How Can You Tell If A Halfmoon Betta Is A Female?

Betta hobbyists often have preferences to keep Halfmoon betta of specific gender as pets. It’s almost impossible to determine the sex of your Halfmoon betta until it becomes juvenile. So, you might wonder how to tell if a Halfmoon betta is a female. 

You can readily recognize your female Halfmoon betta by some distinguishable characteristics. Female Halfmoon bettas are different from male Halfmoon bettas by physical appearance and behavioral traits. You can tell whether your Halfmoon betta is a female by comparing their size, shape, fins and tails, egg spots, temperament, flaring trait, and other signs.

The male and female Halfmoon betta are so similar that a single trait may not help you determine the gender. For this reason, you should compare a few traits of sexual differences of your Halfmoon betta fish.

In this article, I’ve summed up all physical and behavioral differences between male and female Halfmoon betta fish. If you want to recognize female Halfmoon betta, you must not skip this article.

Male And Female Halfmoon Betta Overview At A Glance

Nowadays, Male Halfmoon betta gain more popularity than female Halfmoon betta. But, the popularity of female Halfmoon isn’t negligible either. On the other hand, you need to recognize male and female Halfmoon betta when you want Halfmoon betta of any specific gender for breeding purposes.   

So, I’ve made a small chart from which you can see male and female Halfmoon betta overview at a glance.

Categories	Male Halfmoon Betta	Female Halfmoon Betta
Size	2.5-2.75 inches	2-2.5 inches
Color	Brighter color	Duller color
Fins	Four times longer than females’ fins	Shorter than male fins
Tail	Longer and thicker than females’ tails	Shorter than male tails
Temperament	Highly territorial	Less aggressive
Appropriate Tank Mates	Bottom-dwelling fish of equal size.	Other female Halfmoon bettas, and peaceful community fish.

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Sexual Dimorphism of Halfmoon Betta

Like other varieties of betta fish, Halfmoon betta shows some distinguishable features to identify male and female betta fish. But, sexual dimorphism differs according to your betta type.

If your Halfmoon betta is collected from the wild, you may find it hard to tell its gender. On the other hand, you can readily determine the sex of your Halfmoon betta if it is a captive-bred fish. The physical appearance and behavior are much different and individualized between male and female Halfmoon betta.

10 Differences: How Can You Tell A Female Halfmoon Betta?

7 Physical Differences Among Male And Female Halfmoon Betta

1. Color

Generally, Halfmoon betta comes in several dark colorations. You can find Halfmoon betta of red, orange, green, purple, and blue color. Sometimes, there are available gorgeous Halfmoon betta with mixed coloration. There’ll be nothing to be surprised about if you find Halfmoon betta of deep blue color with ruby red shade.

In the comparison of color, the male Halfmoon betta fish may show bright skin coloration than the female Halfmoon betta fish. In maximum cases, you can find female Halfmoon betta in subdued color.

But, you should not rely on this trait only to tell if your Halfmoon betta is a female. The female Halfmoon bettas can be as colorful as male Halfmoon bettas.

2. Size

You can tell which one is a female Halfmoon betta by comparing the size of the male and female betta. The female Halfmoon betta fish tend to be a bit smaller than the male Halfmoon betta. Your adult female Halfmoon betta can reach up to 2.5 inches, whereas the male Halfmoon betta can grow up to 2.75-3 inches.

3. Body Shape

If you look closely at the body shape of your betta fish, your female Halfmoon betta will look much different than the male Halfmoon betta. Your female Halfmoon betta shows a wider body shape. 

On the other hand, a male Halfmoon betta has a thicker body with side to side slightly flattened shape. In short, your female Halfmoon betta fish have shorter and thicker body shapes, whereas male Halfmoon betta is longer and thinner.

4. Stripes

Stripes are a prominent sign to tell your Halfmoon betta is a female. You might notice vertical stripes of 5-6 bands presented in a series in your female Halfmoon betta. These stripes can be breeding stripes or stress stripes.

During the breeding season, the female Halfmoon betta shows vertical stripes to attract male Halfmoon betta to mate. If your Halfmoon betta is a male fish, it will not display any breeding stripes. Moreover, only female betta show stress stripes by altering their pigments. 

5. Fins And Tails

In the world of Halfmoon betta fish, the male Halfmoon betta is more popular than the female betta for their lucrative fins and tails. You can quickly recognize female Halfmoon betta by noticing their fins and tails.

The male Halfmoon betta has three to four times larger and thicker fins than the female Halfmoon betta. Their tail fins are so large and thick that they can span 180 degrees making a half-moon shape. 

But, the female Halfmoon betta may not show their charm with such long swoopy tail fins. The tail fins of the female betta are much shorter than the male betta. Although the shape of all Halfmoon betta is a half circle or capital D, it is more prominent in male Halfmoon betta.

However, you should not rely only on the fin shape to determine your female Halfmoon betta. In the case of young male Halfmoon bettas, the fin shape doesn’t fully develop into flowing fins.

6. Betta Beard 

The next thing to check in your Halfmoon betta is a betta beard. If your Halfmoon betta is a female, it’ll have any betta beard.

Like all male beards, the male Halfmoon betta also displays their beard to look bigger in front of another male betta fish. In the case of female Halfmoon betta, these betta fish do not display any beard or membrane underneath their gills covers. However, the female Halfmoon betta has a small beard that such a small beard can not be shown without flaring.

7. Egg Spots 

The most significant sign to tell whether your Halfmoon betta is a female is their egg spots. Only female Halfmoon betta show their egg spots prominently. It is an ovipositor from which the eggs will come out of your female Halfmoon betta fish.

If your female Halfmoon betta becomes mature, you can notice the egg spots between their ventral and anal fins. But, it is a rare sign to display for male Halfmoon betta fish. Sometimes, male Halfmoon betta can show false egg spots to hide from other male bettas.

Get the full scoop on Betta—check out this must-read article! 7 Types Of Halfmoon Betta Fish [With Pictures]

4 Behavioral Differences Among Male And Female Halfmoon Betta

1. Temperament 

You can tell if a Halfmoon betta is a female by comparing its temperament with a male betta. The male Halfmoon betta is known as highly territorial towards other betta and other fish. These male Halfmoon bettas are so aggressive that the experts suggest not keeping two male Halfmoon bettas together in a tank.

Compared with the male Halfmoon betta fish, the female Halfmoon betta fish are less aggressive. If your Halfmoon betta coexists with other tank mates peacefully, your Halfmoon betta may be a female. 

For details, you can go through this write-up: are Halfmoon bettas less aggressive?

2. Flaring At Own Reflection

Flaring is a response to stress or aggression from Halfmoon betta. You might find both male and female Halfmoon betta to do flaring at other tank mates. 

While flaring at other tank mates, the male Halfmoon betta fish love to display their pronounced beards. Since female Halfmoon betta does not have any beards, these females make a head-down posture to flare.

To clear your confusion more, you can keep a mirror beside the betta tank as a part of an experiment. As I mentioned before, male Halfmoon betta is highly aggressive. 

Since these male Halfmoon bettas can hardly tolerate their reflection, you can find them flaring at their reflection. Your Halfmoon betta fish should be a female if it doesn’t flare at its reflection.

3. Bubble Nest Building

Your Halfmoon betta fish may not be a female if it doesn’t make a bubble nest. If you don’t know yet, male Halfmoon betta will be the primary custodian of their eggs and offspring. 

The male Halfmoon betta tends to make bubble nests to attract the female betta for mating. Later, these male Halfmoon bettas will place their eggs into these bubble nests. So, it is the basic responsibility of male Halfmoon bettas to build a bubble nest.

4. Ask Your Seller Before Buying A Halfmoon Betta

The last thing that can help you tell whether your Halfmoon betta is a female is to ask your seller.  Before buying a Halfmoon betta, you can ask about the gender of your chosen Halfmoon betta from the breeder. 

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Before You Go

By now, you’ve come to know the sexual differences between male and female Halfmoon betta from this article. You might have the plan to keep multiple Halfmoon betta together.

Before that, you must take a quick look at the following article to avoid possible accidents.

Can Halfmoon Betta Fish Live Together?