Female Bettas

The female counterparts of the Siamese Fighting Fish family, are often overlooked and under rated.  This is partly due to the fact that most females that are sold in Pet Shops are very indistinct in colour.   From experience, pet shop females, are pot luck, as most carry the genes of at least two colours.  Female Bettas obtained from hobby breeders are clearer in colour, usually the same colour as the males.

Female Bettas, unless conditioning them for spawning, can be kept in community tanks that are well planted and has lots of hiding places.  This ensures that a pecking order is established with little damage.  Spawn sisters will cohabite together more readily than females from different spawns.  This does not mean that you will have a tank with just one colour. Depending on the genes of the parents, spawns can vary in colour. Blue/Green spawns will produce royal blue, green and steel blue female bettas.  Cambodian Red spawns can produce red and yellow female bettas.

The fins on the female bettas are the same as the males just shorter in length. So there are plakat, crown, delta, super delta, double tails, halfmoon and over halfmoon females.  The difference between veil tail, delta, super delta, halfmoons and over halfmoon females is the degree their caudal fin spread when fully opened and also the number of branches each ray divides into at the end. Veil Tail and delta tail female bettas will be 2 ray branching.  Super Delta, Halfmoons and Over Halfmoons will be 4 to 8 ray branching. 

Females grow to as big and in most cases larger than males.  This is part of the reason that breeding females at the age of four months is recommended.   The older the female, the larger they grow and the more difficult it is for the male to wrap her when spawning.  Females will jump, just like males, so it is recommended to have lids for any tanks.

A community tank of females is just as peaceful to watch, as a tank of tropical, but you are limited to tank mates.  I have housed cherry shrimp, glass shrimp and bristle nose catfish with female bettas with no problems.  The shrimp even managed to breed quite well with the females.  So if you ever have the opportunity to purchase some good clear colour females, give some thought to a community tank.  Just check that they are really females and not short fin males or males that have not reached maturity. Look for shorter ventral fins, an egg spot between the ventral fins, horizontal line of stress on the body, rounder/fatter body and in white body females look for the egg sack.  If the fish has none of these traits then it is a good chance it is a short fin male, or a runt of the spawn.

If you are interested in more information on these captivating  fish please visit www.siamesefighting.com.