Is This Betta Breedable?

[BettaNation]

Hi, so a couple of months ago I got a baby betta and she is a female from petco. Now that she is starting to reach the point of breedabillity, I was looking into possiblly breeding her in the near future. Now I know Petco and PetSmart bettas aren't the best but my female is perfectly healthy and is portportionate size and nothing I can see is wrong with her. If I were to breed her, I'd get a male from a breeder not from petco or any store. Was wondering if it's worth the trouble or not?

 

[DutchAquarium]

I think the first thing to answer is if you actually have a female betta? Petco is very inaccurate in sexing bettas and I don't think you have one. Are you able to see a white dot near the analfin? this would be the egg laying tube and therefore signify it's a female. I don't see one in the picture, but the picture just might be bad. The fins are also a bit long for your betta. Lastly, your betta is very thin and has a rather pointy head signify male. Females are a bit stockier and rounder. the ventral fins appear much to different for a female also. These are too long while a females is more round.

 

[BettaNation]

I think the first thing to answer is if you actually have a female betta? Petco is very inaccurate in sexing bettas and I don't think you have one. Are you able to see a white dot near the analfin? this would be the egg laying tube and therefore signify it's a female. I don't see one in the picture, but the picture just might be bad. The fins are also a bit long for your betta. Lastly, your betta is very thin and has a rather pointy head signify male. Females are a bit stockier and rounder. the ventral fins appear much to different for a female also. These are too long while a females is more round.

Yeah she has it, I know Petco is very unreliable in the sexing of bettas but she does, when she was younger she didn't have anything but a couple months in I saw the white spot. And I've seen her display the breeding bars before ( which are different than the stress ones)

 

[DutchAquarium]

Now, if it's either a female or male, I personally wouldn't breed this betta. The reason for this, is that this betta is many different colors, and isn't pertaining to a specific color morph. These bettas are nightmares for other breeders like me. Your putting bettas with mulitple genes out into the field. If your going to breed bettas, go with ones that are single colors or are pertaining to a certain color morph. Red is also a very dominant color and will be in every betta from now on. Also when looking for a betta try to get a solid color with no red impurities in them. However, if your still okay with breeding this betta, it does look healthy, and it is carry its fins very well. Other things you might want to look into when considering color is if your betta has masking, dragon scale, or pine appleing. these are things you won't see often on websites regarding color.

 

[BettaNation]

Now, if it's either a female or male, I personally wouldn't breed this betta. The reason for this, is that this betta is many different colors, and isn't pertaining to a specific color morph. These bettas are nightmares for other breeders like me. Your putting bettas with mulitple genes out into the field. If your going to breed bettas, go with ones that are single colors or are pertaining to a certain color morph. Red is also a very dominant color and will be in every betta from now on. Also when looking for a betta try to get a solid color with no red impurities in them. However, if your still okay with breeding this betta, it does look healthy, and it is carry its fins very well. Other things you might want to look into when considering color is if your betta has masking, dragon scale, or pine appleing. these are things you won't see often on websites regarding color.

Ok thanks, I've never had any success but i'd like to try with her but I'd most likely not sell the fry on a breeder level operation. That's saying if I am successful. Then again I may not even breed her at all but I guess will see. Thanks for the info

 

[Demeter]

Sorry but I'm pretty sure that's a young male. See how the pelvic fins are just as long as the analfin? Also the white tips of the pelvic fins and the fact they are rather "full" as well as overall body shape suggests male. Can you try getting a photo of the egg spot? Usually on a mature female the spot is very noticeable, but I can't see it in any of the photos. I know that juvenile males can get them but they usually go away as they mature.

Try getting it to flare at a mirror and I bet you will see a beard. As for vertical breeding bars, my developing males get them every now and then when they're arguing. It's still young and developing so I'd expect the tail to start drooping more as the fins grow, which is characteristic of the average VT.

As far as breeding, don't bother trying to breed a VT to another fin type. The VT gene is dominant in most cases so you will get all VT fry, which are rather hard to sell off compared to HM or CT. If you'd like to give it a go just to see if you can do it then go ahead, I did the same thing with plakats but the male ate all but 20ish eggs, the rest he cared for perfectly and those fry (at least the males) are now building bubbles nests of their own. Just be prepared to care for a ton of fry and the possibility of having to cull deformed or simply unappealing fry as they are unlikely to sell in the average pet store.

 

[DutchAquarium]

It's good to have another opinion, like I said above, I don't see a egg laying tube anywhere either. It's not a spot on the body, it actually sticks out.

 

[BettaNation]

It's good to have another opinion, like I said above, I don't see a egg laying tube anywhere either. It's not a spot on the body, it actually sticks out.

It's hard to get an actual good picture but I'll try for a better picture later when there is no reflection

 

[DutchAquarium]

That is a spot, so this is what i'm thinking is happening. Males can develope false eggspots. This will disappear eventually. Give it a few more weeks before you try sexing.

 

[BettaNation]

That is a spot, so this is what i'm thinking is happening. Males can develope false eggspots. This will disappear eventually. Give it a few more weeks before you try sexing.

I've heard about that, so anyways thanks for the advice. I'll see if it disappears in a few weeks. If it's a guy then I suppose I'll just get a female then lol . Will have to wait and see

 

[BettaNation]

I know they are really crappy quality but it was really hard getting these pictures. The betta does look a little bad too cause I tried taking him/her out with a net to see if I could get a picture and that did not go well but he/she will be fine. I'll try to get better pictures at a later time and let my fish calm down and heal a bit as her fins did get a little ripped

 

[TexasDomer]

It's a lot of tank space and water changes to raise betta fry. Would you have access to live foods? And multiple tanks (1 for each male, and a big one to grow out females)?

 

[BettaNation]

It's a lot of tank space and water changes to raise betta fry. Would you have access to live foods? And multiple tanks (1 for each male, and a big one to grow out females)?

Yes but there was debate on the betta shown if it was a guy or a girl.

 

[TexasDomer]

Regardless, it's still possible for you to breed it, so I wanted to make sure you had the resources too

 

[BettaNation]

Regardless, it's still possible for you to breed it, so I wanted to make sure you had the resources too

Yeah I understand, thanks