Male/female Bettas? Quicky

[gordi]

just been and bought 2new female bettas to put in my community tank which includes my other female. they are getting along well but one isnt!! they both have short fins but one of them seems larger n more colourful than the others and this one keeps chasing the others!!

Q is this a male cos it keeps flaring and i diddnt think that the females did that~!! what should i do??

 

[TubbyLaLa]

It may be a pk male but have a look on the betta forum for the fin types thread this may help idenify him/her. If females are kept in small groups then do show agression not sure about the flaring though as I have never kept females myself. I know femalescan bubblenest and show some 'male' behaviours. If it looks like a fight might break out I would seperate them then check out whether this is a male or femal betta IMHO. Good luck
Editdted to add- just been checking the betta forum and females do flare. Is there any way you cost post a pic to help see if he/she is a he or a she?

 

[lilfishie]

females do flare till they get the domancy issue out the way, check the topic in my sig make sure its not a male

 

[Dibari]

It's entirely possible that you have a PK male in your tank.. However, females do and will fight, flare, blow bubble nests, etc..
However, I suppose I am a little worried... How many female bettas do you have in this 'community' tank and what other fish are in their with them?
Also, don't rely heavily on fins for sexing your bettas. Try to see if there is white bump sticking out between the ventril fins. If they are short, and there's an ovipositor (White bump) it's a female. If the fins are short, but there is no ovipositor, it's a male plakat and should be removed immediately.
The reason I ask how many is that if you have too few females in your tank (ie, 2, 3, 4 sometimes) there isnt' enough females to level out aggression and you could come home to a slaughtered tank.

 

[gordi]

will have a close inspection to make sure!! there are 3females with 4male guppies a platty and a dwarf gourami!! heavily plated tho and plently of places to hide!!

should i get some more femaleS??

 

[Dibari]

will have a close inspection to make sure!! there are 3females with 4male guppies a platty and a dwarf gourami!! heavily plated tho and plently of places to hide!!

should i get some more femaleS??

Oh boy. I hate to break this to you, and I'll try to do it in a way that won't be too rude, but that is an extremely dangerous set up.
Not only do you not have enough females (4 is the bare bare minimum, and sometimes it doesn't work.. 6 is better for a sorority) it is also not reccomended to keep bettas with flashy, bright finned tropicals like guppies (platies MAYBE be able to get away okay.. But I dunno, they're very brightly colored), guppies and platies also enjoy a high current atmosphere so the water can be full of oxygen for them. Being that a betta is anabantoid (They breathe air from the surface, also called Labirynth fish, ebcause of their lungs), they don't need high oxygen water, and do not generally like high current situations (They prefer still water) and a dwarf gourami is extremely dangerous to have with bettas. They're anabantoids, just like bettas, and are an aggressive species in their own right. They and bettas should not ever mix.
My suggestion is to pull the bettas and the gourami immediately - Gourami needs a tank to itself, I think, and you should either set up a bigger sorority in another tank (6 females would be best.. a 10 gallon is fine for that.), or to seperate them if that setup is not possible..
I'm sorry, I don't mean to sort of.. Tear apart your setup, but there's so many issues that I truly worry about the safety of every fish involved in that tank..

 

[gordi]

will see what i can do!! but they have all been together for a while now and there all oook! no trouble at all!! onli ones attacking each other are the new female i got today and my old one!!

 

[Dibari]

will see what i can do!! but they have all been together for a while now and there all oook! no trouble at all!! onli ones attacking each other are the new female i got today and my old one!!

Yes, sometimes they can go a week, or two weeks, or even a few months without disaster, but it won't last.. Thank you for considering my advice and trying to change the situation. I would be so sad for you if you lost some of your fish due to to the situation.

 

[gordi]

will see what i can do!! but they have all been together for a while now and there all oook! no trouble at all!! onli ones attacking each other are the new female i got today and my old one!!

Yes, sometimes they can go a week, or two weeks, or even a few months without disaster, but it won't last.. Thank you for considering my advice and trying to change the situation. I would be so sad for you if you lost some of your fish due to to the situation.

yeah well a dont want any injuries lol!! will try n sort another tank out: the shop i bought my female from had three males in the same tank one had most of its finns missing!! the stupid muppets! i asked them to put them in different tanks n they did!!

this is another reason im thinkin one of my females is a male as it might be but with its finns chewd off

 

[Dibari]

will see what i can do!! but they have all been together for a while now and there all oook! no trouble at all!! onli ones attacking each other are the new female i got today and my old one!!

Yes, sometimes they can go a week, or two weeks, or even a few months without disaster, but it won't last.. Thank you for considering my advice and trying to change the situation. I would be so sad for you if you lost some of your fish due to to the situation.

yeah well a dont want any injuries lol!! will try n sort another tank out: the shop i bought my female from had three males in the same tank one had most of its finns missing!! the stupid muppets! i asked them to put them in different tanks n they did!!

this is another reason im thinkin one of my females is a male as it might be but with its finns chewd off

Now that I think of it, removing the gourami might not be necessary, just the bettas.
But at any rate, I wish you luck with your females. I hope it gets storted out quickly and you set up a nice sorority.

 

[gordi]

well i will remove any that cause a problem!! one female thats maybie a male in perticular haha!! av got another tank anyway so might set that up for my female bettas

 

[Dibari]

well i will remove any that cause a problem!! one female thats maybie a male in perticular haha!! av got another tank anyway so might set that up for my female bettas

Make sure the you seperate the ones that are males, and get more females (2 females definitely will not work..) My advice is to seperate them untill you can go splurge and get some more girls for your tank.

 

[jollysue]

I attempted this discussion about the dwarf gourami and guppies to no avail in another thread.

Dibari is giving good solid advice.

Good job, Dibari!

 

[Dibari]

Ah, so she does need to remove the gourami? I don't know too much about them, so I wasn't sure. Thanks for posting, Jollysue.

 

[zoekin8yg]

guppies and betta generally a no no
gourami and bettas again a no no

gourami and guppies are probably ok together not 100% on that though, sylvia is the person to ask on that