# Do I Have a Female or Male Betta?



## bl0ndern (Aug 18, 2017)

Hey, new to owning fish/bettas. I bought a betta fish from Petco advertised as a "baby boy". I thought it would be fun to watch my betta grow. I have been doing a lot of research about bettas and I'm starting to think my "baby boy" could be a baby girl. I'm not sure how old my betta is exactly. He is maybe 1.5 inches from head to tail. His name is Bowie by the way :grin2:


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## AngelDemonWolf (Aug 16, 2017)

You can tell if it's a female or male by looking at the ventral fin, females have a more slender fin, and males have a thicker fins. Another way that I sex them is by looking between the ventral and the anal fin, if there is a white spot in there (Egg Spot) then it's a female.


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## bl0ndern (Aug 18, 2017)

I've read about the egg spot. I dont think my betta has it but its just hard for me to tell if he's just an immature male or maybe a female. Hard to tell when they are young. Can you give me your opinion on what you think my betta might be? I know I don't have the best pictures


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## AngelDemonWolf (Aug 16, 2017)

It would be better to tell the sex if you can take a picture of her/she flaring. You can also look at the behavior of the betta, if he is more than 3 months you would probably be seeing bubble nest (If you have a good ph level that triggers it). But it would be better if you take a picture of the betta flaring, you can tell the sex by the beard too. Males have a more out sticking out beard at the bottom, females have a shorter ones.


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## bl0ndern (Aug 18, 2017)

AngelDemonWolf said:


> It would be better to tell the sex if you can take a picture of her/she flaring. You can also look at the behavior of the betta, if he is more than 3 months you would probably be seeing bubble nest (If you have a good ph level that triggers it). But it would be better if you take a picture of the betta flaring, you can tell the sex by the beard too. Males have a more out sticking out beard at the bottom, females have a shorter ones.


I've tried to get him to flare and he just seems to ignore the mirror. After working a couple nights in a row, I cam home and noticed more bubbles on the surface of the tank than usual. It wasn't organized though like I've seen in pictures. If I can get him to flare, I'll post a picture up. Thanks for your help!


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

Many young males have eggspots and some females make bubble nests. The most reliable way to sex a betta is by the presence of ovaries. Take a very clear picture with flash, the ovaries are coned shaped.


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## bl0ndern (Aug 18, 2017)

sabrinah said:


> Many young males have eggspots and some females make bubble nests. The most reliable way to sex a betta is by the presence of ovaries. Take a very clear picture with flash, the ovaries are coned shaped.


Can you tell by looking at this picture?


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## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

Could you get a better picture of him facing a more straight direction and not kind of in a bent shape? If there was a more clearer picture of the fins it might make it easier to tell the gender. How long have you had him for?
I myself purchased a baby boy betta from Petco. There was a time where I thought he was a girl, but after some time he started making bubble nests and flaring at my other betta. My friend who knows a lot about bettas thinks that he may be a combtail betta, which is a crossbred fish. I attached photos of him when I first got him and my profile picture is of him today.


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## bl0ndern (Aug 18, 2017)

Joylynbug said:


> Could you get a better picture of him facing a more straight direction and not kind of in a bent shape? If there was a more clearer picture of the fins it might make it easier to tell the gender. How long have you had him for?
> I myself purchased a baby boy betta from Petco. There was a time where I thought he was a girl, but after some time he started making bubble nests and flaring at my other betta. My friend who knows a lot about bettas thinks that he may be a combtail betta, which is a crossbred fish. I attached photos of him when I first got him and my profile picture is of him today.


I've had him for almost 2 weeks. I'm probably just jumping the gun and I'll just have to wait for him to mature. Its hard for me to get a good picture. He's not very good at sitting still. Thanks for the advice. I will love him either way lol:grin2:


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## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

bl0ndern said:


> I've had him for almost 2 weeks. I'm probably just jumping the gun and I'll just have to wait for him to mature. Its hard for me to get a good picture. He's not very good at sitting still. Thanks for the advice. I will love him either way lol:grin2:


Just give it some time. It can take a little while for the fish to fully grow. I was skeptical that my dude was in fact a boy for quite a while. But he grew and after some time I knew for sure that he was a boy. Just wait and see.  
My guess is that it's a boy. The caudal fin (the fin on the end of the body) looks rather large, which seems to be uncommon in females. However, I could be totally wrong. But regardless whether or not it's a boy or girl, he/she is a very pretty fish. :-D


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