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Sexing Bettas By: BettySplendens Submitted: 6/30/2006 Being able to reliably sex bettas is important so you do not make the mistake of inadvertently putting two males together! Short finned bettas are NOT always female! Most adult bettas are very easy to sex. The males are the ones that typically have long, flowing fins and very bright colors. Female have short fins, and are often of a more subdued coloring. In addition, females kept in community tanks often have horizontal stripes. When trying to sex plakats (shortfins) it gets a bit trickier, since both sexes have short fins. However, you will soon develop an eye for what to look for. Male shortfins have stronger bodies, larger heads, and pointier fins. They also have considerably larger gill covers than a female, and if you can get them to flare this difference becomes extremely evident. The flaring itself also differs between males and females. Male bettas will usually flare head-on at an opponent or their reflection and then turn to give a long, sustained side view of their fully flared fins. They tend to attack more aggressively. Female will usually flare their smaller gill covers straight on with little or no side-posturing; and will dart up and down while looking at their opponent. While the female is doing this, it isn't uncommon to see her getting a vertical barring pattern on her body. Some larger and more aggressive females can have gills that are nearly the size of a male's and will posture and attack very similar to a male. In these instances, you'll have to look at other characteristics of her gender. A female usually has a rounder abdomen and shorter overall body length. On many other sites you will read that a reliable way to sex a female is to look for an "egg spot" or ovipostor. This is a small white dot that looks like a granule of pretzel salt on the underbelly. While this is a good indicator, it is not a surefire way of sexing bettas by far! Some females have ovipostors that are so small you don't even notice them unless she is actually spawning (it protrudes a bit when she is ready to release eggs), and some MALES have light colored or white spots on their underbellies that look for all the world like ovipostors. These are actually "outies" -- slightly protruding rectums or protruding breeding tubes. You are far better off not relying on any white spots on your betta's belly as a sexual indicator. That being said, if you have a light-bodied female you can look for her egg sac. This is a white, cone-shaped sac in a female's abdomen that holds her eggs. The top part of the cone points toward the tail, with the wider bottom part centered in the belly region. Males do not have egg sacs. Sexing young bettas is an imperfect science that can elude even the most seasoned of betta breeders. Most young bettas can be reliably sexed by 6 weeks old, or by the time they are half an inch long. Young males will have longer, slimmer bodies and pointier fins as they start to grow into adults.

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HEJSAN FROM SWEDEN EVERYONE! Everything in Sweden is going well, although I'm still busy learning the language and coping with a newborn, so it will be a bit before I'm as active as I'd like with the fish. This is a Facebook update! I have created a new BettySplendens Facebook page that will be used exclusively for betta-related networking. On the 16th of August I will be going through and deleting most of the people on my personal Facebook page who are not actual friends or family (many of you have become friends through the course of the hobby, and of course will not be deleted). If for any reason you wish to remain on my personal page, please let me know by emailing bettysplendens@yahoo.com, or FB email. Otherwise, go to the new BettySplendens Facebook page and click the 'like' button for more betta-related news and updates :).

Tack så mycket (that's ''Thank you very much'' in Svenskie-land ;))! ~Victoria~

Slight change of plans! I have decided that, instead of reinventing the wheel, I'm going to create a personal FB page and use the old one purely for betta stuff. So if you're on the original page (now called BettySplendens Bettas), please stay put! :P

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Just a reminder, I am not selling bettas in the US at the present time. I may begin to supply a few select bettas throughout Europe sometime in late Spring 2011. Cheers!

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