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Important tips to a successful sorority

87K views 112 replies 57 participants last post by  firewood04 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've seen a lot of threads on sororities asking pretty basic questions and although I know that there is a thread already dedicated to this, it seems kind of disorganised and the OP doesn't cover as many areas as I think it needs to.

I had this floating around on an unfinished site of mine so thought it might be helpful to those thinking of starting up a sorority tank.

Feel free to add any of your own experiences to this post. I think I covered most of the major areas where people run into trouble but if you think something is important post it up.



Introduction to Betta Sororities
Your first question might be, ‘What exactly is a betta sorority?’ In short, a ‘sorority’is a group of female Betta splendens housed together in the same tank.

A sorority is usually one of two things: a brilliant success, or a spectacular failure. There is more to a successful sorority than just putting a group of females in a tank together and expecting them to get along.

Below, I have outlined a list of steps that should hopefully help you on your way and tilt the odds of success in your favour.


Any sorority tank should be a minimum of 20 gallons​
Female bettas can be as aggressive and unpredictable as males. Domesticated splendens have been selectively bred for generations, and were never really intended to live peacefully with others of their species.

Therefore, it is important to provide each female with enough space to get away from an aggressor, and to lessen the event of territorial flare-ups.

I usually ensure each of my females has at least 2 gallon of space per fish. However, you may want to increase this minimum if you have particularly big or hostile females. Unless your females are very young and it is only a temporary solution, I would never recommend a sorority tank be anything less than 20 gallons.

Finally, an ideal sorority tank is one that is wider rather than taller. You will often find the more dominant females will spend most of their time near the surface and may bully the others when they come up to breathe or feed. Therefore, it is best to give your females enough room to spread out.


You should provide as much cover as possible
By blocking the line of sight from one end of the tank to the other, you can drastically lessen aggression and prevent chases from happening.

In a sparsely planted tank, there is nothing to prevent one female from chasing another around for as long as she wants. As you can imagine, this is obviously stressful for the fish being chased, and usually once the fish is caught, there is nowhere for her to escape from an attack.

Ideally I like to see most of the tank covered with either artificial or live plants. You want plants that provide cover at all levels of the tank. It is no use having lots of very short plants at the bottom, when your females are chasing and fighting up top!

I found my females rarely if ever went into hides such as terracotta caves or PVC pipe tunnels. Other people may have different experiences, but I have found the most favoured hiding places were in amongst the plants, particularly up near the surface.


You need a minimum of four-five females
A successful sorority is often one that is over rather than understocked. Indeed, you will find it very difficult to maintain long-term a sorority that has only 2-3 individuals. Generally the most dominant individual(s) will attack the weakest until she is either dead or extremely stressed.

To avoid this from happening, you want to have enough females that any aggression is dispersed rather than targeted at the weakest female. Some people are much more conservative with the stocking of their sororities, but I feel that the more females you have, the less prolonged aggression you will see.

If you cannot purchase or house any more than 2-3 females, I would advise against a sorority. It is only be a matter of time before you see the results of poor stocking, in the form of disease, injury and even death. An alternative solution in these instances is to either divide up a single tank, or house each female separately from the other.


It is best to choose the youngest females possible​
Older, mature females that have lived alone are more inclined to react with extreme aggression when placed in a sorority environment. While most tend to adapt and become part of the community after an initial introduction period, some will continue to act aggressively and will need to be at removed.

Younger females (siblings from the same spawn are often the best candidates for sororities particularly if they have yet to be separated) are usually much less territorial and aggressive. There is usually much less serious fighting between individuals while sorting out a hierarchy, and they tend to be much more flexible with the introduction of new tankmates.

However, one danger in choosing young females is that you will end up with a male plakat instead. This has happened to me once or twice, and for those without separate accommodations, can be quite the headache.

Females tend to have a rounder body shape than males, and in light coloured females, you should also be able to make out the ovaries as a small yellowish triangle behind the intestines. Male plakats will often have longer ventrals, a pronounced beard, possibly a fuller caudal, and generally a sharper angle to their anal fin. While they may not have a visible eggspot, it is not uncommon for younger males to have an ovipositor as well . Therefore, the presence of an eggspot alone is often not a good determinant of gender.
The best advice I can give, is that if in doubt, don’t purchase.


Ensure that your water parameters are nothing short of perfect​
Living in even the most peaceful sorority environment is often quite stressful for a female betta. She must not only compete for food and for territory, but also must deal with the close proximity of equally territorial and aggressive fish.

Stress in fish is one of the number one causes for outbreaks of disease. While poor water quality may not kill your females outright, it can compromise their immune system, leaving them vulnerable to diseases a healthy fish may otherwise have managed to fight off.

In poor water conditions, when one female becomes sick it is usually quickly spread to every other female in the tank as well. This is why it is important to monitor your water parameters and ensure that they are always within an appropriate range. Any readings less than ideal demand an immediate water change and a look at the way the tank is being maintained.


Aggression in sororities​
The question I often hear from most of those new to sororities is "What is too much aggression and when should I intervene?"

You have to remember when dealing with bettas, that aggression is a perfectly natural behaviour. However, this does not mean that your sorority tank should look like a WWF wrestling match.

It is common for there to be some fighting when you first introduce your females. This could be anything from posturing, body slapping, flaring, chasing and biting. This usually settles down within a couple of days although it is perfectly normal to see occasional flare-ups.

For me, the time to intervene is when there is more than a couple of minutes of sustained fighting between two females in which obvious damage is being done. I separate out whoever looks to be the aggressor, and put them into a breeders' net that sits in my sorority tank. I find this is often the best method of introducing particularly aggressive females as by the end of the week, they are generally accustomed to the other females being nearby and less inclined to over react when reintroduced.

I also intervene if it is obvious one female is being continually bullied by the others. If a female is starting to lose a lot of condition, or has severe fin and scale damage it is time to pull her from the sorority. It can be difficult to understand why certain females are targeted by the others. Just because a female is small or less aggressive does not mean she will be the one bullied. Therefore, it is important with a sorority tank that you find the time each day to check on your females and see that everyone is in good physical shape. I speak from experience when I say it does not take long for things to suddenly fall apart.

Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or issues. I went through it in Word but may have missed some of the less obvious grammatical errors.
 
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#2 ·
Great thread, this IMO deserves to be a sticky. :)
This info will surely help to those who are new to sororities and interested. Just to add, can't you buff up the weaker ones with high protein foods so they're stronger? Just a thought..
 
#4 ·
I had a female who was one of the biggest in my sorority. She was a healthy, mature female who the others decided one day that they all disliked. In the end I had to remove her as she had started dropping condition because she was constantly chased away from food, and was getting beaten up by the more dominant females.

She was even attacked by females much younger and smaller than her, even though there was nothing physically wrong with her and she wasn't a particularly submissive fish. It was just like one day a switch went off, and the others decided that she needed to be removed.

I think if it is just a size or strength issue, conditioning your female up before introducing her into the sorority might help. But if it is some other issue that only a fellow betta can determine, then I feel the other females are still going to harass her regardless.
 
#7 ·
Thanks guys. It means a lot to hear that.

I know it isn't a really in-depth look into sororities (I could have typed up a whole page alone on water quality and cycling), but is designed more as a basic guide to at least point people in the right direction.

That way the idea is there and they can hopefully do their own research about the individual elements either on this forum or another.
 
#9 ·
I use a brand called AquaOne, which sell a 'large' 4L net. Otherwise I use these cheap plastic breeder boxes I found online, which make it a lot easier to see the fish inside.

http://www.aquariumsupermarket.com.au/265-net-breeder-separation-box-small-aqua-one.html
(this is what I use just so you can get an idea of what I mean)

I don't think it matters what brand. As long as it all fits together properly and the suction caps work, it should be fine.
 
#11 ·
I'm glad you mentioned the aggression & when it's time to intervene. The best advice is to not stress out & let the fish establish a pecking order as long as none of the girls gets severely injured. A flaring contest or a tail slap here & there is part of the process. I personally don't think (just from my experience) there's an ideal number of girls, size, or color that should be in a tank, but there is ideal personalities for a sorority.
 
#13 ·
Just wanted to share a so far successful strategy I've had to introduce my new girls to the sorority tank. After you have made sure the new girl is healthy through a time in quarantine, put her back in the cup she came in and float that in the tank. Do the normal water change routine to get her used to the water temperature and chemistry. (this would consist of me periodically tipping some water out and then refilling with tank water - after a few rounds she'll be in mostly tank water) Float like this, with *frequent* water changes into the cup to keep it fresh, for two days. Feed and make sure to clean out leftover food/poops regularly (turkey basters have a new life as tank supplies!). During that time, your existing girls can see their new addition and she can see her soon to be home and tankmates.

I found that if there was going to be showing off/intimidation attempts, getting it out of the way while no one can touch the new girl really helped. usually after the first day, the girls in the tank would have had their time of puffery and gotten back to normal business. I normally have half the sorority swimming into the new girls' cup to investigate IT while the new girl wanders out to explore the tank when it's release time.

Organism Textile Plant Shoe
 
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#14 ·
That's essentially what I do, but I leave them longer and use a breeding net/box. I've found it's the best method of introducing mature or slightly more aggressive females into the sorority. By the time I release her, the other females are such a non-event that there's rarely any fighting.

I think a lot of people panic and start pulling females when one comes up with tattered fins or missing scales. As long as one fish isn't being attacked by the others or it isn't prolonged aggression between two females, then just let them be. If your water quality is good and you are feeding a high-quality diet, any fin damage should grow back quickly.

I only intervene if two females are really going at it to the exclusion of any others, and serious damage is being done in a very small space of time.

I tend to be more blase with aggression and bettas. It's very rare that that you aren't going to see some physical damage at some point, when housing bettas together. It's just part of their nature and something you have to accept.
 
#15 ·
Hadn't thought of that. Once the water acclimitization is complete, I *do* have my breeder/timeout box. Little roomier than the cup and has slits for actual water circulation! But at 11 girls in the tank, I think I'm done for now...unless I find a green or EE girl in the fishstore. Highly unlikely tho.
 
#16 ·
I should be getting my girls and my live plants for my ten gallon tank this week. I will have 6 girls in total, and I have 6 separate one gallon QT tanks that will all fit in the ten gallon for warmth. I've been setting this tank up since the beginning of January... I really don't want to do anything wrong. I find this thread a little reassuring just because I already know they will probably fight a little, but it will still probably freak me out anyways, lol.

How does everyone feed their girls? Is there any way besides cupping them that I can make sure they are getting relatively equal amounts of food? I don't want to overfeed them but I don't want to underfeed them, either.
 
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#17 ·
I spread the food around the top so they all get some & then I push some down for my one girl who refuses to come to the top for food. She scrounges on the bottom all day long like it's her only mission in life is to find food in the sand, lol.

Don't stress too much. Once you get to know your girls you'll be fine. Spend time with them & interact as much as you can because it's a distraction from being territorial. I just released two new girls without any problems. There was a whole lotta of chasing, but no nipped fins & things are already settling down. I just spent the last half hour playing with a few of them & teaching them to swim through a hoop. So cute!
 
#18 ·
Thank you! I also have another question...

I had a member tell me that he found introducing them worked best 15 minutes before lights out, but I was concerned that they would fight when I turned the lights out and I can't observe them? Or is it too dark for them to see each other at all?
 
#19 ·
Honestly, I think a lot of people over think sororities. I just used to put my females all in and if anyone fought too much they got separated out into a breeding net.

I have had at least 50 odd females and only around five or so could not cope in a sorority environment.

When introducing a new female to an existing sorority, I would just feed everyone else up the front and release the newcomer up at the back of the tank. I never bothered with rearranging everything or letting fish out one at a time.
 
#21 ·
I usually release mine shortly before the lights go on. That way then can explore a bit in the moonlights, but I can keep a better eye on it for the next few hours.

As for feeding time, I generally drop the food all around them - they take care of it fast. Even with 11, I can make sure everyone gets at least a few pellets. My one girl who doesn't like the surface usually joins the tetras and eats the sinking mini pellets. She's started coming up with the other girls, so there's hope that she knows she's a betta and not a tetra!
 
#22 ·
My Petco rescue Curious Grace was somehow trained by someone to swim into the tub that she was housed in. she associates cup=food. So she's actually happy to swim in there.

I guess cupping and feeding will help and I think I might train my other girls to do that when they come it. bettas are smart fish as i have noticed.
 
#24 ·
With a smaller group, you can regulate exactly how much everyone is eating. When I had 5, I could count them each out pellets. With 11 hungry girls, there is way too much crowding and excited fish flailing at feeding time for me to have any hope of putting a pellet in front of a girl and expecting her to get to it first.

It IS fun to take a pinch of the sinking pellets, hold it underwater, and have your fingers nipped, swum through, and jumped at by a school of bettas. They do learn fast.
 
#25 ·
Lol, to be honest, I'm still too scared to stick my hands in the tank because my bettas follow them around and I don't want to get bit. Most of that is because my blind fish, who I feed with a skewer, latched on to it once and it scared me so bad that I pulled it out of the water with him still attached. So his jaw is strong enough to hold on to something while he's just hanging off of it? My ten pound dog can't even do that when we play tug-o-war, lol.

I guess my question was really, do they fight when the lights go out? I'm not to concerned about introducing them according to what time lights out is, because chances are, I'll introduce them when I have the time, whenever that will be...
 
#26 ·
Lol, to be honest, I'm still too scared to stick my hands in the tank because my bettas follow them around and I don't want to get bit. Most of that is because my blind fish, who I feed with a skewer, latched on to it once and it scared me so bad that I pulled it out of the water with him still attached. So his jaw is strong enough to hold on to something while he's just hanging off of it? My ten pound dog can't even do that when we play tug-o-war, lol.
..
hahahaha, this is very vivd description, i like your betta :-D
 
#27 ·
I have wild bettas juveniles that grow around 10cm, and my God they scare the daylights out of you when they latch onto your hand. It actually almost hurts because their mouths are so big.

Honestly AyalaCookiejar, I wouldn't worry about the fighting too much. Not sure if you have the actual females already, but if you are concerned about possible fighting, you can always purchase sibling or very young females, and this should be an easier transition.

For a few days it may look ugly, and you may need to separate one or two troublemakers out. However, it's not like you are going to put them all in and they are going to start murdering each other. Generally most of the time they are fairly stunned when first introduced to the tank, and it's only once they have settled in that fights tend to break out.

If your tank is very heavily planted and there is lots of cover, they should be fine. Of course there is never any 100% guarantees with these fish, but I used to chuck random females into existing and newly started sororities all the time and never had any fatalities or serious harm done.
 
#28 ·
I have wild bettas juveniles that grow around 10cm, and my God they scare the daylights out of you when they latch onto your hand. It actually almost hurts because their mouths are so big.

Honestly AyalaCookiejar, I wouldn't worry about the fighting too much. Not sure if you have the actual females already, but if you are concerned about possible fighting, you can always purchase sibling or very young females, and this should be an easier transition.

For a few days it may look ugly, and you may need to separate one or two troublemakers out. However, it's not like you are going to put them all in and they are going to start murdering each other. Generally most of the time they are fairly stunned when first introduced to the tank, and it's only once they have settled in that fights tend to break out.

If your tank is very heavily planted and there is lots of cover, they should be fine. Of course there is never any 100% guarantees with these fish, but I used to chuck random females into existing and newly started sororities all the time and never had any fatalities or serious harm done.
LBF, I think you're the one who posted the wild betta info on one of your threads for me. I never got to say thank you. I did read it, but because I was at work I didn't have time to sign in & say thanks. It peaked my interest in them for sure, but that a future project for after I move to the country in a couple of years.
 
#29 ·
Super helpful! I have a single female now, and honestly, I think they are much more appealing than males! I can't wait to get out of the dorms in college and have room for a sorority tank. Thanks so much for the info, I will refer back to it when I move out!!

By the way, don't jump down my throat for this, but what exactly is cycling?
 
#30 ·
Cycling is the process of causing beneficial bacteria to grow in your filter, which convert ammonia into nitrates. :) There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. It basically is what makes the filter effective, and if you have a filter, a 5+ gallon tank and a fish, it will pretty much happen by itself. However, it can be stressful for the fish, as ammonia, nitrites and nitrates spike during the cycle, so if you can do it fishlessly, it is better to do so. :)
 
#31 ·
Thanks. I just upgraded my girl from a 1/2 gallon (was doing 1/4 water changes 1 time a week n a full change in the end) and into a bigger 2.5 gallon. I plan on doing less water changes, hope this works out better. She almost seems overwhelmed by all the space, poor thing. This is my first betta, and even though I have done a lot of research, I am nervous for her. So far, 3 months have gone by well.

I check out your blog, too! I really love the natural colors and such for the betta you have,when I leave college, I may have to contact someone to get the natural sorts of betta.
 
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