# Lil' Fin Nibbler



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)




----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Very pretty!!


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

I tried having Murdoch and Piper as neighbours, but she out-flared him and he hid in his cave. :lol:


Poor boy got put in his place. 

I wish she didn't nibble her fins though!! Arggh!


----------



## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Woah... wait a second.....

She grew! Also, I'm not so sure it's a SHE! Piper is starting to look like a boy as "She grows".


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

Uh-oh! Not again!

She is quite small, same size at Fiest my female VT but I will be keeping an eye on 'her' then.


----------



## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

She's beautiful!


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Just cup or bag her and hold her up to see if s(he) has an ovipositor or not.. they aren't that hard to find. If she's flaring a lot its almost positive that she is a he... *most* females won't flare.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

I vote male DTPK, or just a REALLY young DTHM male.  Those ventals are a bit to long and full for a female.
Gorgeous though <33 I'd LOVE a betta like that!


----------



## FancyFins (Feb 3, 2010)

1fish2fish said:


> *most* females won't flare.


No one told Aphrodite that lol

Actually most of my females flare, Aph is just the worst about it


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

Yeah, 2 out of my other 3 females flare as well.

I'll look for the ovipositor and let ya know.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I have never seen any of my females except Leilani flare.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I've never seen any female flare... but thats just based on the 1 I own and the 3 million I've looked at at various petsmarts and walmarts over the years LOL

I'm almost positive your girl is a guy though... he just has that guy look to him


----------



## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

All of my girls flare. LOL

I see ivy flaring at Sammy all the time.


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

Bad quality pics, sorry.




















I'm confused. I though I saw the ovi, then I wasn't certain (Piper is REALLY fast) And then I put a mirror up to the bowl and Piper did something I've never seen a male or female do. It was a full blown flare dance/war dance and it was...well, pretty darn intimidating. :shock: He/She stuck their nose out of the water and waggled sideways back and forth across the bowl. At that point the pics stopped.

He/She has a big flare, but stripes often. So really I have no idea.

At least I chose a pretty unisex name. Boy or girl Piper is not very happy with me atm after all the camera flashes. Eek. Think I'll hold off visiting again until morning. lol


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

LOL my guys always flare like that :-D.. Do you have clear cup or even a ziplock bag? I would put him/her in it and hold it above your head to check for the egg spot. I had to do this with my new guys because Lestat and Phoebe are about the same size so I couldn't tell them apart.


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

I'm fairly certain after the flare-a-thon that Piper is a wee boy...plakat, maybe?

I did the mirror game to my girls and their flares were tiny in comparison.

But I'll do the bag thing 2morrow. Or he just might jump out of the bowl and tail slap me at this point. He puts Murdoch's grumpy to shame. :lol:


----------



## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

My two VT females flare but it's not as big as my boys. They also don't flare as much as the boys do. She looks like a he to me too the more I look at her/him.lol


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

I've seen all of my girls flare before, but mostly at each other, and not all of them will flare for the mirror 

The egg spot won't necessarily tell you if its male or female, especially if its young. My Hayate still has an 'egg spot', and hes 100% male.
I'm about 90% sure your guy is male though, probably a DTPK(Double-tail Plakat). I've never seen a DT female wish such long fins, not to mention those nice full ventrals and that big beard. 
Look at some pictures of PK males and females though, that way you can see the difference


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

I'll admit I'm very disappointed, I thought Piper was a real find as a DTF and they still look like one to me being so small with a lil round girl face but meh. I'm no expert on plakats either so I'll assume with a flare like that that she is in fact a he.

But when I look at Piper I see a girl, she looks like Fiest with big fins, same face, same size and all.

As a male will he get bigger? I'll need to buy a bigger bowl now too. :roll:

Greeeat.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Hes probably quite young(he was very small when you got him, correct?)and will most likely grow a little(though I doubt he'll get above average male size xD)and become a little more 'manly' :lol:. My Hayate is quite a girly-looking male though.....Piper just may be like him and keep that cute girly/puppy face xD
His fins might grow longer too, its hard to say, but I think hes a DTPK....which aren't all that common either


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

Well the verdict is *IN*. I cupped Piper and had a good look and she definitely has an ovipositor. It was difficult to see because her underside is a light sandy colour and those big ol' fins kept hiding it. There is a lil tube there though. You'd figure it'd be bigger on her since everything else is.

But if she has an ovipositor then why does she flare like a boy? Yeesh!


----------



## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

http://www.ausaqua.net/files/sexingbettas001.html

I guess males can have an ovi?

I give up. I'm getting Piper a bigger bowl and whatever happens happens. :|


----------



## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Yeah I've heard that males can have it too. Very confusing!lol


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Yup, egg spot doesn't always mean a girl....its very common to see ovipositors on young males, which is why its not the most reliable way to tell genders. Hayate has an 'ovipositor', and I've had another young male that's had one as well.

I still say Piper is a young male  But I can't wait to see how he develops, be sure to post pics!


----------



## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

I know, it gets so confusing. My boy (?) Un Chien Andalou...I don't even know, lol. I'm only about 70% sure he's male. He has an egg spot and gets stress stripes.

Either way, I love Piper. S/he gets more beautiful with every picture I see.


----------

