# How to tell the difference between Plakat male, or a female betta?



## jesstanner (Apr 5, 2011)

lol, I know I will be laughed at for asking this question...but seriously, how do you guys tell! I mean I look through pictures and I try quizzing myself and I ALWAYS get female bettas, and plakats confused!


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## BlakbirdxGyarados (Feb 10, 2011)

Female bettas have an oviposter, or an egg spot, while males don't.
However, young males can appear to have an egg spot as well.... My Jade still has that tiny whit dot every now and then, but he's way too manly to be a girl, lol.

Another, more reliable way to tell is how the betta flares.
Males flare with their gills open much wider than a female's gills would be, plus they turn to their side to show off how big their fins are.
Females face what they're flaring at (don't turn to their sides), and as aforementioned, their gills don't puff out as severely as males'.


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## jesstanner (Apr 5, 2011)

Thank you!!!!


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## BlakbirdxGyarados (Feb 10, 2011)

Very welcome~ x)


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

The thing I check is the length of the ventral fins. Always works for me


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## fleetfish (Jun 29, 2010)

I always look at body shape since both males and females can have oviposters.

A male tends to have a slimmer more streamlined build, smaller looking eyes, a poutier thicker mouth, and longer ventrals. 

A female, if you look very carefully, usually has a lighter area on her sides where her ovaries are and her body is in general more rounded (darker girls' ovaries are harder to find!). Females usually have smaller beards when flaring.

There are always exceptions of course but these are what I look for.


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