Female Or Male?

[ryanp15]

My male betta died as explained in another post

The female is fine and always has been, so would it be ok to just remove the divider and let her have the whole tank?
The water's the same, so that's ok, I did a 50% water change aswell. But will the ornamant things be ok? I don't want her to get ill!

Annnnd also, how long do I need to leave it till I'm certain I have a female, rather than a young male. I've had her 2 months (about that I think). It's just people mentioned she looks slightly male.

A few pics for ID. She has no beard and has an ovipositor thing though.

 

[bronzecat]

Hi
If she was in the same water as the male anyway, theres no issue about taking the divider out. Did you find out why your male died?

And from those pics she definately looks pretty manly Long pointed anal fin and very long ventrals

 

[ryanp15]

Hi
If she was in the same water as the male anyway, theres no issue about taking the divider out. Did you find out why your male died?

And from those pics she definately looks pretty manly Long pointed anal fin and very long ventrals

the male probably had a bacterial infection, like lots on this forum recently. He was fine but then suddenly really slow, not eating much and laying on the bottom or leaves almost constantly. I treated with an antibacteria thing but it didn't work

So do young males have the ovipositor aswell? I wanted her to be female!

 

[lilfishie]

some do, i'd say she looks like a young male, love the colour, very vibrant

 

[bronzecat]

Yeh the ovi spot is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about sexing bettas.

With the guy you have left, just keep up the water changes. Might be worth running some activated carbon in your filter for a few days if you have finished treating.

 

[ryanp15]

thanks! 10 gallons all to himself now!

yep the colours are bright, it doesn't show that well on the pic but theres blue stripes on the caudal fin

 

[Phoenixbaby]

i have to disagree, my Beau, is a VT girlie, but she has a VERY long anal fin and long ventrils

but she is deffo not a male, when she flares, no beard, has an ovispot, and when she sees a male she bars up

heres beau TOP RIGHT

 

[liz2]

the very best way of sexing is to show them a mirror, boys have a frill all the way round their little faces, girls only have frills at the sides not under their little chins!!

 

[ibbledibble]

i have to disagree, my Beau, is a VT girlie, but she has a VERY long anal fin and long ventrils
but she is deffo not a male, when she flares, no beard, has an ovispot, and when she sees a male she bars up

you may well be right about yours being female, but as has already been said, ovi spot really means nothing, and barring up is not a definate indication of a female either, i have seen plenty of young males do it.
modaz has taken to conditioning male/female suspects to see if they egg up. males cannot egg up, so if they do it proves female.

but rayne looks more masculine to me than beau anyway

 

[ryanp15]

the very best way of sexing is to show them a mirror, boys have a frill all the way round their little faces, girls only have frills at the sides not under their little chins!!

oh yeah i forgot to say that, I can't see a beard when she flares. Do you put a mirror on the outside of the tank? I did it the other day and she didn't take any notice

I was thinking of having a soronity rather than another male, but obviously would need to be certain of having a female.

thanks

 

[Phoenixbaby]

i see what ur saying, i was disagreeing on the whole long anal fin and ventrals, bcoz theyre not always a correct indication

maybe i wasnt being clear, but that is what i meant

 

[bronzecat]

Yeh, show him/her a mirror

 

[ryanp15]

do the males have another piece of skin which makes their beard? She seems to just be flaring the gills, and when they both used to flare it looked like she didn't have a beard. But I can't compare now! It seems to be jsut the gills that flare, a beard is really noticable isn't it?

thanks

 

[bronzecat]

Yes males do have a beardy bit underneath. Its sometimes very difficult to tell, especially when young. If she/he is flaring at a mirror then if a she, she is likely to be quite aggressive.

 

[ryanp15]

I could try some corys then maybe. Are there any mid swimming fish that are compatible?
I might just have to get some black sand aswell! it looks really good in phoenixbabys tank

Thanks for your help