# Is my Baby Betta a male or Female??? Opinions Please



## BettaFrench12 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hello,

I'm new to keeping Bettas and I was wondering if this Betta is a Male or a Female? It's a baby betta from Petco that was a present and I got it just over a week ago. I've read a lot about fin shapes and coloring and stripe patterns, but I haven't been able to find any concrete source as to whether my Betta is a male or female. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but sometimes it appears almost with the stripes like in the pictures, and other times it's a darker, almost blue color with no stripes.

Also, any guesses on tail type?

Thank You for your input,


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

looks like a female VT. Congrats! I am sure she will color up soon!


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

It's too small to know. :/ Sorry, you can't be sure. And don't worry about those stripes, it's not stressed it's normal for babies to have those until they color up. That baby is a cutie. :3 Looks kinda like a VT.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

It does look like a female VT, but they can surprise you sometimes. Keep an eye on the ventral fins on the bottom, if they start getting longer then you will have a male on your hands. Sometimes they are late bloomers (a lot of times it's a defense mechanism to trick adult males into thinking they are females).. their fins tend to grow until around 7 months of age, so you have a ways to go still.


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

Ventrals are more telling than fins. I had a "girl" turned out to be a male plakat, who's ventrals have more than doubled.

Still too early to tell either way. I'm sure s/he will be a cutie.


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## BettaFrench12 (Aug 6, 2012)

Thank you for your replies. Stuka (the fish in question) is staying the dark brown/blue color about 80% of the time now and seems to be getting bigger every day! :-D


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## MadameDesu (Feb 5, 2012)

Yeah, that looks like a girlie. Watch her/his ventrals and check to see if an egg spot develops. 
Betta sexing is an art, not a science, it seems.


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