# male, female and is it ct?



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

this betta was sold to me at petco as female ct...I have had her 3 weeks and she still has stripes. her egg spot is no longer visible....but she is still very short. I'm going to upload a few pics pls tell me what u think


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

trying to upload better pics. she's/he's not a poser lol


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

That's a baby! Since I can't see it's ventral fins or any fins well enough it's hard to say exactly what gender but it's not a CT for sure. Baby's have "stress" stripes naturally when they are growing, it acts as camouflage and tells the other babies it doesn't want to fight.

Is it possible you can get a light on the tank so I can see clearer? Any light will do, even a desk lamp will be sufficient and then I can help with gender and tail type. Looks like it might be a Plakat though.


----------



## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Agree with lilnaugrim - it's not a Crowntail and yes, a picture with more light will be helpful to try to figure out the fin type.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

here's more pics....need more just let me know thanks


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

the pics of her in a bowl are several days old. I'm noticing she looks so much better in those bowl pics


----------



## Kiara1125 (Feb 1, 2011)

The last few pictures makes me think a CT. Not sure about the gender. S/he's got longer, broader ventrals, so it might be a male. but the dorsal makes me think female.. Is s/he clamped right now? If s/he is, then I would look into what's causing it. S/he might be getting sick ...


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It's a female VT, I see ovaries in the second to last picture. She probably has some Plakat blood in her which is causing her body to look thicker than usual but yup she's a cutie!

And it depends on what age she is, as I said before if she's still young enough those stress stripes are probably for camouflage but yeah that's probably something still bugging her.

What temp is the tank at, what size, how much do you feed her and how often. Also does she have any places to hide in there and how often do you clean out the tank?


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

Kiara1125 said:


> The last few pictures makes me think a CT. Not sure about the gender. S/he's got longer, broader ventrals, so it might be a male. but the dorsal makes me think female.. Is s/he clamped right now? If s/he is, then I would look into what's causing it. S/he might be getting sick ...


I don't know what clamped means


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Clamped is when their fins aren't spread out so on your 3rd post (comment #6), the 3rd picture her fins are clamped vs. not clamped in 3rd post in picture number 4.

Usually when their fins are clamped it means they're uncomfortable, stressed at something, or sick, that's what we were commenting on.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

lilnaugrim said:


> It's a female VT, I see ovaries in the second to last picture. She probably has some Plakat blood in her which is causing her body to look thicker than usual but yup she's a cutie!
> 
> And it depends on what age she is, as I said before if she's still young enough those stress stripes are probably for camouflage but yeah that's probably something still bugging her.
> 
> What temp is the tank at, what size, how much do you feed her and how often. Also does she have any places to hide in there and how often do you clean out the tank?


she was in a10 gallon....I had several other fish in there with her.each time one died we did partial or whole water changes..bought meds for remaining fish and my other betta died anyway....she is the last one left.........she's now in a gallon glass bowl.... I went to clean out all water or of tank and threw rocks away and it smells soooooooooo bad like rotten fish....so I'm taking back the filter to replace it just in case......not sure what to do with the decor....she's in the bowl with a piece of decor.....I feed her in the morning and at night....either one of the three foods.......dried blood worms, betta pellets, flakes......since yesterday she quit eating......I want to stay all the way over with my tank.....Can you one tell me how......bc I'm buying more bettas from a member of the IBC......and their expensive and I want things to go right....Please help....should I start another thread on how to restart my tank,?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

You should probably start another thread just so other people can help out and give opinions but I can give you directions on how to clean it out as well.

So does she have a heater? She needs a heater to be happy.

How often did you change your water in the 10 gallon and you used conditioner? What kind of fish was she in with?


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

her fins r always clamped now. the other fish had fin rot and possible ick


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

http:/ http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=202497


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

http:/ http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=200850


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh I can't see the links, they're broken I think.

She really needs a heater then if there was possible Ich. Ich cannot survive (except for one strain) in high temperatures at 85-86 degree's so I'd suggest getting that 10 gallon back up as soon as you can to at least get her in warmer water, it's most likely the reason she's clamping right now.

To disinfect the 10 gallon, take all gravel and decoration out. Rinse gravel in very hot water and leave out in the sun to dry on a towel or something.

Get some white vinegar and rinse the 10 gallon with it, I use a paper towel to work it in. Then rinse out with extremely hot tap water multiple times until you no longer smell vinegar. Let dry and you're set to set it up again. Do the same with the heater and filter (not filter media) rinse with some vinegar and then hot tap water and let dry. You'll have to get new filter media which should be easy 

Set it up with gravel and decor, let it run for at least 48 hours before putting her in to make sure that everything works again.

Do you have a liquid test kit to watch out for ammonia and all? Since you're starting over your tank won't have a cycle running so it will be easy for ammonia to get high and poison her.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

those links are to 2 other threads I have started one is "sick fish" the other is "aggressive"...those threads have a little more info on them


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

also I think she has fin rot. her fins aren't as broad as they use to b


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

I have test strips... once I clean the tank what water conditioner should I use as well as anything else I should add to the tank... I threw the gravel away....what can I get to ensure the ammonia, alkaline stray down bc its always highhhhhhh even with the conditioner I have used one that's suppose to drop the high ammonia but it didn't... I'm going to take my filter sys back and just get a new one


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

the ammonia and alkaline is always sky high and I'm suppose to b buying some top of line bettas and I don't want to lose them this go round....also I have some great value brand spring water I bought at Walmart can I use that to fill up the tank I have 10g of it


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay Alkaline is a water type, not a level of your water. Parameters that you worry about are Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates.

And fin rot would appear black edges and like the fin is "dead" at the edges, her fins aren't spread out because she's not feeling well so they are clamped.

Okay so you're getting new gravel and new filter, and are you going to split the tank for the Betta's or are they all going in different tanks?

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia, you could have some ammonia in there. Also Prime does not get rid of ammonia, it just detoxifies it for 48 hours which means it turns ammonia into something harmless for a little while and then ammonia can come back if you do not have the Nitrogen Cycle to eat it up. That's why it's important to cycle your tanks before you get your fishies.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

lilnaugrim said:


> Okay Alkaline is a water type, not a level of your water. Parameters that you worry about are Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates.
> 
> And fin rot would appear black edges and like the fin is "dead" at the edges, her fins aren't spread out because she's not feeling well so they are clamped.
> 
> ...


I'm going to clean outr the 10g tank with the vinegar and the decor...I'm going to replace the filter some time today...I will try to buy some gravel but I don't want the ones with fake color bc always notice when cleaning the tank there's pieces of the color off the rocks floating around.....right now I'm trying feed her betta pellets, flake food and dried blood worms but she isn't eating. I can tell she's very stressed...I did a 100% water change for her bowl bc all the food and waste was to much...now yes my tap water test high for ammonia.....so I bought great value brand springs water from Wal-Mart.... is that ok to use...bc I bought ten gallons


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yes Spring water is fine because it still contains the minerals that your fish need. Just like us, they need the minerals and vitamins from the water. You can also mix it with your tap water so it's not as much. But I highly advise that you cycle that 10 gallon because then you won't have to worry about buying spring water all the time. The Beneficial Bacteria that you grow during the Nitrogen Cycle will automatically turn that ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates so that it's not harmful to your fish.

I like natural colored gravel as well, I usually always go for the black ;-) usually makes the fishes color pop up unless it's a black fish haha

I bet she's most likely stressed because she's not too warm right now, anyway you can put a heater in her bowl? She'll be alright but she does need the warmth, especially Baby Betta's. Also make sure you take out any food right away that she doesn't eat, that will spoil her water faster 

I just wanted to let you know, sorry if you already knew it, but anything Freeze-Dried actually promotes constipation in fish so feed sparingly. I also have Freeze-Dried Bloodworms but I give as a treat every two weeks and that's it. ^_^


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

how many gallons of spring water to use in the tank?..I just got new filter and submersible heater. no rocks yet....


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

You can do half and half if you want, so 5 gallons of spring and 5 of tap. However to start the cycle up I'd go with all the spring water until your cycle is stable.

Do you know how to cycle a tank? We have a sticky on it in the Betta Habitat, Tank and Bowl section that I can give you a link to if you can't find it.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

out of the products I have which ones do I put in?

1. Aqua Culture, betta care kit...premeasured tablets... says, makes tap water safe for bettas.

2.Tetra EasyBalance .. reduces water changes...maintains water chemistry and ph..maintenance. use weekly

3.Tetra aquasafe, dechlorinates and conditions, replenishes protective slime coat for all freshwater aquariums...maintenance use monthly...instructions say, should use when setting up new aquarium

4. Jungle. ammonia clear fizz tabs. reduces ammonia levels, removes chlorine and chloramine..instructions say use as needed solution

5. jungle. lifeguard all in one treatment effective against ich and fungus use one tab every 24 hours for 5 days


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

there's more than one thread about diff types of cycle..which one do I need


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

I also bought aq salt should I use that to


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

tank in process of cycling


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

This is the thread I use: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=111960

AQ salt is for treating external illnesses like Ich, Velvet, Body slime infections and fin rot. To be used no more than 14 days at a time and never for a therapeutic dosage as it can harm a fishes liver and kidney's, resulting in failure of the organs (dropsy). However it's great to have on hand and works wonderful for curing those illnesses that I spoke of 

And as far as your products go, Aqua Culture and the Tetra AquaSafe do the same things so you use one of them each time that you do a water change. So say that you take out 5 gallons of water (half of your 10 gallons) and you want to put 5 gallons back in, you use the correct amount of drops/capful for 5 gallons of water which makes it safe for your fish. Without conditioner there are things both in tap water and Spring water which are bad like chlorine (not present in Spring water), heavy metals and sometimes ammonia (as is in your tap) and so conditioner will detoxify these things making it safe for your fish!

I wouldn't use the Jungle lifeguard unless you have a serious illness that you need to cure, otherwise you'd just be stressing your fish out, so just hold onto it for now 

And then the Jungle Ammonia tablets do very similar to the other two conditioners where it makes tap water/spring water safe for fishes. It also helps turn the ammonia into ammonium just like what Prime by SeaChem does so you can choose to use that only since you do have ammonia in your tap or you can disregard it.

And then the Tetra EasyBalance, I wouldn't suggest using that since it tampers with your pH level. Even if you have a higher pH level coming from your tap, your Betta's can adjust to it with proper acclimation.

If you need to know how to successfully acclimate your new Betta's for when they first arrive at your home, I can tell you about that as well.

But as far as your purchases go I would just use the Tetra AquaSafe and not worry about the ammonia in your tap. Once your cycle gets finished you'll never have to worry about buying spring water again :-D

Let me know if you need help with the cycling process as well


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

ok so I have a regular 5/15 gallon filter running, some used rocks and stones (which I cleaned in vinegar) and 2 hollow logs in the tank. with 8 gallongs of great value spring water..... so far the test strips are reading at safe levels....its been cycling for 12 hours. once the 48 hr cycling period has been reached.....what if anything do I need to do? then after the 48 hr cycling.......what will I do for maintenance on this tank, how often etc.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

I also put 1 tablespoon of aq salt in and tetra aquasafewhen I started the cycle


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

No the 48 hour "cycle" period is a myth, that does absolutely nothing for your fish. Of course it's going to read all levels safe, there's no fish in there to create ammonia to start with!!!

The Nitrogen Cycle is what you want to do, it's going to take about a month. What you're doing is growing a colony of Beneficial Bacteria or BB. For BB to grow they need ammonia and then they turn that ammonia into nitrites and then finally into nitrates which are safest for your fish, nitrates are taken out with water changes. That's why it's important to do your weekly water changes so that you can take out the Nitrates which can still harm your fish.

So looks like you'll be doing a "Fish-In" cycle which means you'll have your fish in there while your colony of good bacteria grows in to keep the fish safe. You will need to test for ammonia every day or every other day for a month, DO NOT let ammonia go over .25 ppm's, it can harm your fish and it is very stressful for your fish. Look at that link that I gave you and go to comment *#4*.

If you notice your ammonia getting over .25ppm do a 50% water change, wait an hour and test again. If it's still .25ppm or over then do another 50% change.

Also do not use AQ salt for prevention, it does NOTHING for your cycle. When used long term for Betta's, even at a low dosage it causes liver/kidney failure which is Dropsy. So in order to avoid that, NEVER use AQ salt more than a 14 day period and never over 3 teaspoons/gallon.

Okay?


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

ok I'm going to go read that link...but wanted to question you on this....for the fish in cycle can I use minnows from petco or the other fish they sale for under 25 cents and how many do I get for the cycle process....I'm bringing the betta back to petco bc she's doing to bad so I know they can help her better than me... and I want to use the cheap fish for the cycle bc I'm low low on cash and I want to use them until I get my bettas delivered


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

also the spring water and setup I have now can I keep in the tank when I start the fish in cycle? bc my tap water is high in ammonia and the water conditioners I have don't bring it down thanks. now I'm gonna go read that link...btw thank u so so much for helping me


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

also I have river rocks I got from a freshwater river..... if cleaned appropriatelycan I use them


----------



## KohakuRiver (Apr 21, 2013)

I have in the past, but it would depend on the health of the river you got them from. If it is not polluted, they should be fine, so long as there is nothing growing on them.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

ok what is substrates


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

lilnaugrim said:


> No the 48 hour "cycle" period is a myth, that does absolutely nothing for your fish. Of course it's going to read all levels safe, there's no fish in there to create ammonia to start with!!!
> 
> The Nitrogen Cycle is what you want to do, it's going to take about a month. What you're doing is growing a colony of Beneficial Bacteria or BB. For BB to grow they need ammonia and then they turn that ammonia into nitrites and then finally into nitrates which are safest for your fish, nitrates are taken out with water changes. That's why it's important to do your weekly water changes so that you can take out the Nitrates which can still harm your fish.
> 
> ...


ok i read it....I'm talkin on fb to the breeder I'm buying my fish from and she said she uses banana leaves and IAL......what are those and what's the circumstance for them


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

can i use wild minnows from my ditch for the cycle process and or fishing shinners?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Don't use anything wild, they carry a whole host of bacteria and parasites which equals BAD!

IAL and Banana Leaves as well as dried Oak Leaves give off a thing called tannins, they will turn your water a light tea color (Don't worry it can be taken out with water changes) But it helps the Betta adjust to it's new home. They also have minor antibacterial properties to help ward off bad bacteria for your fish.

You can use the minnows for the cycle and then just take them and put them up for adoption back at the Petco. You can use 2-3 fish for it, just enough to create waste but not enough waste to hurt them. You can use your tap water after you run out of spring water, it will just give more food for your bacteria. If you lose a fish, throw it away and continue with the 1 or 2 that you have left until you get a reading of ZERO ammonia, ZERO nitrites and anywhere from 0-80ppm's of nitrates. Once you get those readings, you do a large water change (about 75%) and replace water and test again the next day (a whole 24 hours) and if your ammonia is at ZERO then your tank is cycled!

And yes you can use the rocks, I put them under running HOT tap water, extremely hot for about 5-10 minutes and let them cool off before placing them in the tank. It's the equivalent to boiling them.

EDIT: oh and substrate is what you use on the floor i.e. your gravel or sand, soil, marbles, glass rocks, dirt, etc.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

ok well I will be doing the fish in cycle with my new bettas bc they can't stay in those small bowls 4ever and I.no I no longer havevthat baby betta I took her back and got new bettas will put pics up soon going to Walmart for more filtering bc I have to use my larger tank


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

I cant afford any more jug water... so what I was going to do is take the water from 10g tank and put in my larger tank and fill it the rest of the way up withtap water....and put new bettas in after 24 hrs


----------



## wish4coner (Mar 22, 2013)

It appears to be either a wild or a cross with a wild--with the vertical stripes.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

@wish4coner, it's a baby betta, those stripes are normal for the fry, I believe you know that. She looked like a PK to me.

Anyway's 24 hours still does nothing for your cycle. But yes Fish-In cycle, you just need to really keep an eye on that ammonia everyday until all your readings are reading at zero within a 24 hour period. Of course that's not going to happen now because you don't have any fish pooping in your tank.

Okay so you have the 10 gallon and you have a larger tank as well? What exactly are you doing here cuz I'm confused haha are you cycling the 10 gallon (which will take a month to complete) or just going to use the bigger tank? Are you dividing it for your new Betta's?


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

Well it was an impulsive decision but since I bought the bettas my 10g isn't big enough....I have 4 ct female and 1 male...one of the females had a huge egg spot....I assume she's been bred already and possibly the mother to a few of my juv bettas but I'm in the way home to start the cycle on what I think is a30g tank.....and I have to just go from there.....learning experience for me..... will post pics to see how old you think they ask are etc


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

btw the mgr at petco said I should cycle my tank with ground meat for 4 days......I never heard of that before


----------



## xxRho (May 29, 2013)

resa said:


> the ammonia and alkaline is always sky high and I'm suppose to b buying some top of line bettas and I don't want to lose them this go round....also I have some great value brand spring water I bought at Walmart can I use that to fill up the tank I have 10g of it


 
If the ammonia is really high try upping the water changes to every 2 days.

Her fins may appear smaller as she gets more clamped =[

Also alkaline is interchangeable with basic.
If the pH is above 7 it is considered "alkaline" (aka "basic").
If the pH is below 7 it is considered "acidic"
A pH of 7 is considered neutral.

Ammonia is used by the body to neutralize weak acids in waste so is considered a weak base however it can act as either a weak acid or a weak base. Either way it causes burns and over time destroys the gills which leads to extreme stress, shock and death.

Also don't forget to de-chlorinate the water =]

How is she going now?

I have a little baby too (she is in my dp/avi) :-D


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

If you read the other comments on that link that I gave you there is a raw shrimp method you can do. Any shrimp from the frozen food isle in a market will do and then you put it in some pantyhose or mesh (it does rot) for easy removal and that can cycle your tank as well. That gives your BB a source of ammonia to feed from. You may have to replace the shrimp when it gets too nasty, in which case throw all of it away and get some new pantyhose to put the shrimp in (or just cut another section from the one you cut the toe off of).

You should read the other comments in that link I gave you so you see your different options.

As far as starting a sorority (which is what you're doing with putting 4 females in one tank) I'd suggest getting at least 2 more females to round it to 6. Females are just as aggressive as males and will fight for the first two weeks you have them in there. They are establishing who is alpha and the rest of the pecking order. But the more females you have, the more spread out the aggression is, you see?

I also know that you should quarantine your new females for at least 2 weeks when you first get them so you do not introduce disease into your tank. With these girls that you're getting now they can just go in but when you get new girls, place them in a QT tank for 2 weeks so to make sure they aren't bringing in disease that will kill your fish. I use the cups that the store fish come in and I change the water every other day so that they don't get ammonia poisoning but I float them in the big tank so that the older girls can get used to the new girl and visa versa. It helps for them you introduce them to the sorority.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

ok i have added the little bit of rocks and the 10 gallons and some jug water and about to add tap water that's where I'm at now just thought I'd update


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay sounds good


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

the first 2cpics are of big mama she has a huge egg spot looks like its poking out of her...that's not pics of them all hard to take pics when I don'thave good sun light...will try to get better ones tomorrow.....the green one is the smallest of them all.....


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I like the green one she's cute ^_^


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

they are much prettier than the camera shows...much prettier


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh yes, I believe you ^_^ My girls are prettier than the camera shows as well!


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

took the male back bc I just had him in a bowl and it wasn't fair...I don't have a filter for the 10 g tank now so getting males will wait


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

oh yeah the biggest female that's in those first pics with her huge egg spot, has showed the others she's alpha...her and a younger adult or older juv...fault and fault and we seperated them and watched them....now the younger one just runs and knows whose head honcho lol


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Uh yeah, you're not supposed to put just two females together. When starting a sorority you need to keep them in QT tanks until you're ready to introduce at least 6 at one time and then you work your way up from there if you want to add more. That little one is going to get extremely stressed and might actually die from stress so I suggest taking one out or dividing the tank because you really don't want a dead fish.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

they are all getting along fine now.....I can't put any in another tank bc other tank has no filter


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

it doesn't need a filter to have fish in it, you'll just have to watch your ammonia levels is all but it shouldn't build up that fast.


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

well thanks for the info. but yes gone now... however I'm still going to get those other bettas from someone in the inc... ill try to post their pics when I can to


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

these are the females ...going to find the pic to 2 of the girls dad


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

here he is.... pics don't do him justice


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh yes he is very gorgeous!!


----------



## resa (Dec 23, 2012)

buying from someone in ibc lol not inc


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah I knew what you meant.


----------

