It's Not A Girl?

[barb-e]

When I go to the petshop how can I tell the female bettas from the male plakat betta?I really wany a female and they look just alike.

this is a female

and this is a plakat male

the first pictures a little smaller but you get the point

got some helpful ID tips??

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

you can always look for the vertical stripes or the horizontal stripes on the females.

 

[puddle_inc]

i always thought that type of betta was a little hard to tell from a girl or boy. i wish i could buy halfmoon or plakat bettas at walmart. instead of those veiltails...

 

[zoekin8yg]

you can always look for the vertical stripes or the horizontal stripes on the females.

you get horizontal on ALL bettas when they are stressed. And the females only bar up and get vertical ones when ready for mating.

The bottom one looks male not sure on the top one. females will have an ovipositor (egg spot) underneath that you will be able to see, its like a white dot

 

[Htw]

Just to make things more confusing males can also have the said white spot!
Generally [I said generally] the ventrals, which are the long dangly things at the front, are longer and fuller on a male.

 

[jollysue]

I have never seen an ovipositor on a male Betta.

If you see a distinct ovipositor, it is odds on a girl. I actually have not seen the stress stripes or breeding stripes on a male either. At least not so I could notice them like on a girlie.

I would look for the stripes and the ovipositor vs the dangling ventrals, the distinctive beard, and bubble nest. Any one of these things can show up in some manner with either gender, but they are still gender related.

I'm sure others have some better ideas.

 

[liz2]

I have never seen stress stripes on vts...males.....but my pk males stressed when younger but not now they are older.whereas the pk female stripes both ways...not at same time..her name is humbug

 

[Jaded12]

Females will have a distint ovipositor, males can have them but its pretty rare. Be careful with vertical striping, females also bar up as a sign of aggressiveness, and young male plakats also sometimes bar up as a sign of aggressivness. Both males and females show horizontal stress lines but females tend to stress out easier then males. Male plakats will have longer ventrals, a "beard" when they flare, they have an extra flap on their gills or something, and the males also tend to have a longer and more sweeping anal fin. So if you're looking for a female look for short ventrals, a shorter more rounded anal fin and a distinct ovipositor, if the betta has all 3 of these things they chances are very high its a girl.

 

[Htw]

I do have a male with the white dot

 

[MarleyBetta]

Females have a gravid spot, and the male's gills will usually poke out a little from the gill plates

 

[lisa_perry75]

Males can bar up horizontally when stressed, but I have never heard of them barring up vertically. Male plakats often have a false oviposter, not only have I heard this but I have several pk males with them. I have a proven female that has a beard too.

I would say your best bet is if one is female she will bar vertically, females flare differently too, females will fill with eggs too and in pale coloured ones you can see the eggs apparently and look at the anal fin.

For males look at much bigger anal fin with big point, bigger dorsal fin, longer and fuller vents and blow really good bubble nests (whereas females don't often stick together).

 

[Caligo]

Males can bar up horizontally when stressed, but I have never heard of them barring up vertically.

If I had realized it was unusual I would have taken a picture, but my last male ct would get vertical stripes when he was stressed.

 

[Betta_luver]

i always thought that type of betta was a little hard to tell from a girl or boy. i wish i could buy halfmoon or plakat bettas at walmart. instead of those veiltails...

What is wrong with those veiltails?