# I cant tell if my Betta is a Female or male? so i can breed



## jjracersandiego (Jul 14, 2010)

I have been keeping my two bettas in the same tank(female in clear small cup in tank, and male in tank) for 3 weeks and i am not shure if my betta in the sup is a male or female? i understand that females have shorter fins n stuff but i am really not shure bcause it has the beard fin under its mouth and the male built a nest already. i am scared that if i put the one is the cup in, that it might be a male D: . i am posting a pic but its a little blurry (sorry) and make shure u see the fins length under him/her. Please get back to me and have a nice day .


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## jjracersandiego (Jul 14, 2010)

sorry i ment cup*


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

It looks like a female to me. The tail looks pretty beat up on this fish. Any idea why? Breeding bettas is a huge undertaking, what with all the large amounts of fry that must be kept seperately. Do you really think it's something you want to do? I know that doing it wouldn't be something attractive for me, yikes!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Usually, if it has a white spot on it's belly (called an ovipositor) then it's a female. I can't really tell what it is from the picture.


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## jjracersandiego (Jul 14, 2010)

@*aunt kymmie* i got it a petco like that. so i dont know how it happend


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## jjracersandiego (Jul 14, 2010)

*@dramaqueen if u dont mind by showing a pic of one that has a white spot? that would be great, thanks
*


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Hmmm. I kinda think male with some seriously bad fin rot. The anal fin is really far back, and the body shape looks "male" to me. But... I don't think it's a very good idea to breed any fish that's in the bad of shape.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

That is a male. Plus he is not healthy enough to breed. Breeding takes a lot out of the fish and even the healthiest of fish can die as a result of a lowered immune system. Believe me, I just lost an award winning male to a disease that should have been easily treated. If he is a plakat he is seriously clamped. I can't even see pectoral fins. His fins are almost gone entirely. He needs serious medical intervention. Daily water changes and heat plus at this point I would go straight to an anti-fungal medication like Jungle Fungus Clear.

Judging by the picture the tank you have the fish in is not big enough for spawning. You want AT LEAST a 5 gallon tank, 10 gallons or larger is preferred for many reasons from water changes to space, etc.

If your going to breed you need to do a lot of research. There is a lot more than just putting two fish together. If you do that you might wind up with one or two dead fish. I would start by reading the sticky at the top of the breeding forum. After that check out www.bettysplendens.com and read all her articles on breeding and raising fry. After that you will have a better idea of whether or not you want to breed.

Also why did you have the "female" in a cup for three weeks? That would have required daily water changes (IMO two daily water changes) not to mention it would be extremely stressful on the fish not to have a way to escape and hide from the other fish.


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## FloridaBettas239 (Jun 29, 2010)

Also if you cant tell if a fish is a male or female you dont need to be breeding. Not being mean just saying you havent been doing much research on bettas and bettas breeding. And dont no much about them, You cant even tell if it's a male or female... And it look's like you have just stuck that fish with your other fish and he got ate up. And now your asking how to breed. Thats just what it seem's like to me.....


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## FloridaBettas239 (Jun 29, 2010)

Here is a female with the white dot. LOL..... Ovipositor tube!!!


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## Learn To Fly (May 15, 2010)

I agree with 1f2f and CR-that is a male with terrible fin rot. Fin rot CAN and does lead to a more advanced stage-body rot. If you don't do something soon, your fish is going to die. It's not fit for breeding and you will only kill it.

I also agree with FloridaBettas-if you can't tell your betta's gender your shouldn't be breeding. If you know "enough" (IMO) about breeding, which means lots and lots of research, you should be able to tell if your betta is a male or female.

Also adding aquarium salt (NOT table salt or salt for saltwater tanks, but freshwater aquarium salt) will help in addition to what 1f2f said.


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## mollyyymo (May 21, 2010)

This is one of the saddest things I've seen on this forum.

DO NOT breed this fish, he is very sick and needs immediate care. Fish with fin rot suffer immensely and it is your responsibility as a pet owner to bring him back to health, not to breed fry that you wouldn't be able to take care of.

Before you breed bettas, you need to be able to spot diseases like this. You should also definitely be able to tell whether a fish is male or female...


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## Fermin (Apr 18, 2010)

jjracersandiego said:


> I have been keeping my two bettas in the same tank(female in clear small cup in tank, and male in tank) for 3 weeks and i am not shure if my betta in the sup is a male or female? i understand that females have shorter fins n stuff but i am really not shure bcause it has the beard fin under its mouth and the male built a nest already. i am scared that if i put the one is the cup in, that it might be a male D: . i am posting a pic but its a little blurry (sorry) and make shure u see the fins length under him/her. Please get back to me and have a nice day .


Oh my. According to your own profile, you're 14 years old. Are your parents involved in your fish care? Do they know you're trying to breed your fish?

*Your fish needs medical attention ASAP*. Anything less would be neglect. If you are unable/unwilling to help your fish, please show your parents this thread/forum so that they can take over the care and wellbeing of your fish and learn the next steps to helping your fish heal.


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## Underthesea (Jul 17, 2010)

He said he got the fish at a pet store, and the fish's fins have been like that.. I don't think I'd believe that.. cause when you buy a fish, you check to see if it has any problems.. why would anyone want to buy a fish that has torn/rotten fins?? It doesn't make sense.. In my opinion, that fish got his tails ripped off by being with another male.. Sorry.. that's what Im seeing.
That's why he doesn't know how to tell Female from Male..


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

Not everyone is well-educated enough to be able to tell a sick fish from a healthy one. It's possible he bought the fish like this, and it's extremely likely this one has simply been very ill-treated, if the fish had received proper care it would have had some regrowth by now. 

Either way the question of whether the fish is male or female is a moot point. jjracersandiego should be learning about basic fish care rather than attempting to breed fish. Please research betta care and keep these two separate--attempting to breed bettas before you know what you're doing is only going to lead to grief.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with Adastra.


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## Campbell (Apr 12, 2009)

This member hasn't posted again... I kind of doubt this fish is still alive.


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## FloridaBettas239 (Jun 29, 2010)

He is scared to post again, Im guessing. Because he posted this thread and got ate up by shark's. So he is most likly scared.. He is just a kid, he posted that. And all us betta lovers were in shock & awe.


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## Campbell (Apr 12, 2009)

I agree that he probably didn't expect such a response.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well I for one hope he comes back. His profile says he's young and this is the problem I have with letting kids on the net. Some don't understand that we can't tell your age by your username and we are going to speak as if we are speaking to an adult. 

I don't believe anyone said anything that was overly hurtful or mean but I can understand how someone would feel slighted by an onslaught of posts like these. But just come back and learn.. that's the whole point and the reason everyone takes the time to write a response.


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