female betta- acting like a male!

[DaveinSF]

I have a single, long-lived female betta in a planted, 10g community tank with 6 amano shrimp and 4 otos. The substrate is sand and the temp is 76-78 and I feed her frozen blood worms because she is the first betta I've ever had who will not accept the Hikari Betta Bio Gold pellets.

I rescued her from Petco when she was much smaller. Overall, I'd bet that she has just about doubled her size and is well fed.

My new avatar is a recent picture of her. I've noticed that her anal fin especially has gotten quite a bit longer than it used to be, and longer than most of those on other female bettas.

I recently showed her a mirror, and she started flaring quite profusely at her own reflection. I didn't know it, but she has a good sized membrane that is just like those I've seen on male bettas.

I am asking this because I know there have been stories of people who have brought home what they thought was a young female betta, only to have it mature into a male. However, the rest of my betta's fins seem to suggest that she is a female. I can also see what I believe is her "egg spot" in the pectoral fin area.

Is any of this normal?? I may be able to upload a clearer shot if anyone is interested.

 

[echoofformless]

Post a large clear picture if you can - especially one that shows her ovipositor. That is the sure sign of a female betta.

I have one of those large finned females that the guy in Petco insisted was a male and got all pompous and started telling me about how to care for bettas and how I can't have "him" with the male I was also buying (I bought them because they were in adjacent tanks and were obviously in lust for each other as they couldn't stop staring into each others' tanks) but of course, she had an ovipositor so I awaited my moment to make the guy feel nice and small. I can be evil sometimes I guess...I just love to let people go off on their rants first so the impact is harder.


Back on topic - females can be crazy and aggressive sometimes. In fact they often beat the pants off of males they don't like. That's why I love them. Female bettas are my kind of girl - tough as nails. So even with the flaring she could still be female.

PS - Hikari is a big rip off.

 

[reneeg]

your female sure has pretty fins. I have a sorority tank with 3 females and the dominant girl has pretty flaring fins like yours. she does have an egg spot though so i am sure she is a she. girls are aggressive and do flare from time to time.

 

[friends_forever]

Some females actually are bred to have long fins.

Some just have longer fins like this one.

 

[ILOVEBETTAS]

Can you see her egg spot (white dot) underneath her chest?

 

[DaveinSF]

Can you see her egg spot (white dot) underneath her chest?

Yeah, I found it. Right in the middle of the abdomen and in between the anal fin and the pectoral fins. I've had her for well over a year now and she didn't start showing it until she got bigger and somewhat heftier. She has the longest fins and the most color of any female betta I have ever seen, even in stores.

I wouldn't be surprised if it is partially in response to her environment. She has a lot of space and dominates the 10 gallon tank. Her membrane flare is as large as any of the males I have ever had.

 

[Eupterus]

My female betta Pearl is in a similar setup, though I haven't had her as long.
Pearl flares and was even building bubble nests for a while. I don't think some people realize that female bettas are aggressive too.

There's a pic of Pearl on MFK under the same name.

 

[DaveinSF]

I changed my avatar to another pic of her flaring at her own reflection. Check out the size of that membrane!

I would've taken the pic with a proper digi camera, but I was afraid that the file size would be too big, so these pics were taken with a cellphone camera instead.

Post a large clear picture if you can - especially one that shows her ovipositor. That is the sure sign of a female betta.

I have one of those large finned females that the guy in Petco insisted was a male and got all pompous and started telling me about how to care for bettas and how I can't have "him" with the male I was also buying (I bought them because they were in adjacent tanks and were obviously in lust for each other as they couldn't stop staring into each others' tanks) but of course, she had an ovipositor so I awaited my moment to make the guy feel nice and small. I can be evil sometimes I guess...I just love to let people go off on their rants first so the impact is harder.


Back on topic - females can be crazy and aggressive sometimes. In fact they often beat the pants off of males they don't like. That's why I love them. Female bettas are my kind of girl - tough as nails. So even with the flaring she could still be female.

PS - Hikari is a big rip off.