Is My Betta Male Or Female

Hey everyone,

I recently bought a dumbo half moon male betta. However, I was pretty sure he is female. I do see a white spot so I am thinking that is the egg spot? Any thoughts would be great! The pictures are attached.

Thanks!

 

Pretty sure it’s a HMPK, or halfmoon plakat (short finned). I’d need a better side view of all the fins extended to be sure of gender but from what I can see it looks like a male.

Many males have false egg spots, some more prominent than others. That doesn’t look right for a female, nor does the slI'm body shape and large head. Also the dorsal and plevic fins are too developed IMO.

 

Hey,

Thank you for getting back to me. I attached a few more pictures. As this was my first Betta, I thought he looked small for a male as well.

Thank you for the info!

 

How old is the fish?
I assume that you do know that young males do look like females to start with? That's why you'll find quite often young males in an lfs tank with female bettas in it.

 

How old is the fish?
I assume that you do know that young males do look like females to start with? That's why you'll find quite often young males in an lfs tank with female bettas in it.

I got him at Petsmart last weekend. But since other sites said that they are usually already a year old at the pet stores I didn't think he would be that young.

 

I got him at Petsmart last weekend. But since other sites said that they are usually already a year old at the pet stores I didn't think he would be that young.

Doesn't have to be at least a year old. There are tons of them at stores that are younger.
I've bred bettas for about 15 years. And I've let them grow up at different temperatures. At higher rates they grew up much faster. But in general I've chosen for most ones a moderate temperature (bettas do withstand lower temps without any problems, btw). I was curious how the difference in growth pace was when kept at different temperatures. Asian bred bettas at farms will grow faster and will be sold at an earlier age and shipped to western countries. Those fish look older than they actually are.
Since the past 2 years a good friend of mine who's got a business in bettas does the same thing. He imports bettas from Thailand. 3-5 Months old specimens look like 6-8 months specimens.
The ones at the wholesaler which I've visited has got also young specimens imported but they look older. This specific wholesaler has got an office in the US as well.

 

Looks like a male to me from the ventricals, fins and head/body shape

 

Hey!

Thanks for all your help! As this is my first fish and I'm new to the hobby this was a great source of information.

The consensus is male! I have decided to name him Gerald.

Thanks everyone!

 

Looks like a male to me

 

How old is the fish?
I assume that you do know that young males do look like females to start with? That's why you'll find quite often young males in an lfs tank with female bettas in it.

That's exactly how I got my male betta, got a bargain with him as I got him for the price of a female (£5) turned out to be a white/red marble halfmoon, though when I got him he was cellophane.