Female Betta Fish
Facts About The Female Betta
If you have ever tried to buy a female Betta you probably know that they can be very difficult to find. Although it is common to find male Bettas in pet stores, you will almost never find a female Betta fish. Pet stores usually prefer to sell the males because of their bright colors, which is what people look for in aquarium fish.
Ironically, if you can find a female Betta you will discover that they can be just as colorful as the male, and although some of these females may not have as bright of coloring, there is more variety. In addition to this, the females also have different types of tails. With a male, you get a long fan-like tail and long fins. These have been bred into the Betta for centuries. The female Betta fish will have smaller fins, but in reality, this is a positive characteristic, at least for practical use. Due to the male having such large fins, they have problems with swimming in any type of current.
Another difference between male and female Betta is their swimming habits. With the female you will find that she is very active; she’ll swim around your fish tank or bowl, but the male with sit in one place for long periods of time. While the female dart around, the male does not usually move fast at all, not even when it is ready to feed. In addition to this, the male must be kept apart from all other fish due to the aggressive nature of the male Betta. When put together with other fish, even a female Betta, they will fight. In many cases, the male will end up with damaged fins because other fish will nip at them.
The easiest method of identifying a female Betta is with her smaller fins, but there is also an egg tube that projects from the bottom of her stomach. With females, it is usually not a problem to put them together with other females. Although the female fish will get along with each other better if they are kept in the same tank from the time they are babies, you can basically keep the female Betta with other females, even if they are adults. If you are going to put females together, it is recommended that you keep a group of at least four female Bettas.
When you first put the female fish together you may notice some fighting and picking for about the first two weeks, but after this, the commotion will probably be settled down as the female Bettas will have formed an order in which one will be dominant. Once the females have established who is dominant, they will begin to get along and stop fighting.
Although it isn’t all that uncommon for the female Betta to pick at each other, in most cases they will not be seriously hurt. The only time keeping females together may pose a problem is if you have less than four, or if your tank is too small. If you plan on keeping a group of four, you will need at least a 10-gallon fish tank.
Another thing to keep in mind is that once you have established a community of female Betta fish, you will not be able to add more fish to the tank; this includes other female Bettas. The fish that you already have in the tank will attack and possibly kill any new female. If you intend to breed your Bettas, make sure you have done your research, as this is not an easy task. Never put a male and a female together; the male will kill the female. The method of breeding is that the female first lays the eggs, and then the male comes along and fertilizes. He is the caregiver until the babies hatch.