Suspicious looking female betta

[Synirr]

I recently added a lovely new betta to my female community tank, and I now am thinking of removing her because she's a real bully! Most aggro female I've ever seen! Her behaviour just keeps getting odder, too... she flares at her tankmates (which isn't too unusual, though I don't see the others do it much, if at all) and she has built a HUGE bubble nest on one corner of the aquarium. She guards that nest like it's a matter of life or death. Basically, she acts exactly like a male. Her ventral fins are suspiciously long for a female too, I think... I'm beginning to wonder about her. She has a clearly visible ovipositor and is full with eggs, as you can see in the pics (big ol' tummy ,) but still. Anyone else think she looks very manly?

Ooo, is that a flake?

Flaring

Guarding her nest

 

[cutecotton]

awww i haev some very aggressive females as well, but it's perfectly normal. She does look manly though i'm pretty sure she's a female

 

[Synirr]

awww i haev some very aggressive females as well, but it's perfectly normal. She does look manly though i'm pretty sure she's a female

Yeah, I know she's female because of the ovipositor, but gawd...

 

[JoKeR]

Female looks nice!

She does look manly....

 

[David]

Maybe it's a lesbian fish

 

[Synirr]

Maybe it's a lesbian fish

Maybe I should name her Rosie-O?

 

[Dane]

LOL!!! Rosie-O... or.. Ellan hahahaha. Wait she built a nest?

 

[Dane]

I have a male with a big oviposter... he's always been like that.. had him for months.. so it's not an illness... maybe it's a male you've got there... or....


could there be such thing as a hermaphrodite (spelled wrong lol) betta?

 

[Synirr]

could there be such thing as a hermaphrodite (spelled wrong lol) betta?

Hermaphroditism happens in all species on occasion, to my knowledge. If she's a male with an ovipositor, then she's sterile... maybe the only way to know for sure would be to breed her?
She has taken a liking to my black marble female.
Edit: And yes, that's her nest. I've seen her building on it before.

 

[D Chia]

I have a male with a big oviposter... he's always been like that.. had him for months.. so it's not an illness... maybe it's a male you've got there... or....

could there be such thing as a hermaphrodite (spelled wrong lol) betta?

Dr Goldstein (author of Bettas: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual) cited an interesting experiment by Dr Lucas in his book.

The following passage can be found on page 15, under "Sex Determination in Bettas".

"There are no unequal chromosomes in bettas that might be sex chromosomes. However bettas seem to follow the XX, XY model since they normally produce 50 percent of each sex. Bettas can produce surprises. If young males are bred with old females, the resulting offspring are mostly males. If the fry are held at abnormal conditions during the first 6 weeks, an overwhelming percentage of males is again produced. And if females are partially ovariectomized (most of the ovaries cut away), they transform into fully functional males (Lucas, 1983)."

According to the last sentence in the passage, it is possible for females to have their sex changed after a partial ovariectomy.

Perhaps females with underdeveloped, diseased or injuried (i.e. nonfunctional) ovaries will become males (i.e. males with ovipositors). This is just my hypothesis.

 

[Synirr]

Hmmm, could be! Thanks for the info