from any angle they wanted and investigate to be sure. Pet stores shouldnt be letting un-educated employees sex fish. If they dont know how to do it, maybe they should get someone else to.

 

[Luimeril]

often, they get the bettas in marked packages. like, a bunch of bags labled "veiltail male", ect. so, it may not be the employee's fault, but the person shipping the fish.

 

[MrVampire181]

^ They don't bother sexing fish. They just go off of whatever the supplier labels them.

 

[twinjupiter]

Just took him back to the lfs. Told them I didnt want a refund or replacement cause firstly I couldn't find my receipt and secondly none of the betta girls who actually were girls caught my eye.
Its a locally owned store, not a chain and the guys who work there are usually really knowledgable when it comes to fresh and saltwater fish. I spent a couple minutes chatting and what not and pointed out that 40% of their girls were actually juvenile VT males. I will probably go back for supplies and maybe a few more corydoras, but no longer will look at their betta selection.

 

[Tisia]

girls do have beards. they're just quite a bit smaller than a male's beard.
it might be just a trick of the flash, but it kind of looks like you can see ovaries on the first pic of Lumen

 

[LittleBettaFish]

Have you tried purchasing from a local breeder? Generally they are more knowledgeable in sexing bettas and can provide you with a few females from the same spawn.

It costs more, but in general you do get a more quality product, and you can then have a background on how the fish was raised and treated prior to purchase.

Sexing young bettas is hard unless you know what you are looking for. I usually go by the angle/size of the anal fin and the size of the ventrals. Body shape can also be an indicator, and in pale fish such as Cambodians, check for ovaries, which should be visible as a sort of yellowish triangle.

 

[twinjupiter]

Have you tried purchasing from a local breeder? Generally they are more knowledgeable in sexing bettas and can provide you with a few females from the same spawn.

It costs more, but in general you do get a more quality product, and you can then have a background on how the fish was raised and treated prior to purchase.

Sexing young bettas is hard unless you know what you are looking for. I usually go by the angle/size of the anal fin and the size of the ventrals. Body shape can also be an indicator, and in pale fish such as Cambodians, check for ovaries, which should be visible as a sort of yellowish triangle.

I would love to purchase from a breeder, but I have not been able to find a breeder in my area. I live in Northern Virginia, just outside DC. The girls I bought on AB are coming to me from Louisiana.