I have been happy with my sorority. There have been a few deaths but only one was due to aggression from the other fish. My plants have not filled in much yet they still don't fight. They chase but their fins are in good condition indicating to me that nipping is at a minimum.
I have 10 but 2 are new as of yesterday so we shall see!
For sororities, adding tons of artificial barriers (driftwood is pretty handy, as are ornaments for all levels -top, middle, bottom-) plus tons and tons of live and fake plants, makes it so they can live together without much of a problem. I had a sorority of 4 before, siblings, and they did just fine. Sometimes I have no luck with sororities, other times lots of luck. I would always make sure to have back up tanks just in case things get out of hand - plus medications as well since if one fish gets sick, the rest can follow suite. You should always quarantine beforehand anyways, for at least 2 weeks (some diseases take 1 week to show up others take longer). Adding new females to a sorority is as easy as rearranging decor, doing a water change, or if you really wanted to make sure removing the females and re-adding everyone together after a water change.
I have two male bettas each in their own 5 gallon tanks. I would love to start a sorority but I'm scared to do something wrong, haha. I'd also need at least four QT tanks because i would hate to keep them in their cups.
My brother told me I'll be inheriting his ten gallon tank when his current fish passes away, so when/if that happens.. I'll probably go for a sorority. :)
With the sorority, is visibility a big issue? I might sound vain, but I'm sure it's the case with everybody--I want to be able to see my fish. Will the chasing and hiding keep them totally out of sight?
Is there anyway to judge temperament before taking a betta home?
With the sorority, is visibility a big issue? I might sound vain, but I'm sure it's the case with everybody--I want to be able to see my fish. Will the chasing and hiding keep them totally out of sight?
Depends how heavily you plant the tank. Some fish will hide more than others, but generally there will be one or two always milling about, even if others are camped out somewhere.
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Originally Posted by RedCassette
Is there anyway to judge temperament before taking a betta home?
Not unless your pet store keeps females together in a large tank (doubt it). There will be some fighting and some nipping, but the key is to keep 4+ fish so there are enough to divide the aggression up evenly.
As for the OP, yes, I would prefer a sorority for a larger tank. I find 3-5 gallon tanks best for males, and I keep them in common areas, like on a desk where they'll have a decent amount of interaction from the outside world.
I think visual will be a small problem if you don't have that much cover at the top surface level. That is where my toughy alpha girls hang (my alphas keep changing for time to time) and they tend to chase on sight if they see a girl at the top. If you give cover they can hide and still stay close to the surface. I have a plant that "unglued" off its base (silicon fail) and I just let it float because it makes everyone happy.
all breeds of bettas are aggressive, including veiltails. the only reason PK's tend to be more so is because their short fins make them faster, stronger swimmers. anytime you divide a tank, you're taking a risk. bettas are persistent little buggers, if there's any way around (or over) the dividers, rest assured they'll find it! before putting your fish in a divided tank, i'd house them serarately for observation (and QT as well) to weed out any overly aggressive fish that might need to be housed alone.
Actually, aggression is a trait, and more prevalent and intense in plakats than veiltails. Fins have very little to do with aggression. Though I agree the short fin allow for easier and faster swimming, strength and speed does not determine the degree of aggression in bettas. Especially in female veiltails and plakats, the fin length variation is not too far apart. Heck, sometimes it's even hard to identify whether it's a veil or plakat female.
IMO, plakat would have been the most commonly bred to fight while veiltails became a "trend" or otherwords marketing scheme to get money They've been bred "down" from plakats, fighters, and wild types :) (I think, anyways).
I can almost always identify plakat VS veil females ^_^ (I'm so proud of me)
I would go with a sorority. I mixed mine up and added 2 ADF's in there too.. (more frequent changes of course!) And my girls don't bother them. I was a little scared at the intense fighting, but it's cooled now. They're always swimming, and you can mix up the colors with the decor!
Actually, aggression is a trait, and more prevalent and intense in plakats than veiltails. Fins have very little to do with aggression. Though I agree the short fin allow for easier and faster swimming, strength and speed does not determine the degree of aggression in bettas. Especially in female veiltails and plakats, the fin length variation is not too far apart. Heck, sometimes it's even hard to identify whether it's a veil or plakat female.
that said, there is no such thing as a totally non-aggressive betta, at least not one that's healthy. while some fish might be more aggressive (and who knows, it may divide down breed lines, but most evidence of that is anecdotal) but all bettas will be aggressive to one degree or another, and i don't really think it'd be responsible to put out guidelines for which fish would be safer in a divided setting than others based upon tail type. i've had some pretty laid-back plakats, and some EXTREMELY aggressive veiltails and halfmoons.
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They've been bred "down" from plakats, fighters, and wild types :) (I think, anyways).
