Sorority Help Needed!

[elegantlyunsophisticated]

yeah I was considering getting something to gently aggravate the water but it's just not worth it, if I throw the food in hard enough it'll sink. I'm thinking of going out for another female this weekend because the 10g feels super empty with just 4 and they're a really good set of fish so I think they'll take well to another addition. Should I look for more of an alpha or a beta type as a late addition?

[Xeek]

I thought you meant alpha as in queen, top of the pecking order, then you said beta - so then I'm not sure what you mean.

There is really almost no way you will know if the betta you buy will be more or less docile. Even initially they don't show their true aggression, and sometimes not even until they're settled in their new home.

I've found that the largest of my females tends to be the alpha, but that is not always the case. Finding a girl that is at least not bigger then the alpha you have might be better.

I would not add one female. You might do better by adding more at once. If you do only add one - move everything around; otherwise I really would suggest adding 2 or 3 at a time.

[elegantlyunsophisticated]

Oh sorry I meant alpha and beta like the alphabet, so first and subordinate after that. Well, it appears that something nasty hit my tank, and I have now lost 3 fish overall. I have the remaining two in quarantine with salt and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with them. This weekend I'm tearing down the tank for a heavy cleaning, then I'll get the sorority back up and running.

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by elegantlyunsophisticated

It's not filtered, just lots of real plants and regular partial changes. Everyone else is looking good in that tank today, but the thick surface of the water persists. I think I'm going to monitor everyone's activity for a while and let this whole nasty water thing sort itself out before I consider adding another girl to bring the numbers back up to 5. In other news, one of my ADFs has a fuzzy foot! D: not a good week for fishkeeping around here I guess.

You should get a sponge filter. ALso the expansion of the gills is something that happens sometimes when a betta dies. I just had a problem in my tank where I left my top up my accident and then had a long day and came back and she had jumped out :( but I then had to leave a week for a wedding and i got back and two of my girls were completely clamped up.

AQ salt will hurt the plants but the main thing is to make sure all your girls are doing ok. You should look for the perfectly healthy girl for your number 5 (although this is really late). I hope everyone else is doing well and that everything went well!