OK, I'm setting up a tank for a betta sorority - 10 gallons, Iwagumi layout, 6 female bettas, couple of ottos.
Who else is keeping a tank of female bettas (mostly)?
What should I look out for?
Now, I am going to plant the back of the tank with giant hairgrass, but is the big open space in the middle of one of these Japanese garden type layouts going to cause me a problem with territories?
I have a sorority of 5 in a 10 gallon and it is working well. I have it heavy with cover but left about 1/3 of it open in the middle for swimming space. When the girls were first put into it from their individual cups they sort of posed , flared and nipped at each other for a couple of days but with the cover, they were able to get away when needed. Now that they have settled in there seems to be a truce between them. They are not best friends but no longer attack or threaten each other. They almost ignore each other and just swim around doing their own thing. At feeding time they will all be in the same area to get the food and don't bother each other.
I don't think it would have gone as well if most of the tank had been open. They seemed to need the cover to get things to settle down without significant injuries. Nobody is sharing the tank with them so I can't comment on tank mates. I just don't know because I have not tried it.
Here's the layout I was going to go with.
About a quarter of the footprint should be substrate to surface cover with a a bit of overhang over the dwarf sags.
I could take rotala up the sides on a temporary basis, say to the outsidemost large rock in each of the two main groups. That'd just about double the "getting out of dodge" space. Alternately, I could replace the hairgrass with rotala indica on a temporary (or even permanent) basis.
Failing that, I wonder if having minimal hiding space and putting in all six at once would let them sort out their pecking order on the quick.
I would think you need maximum hiding space AND to put them all in at the same time, otherwise the first ones will have time to establish their territories and may not let the newcomers in.
I would think you need maximum hiding space AND to put them all in at the same time, otherwise the first ones will have time to establish their territories and may not let the newcomers in.
I agree there, Susan.
I used to do this type of sorority as well. I wasn't happy when the old ones would chase the new ones a lot but lesson learned.lol
If you are determined to leave the layout as open as you show in the diagram, maybe you would be better off with a different stocking. Bettas are not the only fish that look nice in a small aquarium. You have lots to choose from. IMO its better to have a layout that you and the fish can live with than have one of you, you or the fish, dissatisfied. This is not intended to be harsh, just suggesting that present plans may not be best for all concerned.
If you are determined to leave the layout as open as you show in the diagram, maybe you would be better off with a different stocking. Bettas are not the only fish that look nice in a small aquarium. You have lots to choose from. IMO its better to have a layout that you and the fish can live with than have one of you, you or the fish, dissatisfied. This is not intended to be harsh, just suggesting that present plans may not be best for all concerned.
I agree. That's why I am kicking this idea around here first. I was pondering guppies, but then I put peat in the substrate. Worse comes to worse I have a 20 high that's currently in use as a grow out tank for Bristlenosed Fry that I could change into a Betta Sorority at a later date (though that would put the kibosh on my breeding plans. Decisions, decisions. So many fish - so little time.)
Now, then, is the problem with an open layout a matter of not having the sight lines broken up, so that there is only one territory, per se, or is it a lack of hiding places? If the former, then there's nothing to be done about it and I'll need to go to plan B on the fish (whatever that turns out to be), but if the latter, I can go with Rotala as the stem plant in the corners, which should be a better hiding place, and maybe stick a couple of crypts in the front corners for under-rosette parking.
From what I've seen, I think its more of a hiding place problem than a line of sight problem. My girls have lots of open space and are almost always in a line of sight but when they need to get away, they can get well under cover.
its all about my experience raising now 7 female bettas in a 10 gal tank. they are still doing just awesome... and Ive added them at all different intervals. there is even a baby green severum staying with them short term and they are one big happy family :)
I've gone ahead and planted rotala thickets in the back corners. Ill plant a pot of hairgrass around that and a bit into the sags and keep glosso in the front.Between full sized hairgrass and some rotala, there ought to be sufficient diving for cover opportunities. (Note: Full sized Hairgrass, not the dwarf stuff. Looking for a wall, not a lawn.)
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