My Female Betta Turned Out To Be A Boy!

AJNorris

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I bought two pairs (I thought) from a local betta breeder. They are about four months old now. I sent a picture to the breeder and asked her if there was anything wrong with the female I got, as she looks a little hunchback to me. She assured me that she's perfectly normal, I would just like a second opinion on this female betta. Also if she is fine which of these lovely males would best suit her?

The first pic is the one that's a female for sure
second is a royal blue bf male
third is steel blue bf male
and fourth is the he/she the she that turned out to be a he royal blue bf

Thanks for your help!
 

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The female looks deformed in my opinion. I'd have thought most good breeders would have kulled her as soon as she showed sign of a deformity.

I don't think you should breed from her EVER. Nor should you breed from any of her siblings as they may well hold the same deformity in their genes.
 
The female looks deformed in my opinion. I'd have thought most good breeders would have kulled her as soon as she showed sign of a deformity.

That's what I thought, I am quite irritated as I bought these fish with the intention of breeding them. The breeder has many very beautiful fish and some of the spawn mates of these guys are gorgeous. Many went for 50+ on aquabid and ebay. So should I buy another female betta from her? What should I do with my hunchback?
 
Well she's still a lovely looking fish. And whilst ever she's eating fine and seems happy within herself then just keep her as a pet. But in no way would I personally feel comfortable breeding her, any of her siblings, or any of the fish from the original breeder.
I think the 'breeder', seems more likely to be someone who bred some bettas.

But isn't neccesarily a 'breeder' if you get my meaning?
As in I could easily go out, buy all the stuff I need and pick up a male and female, condition them, chimney the female breed them...raise the fry etc etc.
Doesn't make me a breeder...I don't know enough about the stock I've bought...I've not read lots of info, I've not asked previous breeders. Etc etc.

Only my personal opinions mind you.
But I would find a new 'breeder' to source your bettas from. :)
 
complain, snd back, get replacement.


I tried that she says there's nothing wrong with the fish so why would she take it back? She also will not replace it. She said I am more than welcome to give her back the betta if I don't want it but I forfeit the money I spent on it. It is her opinion that the fish will grow out of the 'hunchback' and it is a normal occurance with bettas. Has anyone else had hunchback bettas in a spawn?

I have some pictures of the parents and the spawn mates just to give you an idea....my photography skills are rather laking
The first pic is of the parents, they're the second pair from the top
the second is of the spawn mates
 

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I am probably not being entirely fair to the breeder. I'm just a little miffed about my hunchback. The guys I bought where not some of her best stock. And she seemed very knowledgable and helpful. She told me that she breeds and shows bettas and has won a few best in shows for her fish. That's why I was so suprised when growing out this female revealed her um.. deformity. So i guess it's been decided that it is definitely a deformity and not something she will grow out of? wishfull thinking on my part i suppose. Would it be worth it to buy another female. She said if I bought one of her males she'd through in a female too. She's offering me this melano for $35, what do you think?
 

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I don't know about the price.

But if you trust the breeder (after looking at the pics), I'd say it 'might' be safe enough to buy from her. It's your decision really. I just wouldn't want to say 'go for it' just to see a sad post in a couple of months where you say you had to basically cull your whole stock of fry because of deformities.

So it really is completely up to you. Perhaps just have your wits about you.
 
Poor little fish being deformed. Im sure if you would ever need a home for her due to not being able to breed from her which you wanted to... i have a welcome home for her :D
 
the hunchback could be congenital(just one of those developmental abnormalites) or genetic. looking at her siblings and parents id think it were congenital. if that is the case, you could breed with siblings with no ill effect. if it were genetic, id advise against it.
cheers
 
the hunchback could be congenital(just one of those developmental abnormalites) or genetic. looking at her siblings and parents id think it were congenital. if that is the case, you could breed with siblings with no ill effect. if it were genetic, id advise against it.
cheers


How would I know if it genetic or congenital. Isn't a congenital disorder a genetic abnormality? So I wouldn't know if it is safe to breed her until after I do and see how the spawn turnes out :(
 
The other bettas do look lovely, but suspiciously rounded on top.
Personally, all things considered, I would NOT purchase any other fish from her.
Many times, various breeders of cats, dogs, horses have won many shows with famous foundation stock that has introduced sometimes disastrous genetic problems into the relevant breed...
 
Very sorry to hear this hon, going by the pictures and what peeps are saying I would try sourcing a different breeder.
 
The toplines of all of those fish look a little dodgy to me... it's hard to tell with those photos being so small, but see how there is a dip on the head, just behind the eyes (about where the gill line would be on the top of the head if it kept running round?) That shouldn't be there. Some of the photos that look like they're meant to be female (positioned next to young males) have such long ventrals that they are obviously very young (2 month) males. The photo of the father looks exactly - and I mean EXACTLY - like some of the better aquabid sellers present their stock. I would put money on that being an aquabid photo. It is easy, when you buy top quality fish off aquabid, to produce fish of an exceptional standard in F1, to enter them in shows and win. But when you don't know how to cull and how to choose which to continue the line with and which to let go, then the quality will drop off very rapidly after F1.

If the female was normal when you bought her, then it isn't the seller's fault she is deformed. BUT any good seller would do the responsible thing and would replace or refund the purchase price of such a seriously deformed fish. Trying to say that she is normal is blatantly false. Also, the fact that your other 'female' turned out to be male makes me suspect the fish are being sold too young, maybe 2.5 or 3 months. 3.5-4 months is better as it is easier for prospective buyers to judge the eventual quality of the finnage and colour, and also allows for the fish to be definitively sexed and for congenital topline, fin and scaling faults to be picked out.

Personally I wouldn't go for the melano boy, he's got a few problems as well if you want him for breeding. Firstly there is the issue with infertility in melanos, they are an extremely difficult strain to breed (and keep breeding true) so personally I'd advise against a beginner trying to breed melanos (I won't touch them, too hard.) The anal fin is set a bit far back, the caudal spread doesn't look like it's going to make 180 and the caudal branching is uneven. All of those things can be corrected but the most serious fault is the very thin caudal peduncle. You want to steer away from that in halfmoons particularly as it is unfair to breed fish whose anatomy is incapable of supporting the weight of their fully grown finnage.

I don't know the breeder and I might not be being fair to her either, but I have to say that trying to claim that fish is normal is very dodgy IMO, and would be a major red flag. There is a great deal of quality in that line BUT it's not consistent. When your line is a genetic mixup, even breeding the very best fish it produces is likely to give a great deal of (sometimes poor quality) throwbacks at least for the first two generations.
 
even if it is congenital, which i would reasonably assume, you in no way should breed her as it is due to a "faulty gene"...i was just trying to be fair to the breeder as the rest of her fish from this line appear to NOT have her deformity. still, it does not dismiss the breeder from saying shes "fine"...certainly not. im sure she will lead a wonderful fishy life, but should absolutely not be bred! that is pretty irresponsible of the breeder to not trade her for a "normal" fish.
all the best
 

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