Betta fish make a good companion animal. These beautiful fish are intelligent, and often bond with those who care for them. Breeders continue to create increasingly spectacular genetic crosses, which can make it difficult to distinguish males from females. Here are some tips on this.
Steps
Step 1. Consider your source
Most of the Betta fish found in pet stores are commercial breeds such as Betta Veintail or Betta Corona. If you see in a pet shop that a fish has a long, beautiful tail, it is very likely a male. Females found in stores tend to be much simpler than males; in fact they have short fins and pale colors. If you are looking for a female anyway, pay attention; some stores may mistakenly label a short-finned male as female based on the sole assumption that all short-finned bettas are females, when in fact this is not the case.
Step 2. Compare fish belonging to the same genetic line
If you want to identify the sex in a progeny, you can compare fish with each other. Generally, females have shorter fins, a smaller body, and lighter coloration than males. These differences become more visible as they age, and many mature males may have fins that are 2-4 times longer than females. However, when Betta fish are still young, males and females are very similar to each other.
Step 3. See if there is a white dot
Females should have like a small white spot on their lower body, which sometimes protrudes slightly. However, this is not always and in all females.
Step 4. Get your fish to gill out
The males have the so-called "beard", which emerges from the gills when they widen. Females do not have this characteristic. To do this, hold a small mirror in front of the fish, but be careful: do not do this for more than a few minutes, as spreading the gills too much can tear the fins, or cause stress in the animal.
Step 5. Wait for the fish to grow
Determining the sex of a juvenile fish can be very complicated, but as males become adults, they stand out very well from females, and you should be able to easily identify them by their impressive fins. As they grow older, males tend to become more aggressive and territorial, while most females live peacefully with their own kind (as long as they have lived together since birth).
Advice
- Accurately distinguishing the sex of Betta fish is a skill that develops with practice. Sometimes experienced breeders know how to spot males even when they are only 3/4 centimeters long! In fact, most males have fins that cover the entire back of the body. The females, at times, are only half.
- Males create a bubble nest both to impress the female and to find a mate.
Warnings
- While females can stay together under appropriate conditions, it is best for males not to live in the same aquarium. Likewise, males and females are not to be kept together, apart from during the mating period.
- It is best to grow these fish in separate aquariums, as they almost always prefer to be alone.
