New Betta owner & newbie here......

[TamiL]

Hi all, first I received a betta from someone that did not want it any longer, I felt sorry for it because it was living in a very small container. I purchased a 5 gallon tank put some of those clear stones on the bottom, silk plants etc. the tank does have a small filter with a high and low switch and I added a small heater. First off I thought my betta was a girl because she has such short fins. She has been very happy for the last 3 weeks or so. My first question is...........this morning, I noticed the bubble nest on top of the water....does this mean my Tullahbell is really a Tony?

Second question....... I do a 25% water change every week, only the last few days I noticed a cloudy film on the top of the water that has never been there before??? I feed her the bottles of betta food that says give 3-5 pellets a day. What could this film be from and how do I remove it? This is all new to me and I don't want to do anything that will cause him/her harm.
Thanks for any info or advice you can give me.
Tami

Here is a pic of Tony/Tullahbell

 

[TabMorte]

That looks like a shortfinned boy to me. His rays on the front look longer then most of the females I've kept and I've never had a female with color that consistantly rich. That's a VERY Beautiful fish. You're very luck to have him. And free no less!

Your tank's probably cycling (there's some threads on cycling in the newbie stickies) and that might be part of your film issue.

It sounds like you've given him a perfect betta home! For a new fish keeper you've done really good.

Beware though, in my family we refer to bettas as a 'gateway fish' because keeping bettas is how we all got hooked on fish keeping. Soon you'll be eying larger tanks and community fish going hrmmmm....

Welcome to the tank!

 

[TamiL]

I had seen somewhere that the girls have a small white thingy by the fins and this one does?

 

[Meghan]

Welcome to the forum! That is a beautiful betta.

 

[chefrossco]

hi and welcome , to me he looks like a short finned male however if this is a female as you have seen the white blob between her fins -(ovipossitor) then she is one of the most beautiful girls ive seen good luck and it looks like she is being well looked after----im jealous!