Could This She Be A He?

[karigupi]

I brought three girlies last week & one of them has been exhibiting unusual behavoir, 'she' has begun building a bubble nest & is flaring at the other girls, I know that girls do often flare, but when 'she' does, its a full on gills puffed out wiggling flare. I also have seen one of my particularly plump females taking the 'nose down' position underneath 'her'

Do you think there is any chance this she is a he? I have little experience with the short tailed betta, how do you tell a young male from a female?

Here are a couple of pics, sorry they are a little fuzzy & I couldnt get a flare pic

Last one with flash has made the fins look blue for some reason

 

[Rezatii]

When 'she' flares, does she get a beard underneath 'her' face. To me, she looks like a girl, but I've been wrong before I guess, but the ventral fins make me say girl too =/

-Rezz

 

[MewMew42]

I have one practically the same colour as her =]

the body shape seems to match her as well so i think she is actually a she! but again check she doesnt have a beard when she flares!

 

[betta fish]

Looks female to me too

 

[helterskelter]

I would be 90% sure it's female

 

[coldcazzie]

The beard is a good way to go - with males it goes all the way round but with females it's just the sides. Might be just a case of wait and see and be prepared to seperate if it turns out she is actually a he!

Does look very girly though...and I like the blue in the fins in the last piccie!

 

[Curiosity101]

I couldn't see an ovipositor on any of the pictures... and looking into her body (ie the body cavity). If you compare it to MewMew's yours has quite a short compact body cavity.

I'm no expert...but they're a couple of signs that would suggest male.
However I was pretty sure the best way was to just see if the flare was a full flare or not (as mentioned above).

 

[karigupi]

Thanks for all the replies, I've been watching 'her' & in her full flair, there is a beard which comes out below the gills, its not as long as on my males though, it may be that its too young to tell yet.

I'll keep an eye on 'her' for now I think I will call her Priscilla till we know lol

Still trying for a full flair pic, have taken about 30 so far & keep missing it, thank goodness for digital cameras!

 

[JustKia]

Can you try and get a pic from under "her" belly so we can see if she has an ovipositor or not? It will look like a white dot just in front of her anal fin.
Priscilla - as in Queen of the Desert?

 

[Amberleaf]

Not all females have ovipositors.... I know that some of mine didn't; at least, not when they were young.

If this 'she' *DOES* turn to be a 'he', if the fish is not too violent then you should try an experiment and see if all the fish can get along! It's been done before, you know; some males even live together! ^^; :yes:

 

[Haych]

i'd say female, as it dont have the dangly bits (pardon my ignorance ) and seems lady shaped to me.

either that or a VERY young male.

girls build nests too btw

 

[Assaye]

A stunning looking betta, whatever s/he is!

I'd say female, but I'm not that experienced. Looks like s/he has small ventrals and quite a feminine shape.

 

[karigupi]

Thanks guys, its great to have such a wealth of experience on here, I've been trying to get better pics today, no sign of an ovipositor, but as mentioned, its still a young betta.

Managed one nice pic, but I think for now I will assume its a girl, until proven otherwise

 

[jasminekiddell]

I was htinking female due to her body shape, but it looks as if its a male because i can see some ventrals forming there at the front. And the udnerneath finnage is too far near the gills to be a female.

 

[loraxchick]

young males often have false ovipositors. so if its a particularly small young fish i wouldnt go by that. and yes, some females do build bubble nests..so cant count on that either. ventrals seem long-ish but again, females can be masculine. anal fin looks female. and position of the ventrals in relation to the gills is in no way an accurate assessment-that;s down to genetics of the fish. and agression is also down to the individual fish, not just sex.
the beard is the best thing to go by. even very small males (upwards of an inch or so) have a full beard when in full flare, compared to female's "wimpy"(false) beards. when a female flares really you are just seeing the gills stick out and small amount of gill filament..males have, for lack of better wording-"ruffly" beard which extend well beyond the gill plates from all sides...even a masculinized female doesnt have the same beard as a male, so a full flare pic would really help. in the meantime, just keep an eye on shim
LOVELY color. i likes!
cheers