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Anyone help with a Sorority... ?

595 views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Hallyx 
#1 ·
I am thinking about doing my first betta sorority. Any advice? Tips? Suggestions? How many females should I have in a 10 gallon tank with a filter and heater that has a medium about of coverage? Will the fish be stressed out?

I don't know if this is a good idea so I am looking to you guys for some advice. ^.^ Please comment about your experiences or advice.
 
#2 ·
I would say your tank can safely hold 5. Coverage is essential in a sorority and as you probably know you will need to cycle and monitor the water levels. I suggest after cycling you buy them all at the same time so they can quickly establish the pecking order because if it gets sorted and another one comes in the others will pick on the newbie so adding them at the same time is better in the long run. One will be dominant over all the others, they will need to have at least one hiding place for every betta it is ideal that they are all siblings but normally this isn't possible. After cycling, when you have purchased the fish add the most passive first (after acclimating) and let her nose for 15 mins, then you add the next least aggressive, some fin nipping is expected leave it for 15mins and so on until all are in the tank. If it gets too aggressive you will have to make a decision of taking one back. Let them settle for a few days. If you are prepared to do more frequent water changes you could even add up to 9 females. With female bettas more is better!!!
 
#3 ·
Advice from me:

Fishless cycle the tank prior to purchasing any fish. Sororities more than anything, require pristine water. So many people fail to understand this and end up with sick/dying/dead fish because of it.

Quarantine is vital even if the females all come from the same source or appear visibly healthy. Plenty of people on this forum have had sororities wiped out because they didn't quarantine.

You want as much cover as possible. Ideally you shouldn't be able to see from one end of the tank to the other. I know some people may disagree with this, but in my opinion and experience, the more heavily planted a tank, the less aggression there is.

In regards to stress levels, a sorority is in itself a fairly stressful environment. You are asking a group of solitary, territorial and aggressive fish to share a tank together. This is why I go on about the importance of pristine water quality in a sorority. You want to maintain as low a level of stress as possible because stress is a big precursor for disease in fish and I honestly believe it is why sororities seem to have such a high failure rate and seem particularly prone to diseases such as columnaris.

I have a sticky about sororities at the top of this forum. Other sorority owners may disagree with some of my points, but it always was just my personal opinion/experience and it has seemed to have helped others in the past.
 
#5 ·
I think it depends on your females and your set-up. I used to have a couple of sororities running, and there were definitely females who couldn't cope in that sort of environment. Either they became extremely aggressive, or they were attacked and ostracised by the other females in the tank.

Likewise, if your set-up is not adequate, this is going to cause more stress than a tank where there is enough cover to break up the lines of sight and give your females a break from each other.

There is usually always going to be some fighting going on, as this is how bettas settle disputes and work out the hierarchy within the group. However, usually in an established sorority this is limited to a torn fin here or there rather than serious injury.

But once again, there is always the potential for harm.

In a sorority it is all about mitigating risk. This is why it's never good to start a sorority on impulse. I always feel the best sororities are those where time has been taken to prepare and research in advance - much like you are doing now.
 
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