Jump to content

Fake or Real Ovipositor

kb46

By kb46
in General Discussion

Recommended Posts

kb46 Newbie

kb46

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I bought a new betta on the weekend - a red cambodian crowntail. I had thought most likely a plakat as its fins are short and its body is already as long as my 9month old male betta's. Last night I showed him/her a mirror and he/she didn't flare at all - just looked at the reflection with some interest. Then I noticed a short white tube-looking 'thing' from under his/her belly region.

Now I've been caught before - my first betta was perhaps 3 months old when I got him and he showed a fake ovipositor for some time and then his fins grew in and I knew he was male.

So far with this one there's no bubble nest, no flaring and perhaps an ovipositor. Is there anything else I can look at to try to find out where it is a 'he' or a 'she'? If I was to put her bowl near one of my males what signs should I look for. He/she has a bright white body so I don't know whether vertical stripes would show.

Where is an ovipositor with respect to the ventral and anal fins?

Lastly, what makes a 'nice' cambodian? They aren't recognised for show purposes, are they? But, should they have any iridescence or be a matt white?

TIA

Kylie

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Callatya Newbie

Callatya

Posted
Posted

Hey Kylie :balloons:

Is there any chance you could grab a picture? Body shape and fin shape are usually better signs of gender than ovipositors these days. If there is a white spot that looks like a pronounced pimple just a little way back from the ventrals, that is an ovipositor.

For reference :dance:

There are a few things against it being male here, the first of which is the tail type. Short tailed CTs are not all that common and not particularly popular outside of enthusiast circles, Wholesalers and LFS are very unwilling to accept juvenile fish when it comes to fancy varieties that rely on long finnage to sell and breeders and wholesalers generally get more money for the spiffier looking fish so they would want to hang on to them until they were fully sprouted. The lack of interest in the mirror is not a definite sign at all, some males couldn't care and some females flare, but it isn't helping the cause.

Do you have a torch or a strip light? If so, you can shine it from behind the fish and look for a milky white triangle in the body. If the fish has this, then it is a girl. Being a cambodian, you should be able to spot that pretty easily.

More reference :)

As for what makes a 'nice' one, I believe for showing that Cambodian falls under "light bodied bi-color" and that iridescence is considered a fault. That being said, plenty of solids and bicolors that place and win display iridescence so it is not a deal breaker. Other than that, I think that you are looking for a clear division of colour, so the red stays on the fins and the cream has minimal red/black/iridescence etc, but I'm sure someone else who is better at show standards can give you a better run-down :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kb46 Newbie

kb46

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Callatya - thanks for those links. The 'ovipositor' definitely looks like that in your link - placement is right and shape/size look right too. I think the milky-white triangle will be a clincher - I will check later on tonight. He/she is in a round bowl ATM so I didn't take photos before - tonight is a water change and I plan to put him/her into a flat-sided tank which will make focussing easier.

I'm in Indonesia - many of the local LFSs sell off the juveniles that aren't quite show quality or good fighters :dance: from the local breeders. Bettas in particular are extremely cheap and often in poor condition. I have found it rare to see a fully-grown betta - the few I have seen look like breeders that are totally burnt out.

As for what makes a 'nice' one, I believe for showing that Cambodian falls under "light bodied bi-color" and that iridescence is considered a fault.

This one has some milky blue iridescence on his/her body - slightly less than that shown on your gold example with the triangle. There were six or seven of them at the shop with very nice definition between the red fins and white bodies - much better than any I've seen on the net, actually. But the ones I've seen on the net haven't had much in the way of iridescence which is why I asked the question. I don't want mine for breeding or showing but I'm interested in finding out what makes certain fish 'special' and identifying the undesirable traits of my bettas has been a good way to learn.

The betta I chose has a couple of black scales in the mask area but he/she gave me that 'look'. Once they've done that, you just can't go past them :balloons:

Thanks for your help - I will post pikkies soon,

Kylie

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kb46 Newbie

kb46

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh yes, I put his/her bowl next to a male bettas at lunchtime. He did the full flaring thing and pranced around huffing and puffing while the new cambodian just wiggled a bit. He/she didn't "display" as such - more like a puppy saying "Hi, can I be your friend?" and almost oblivious to the aggression the male was showing.

K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...