Sorority tank

[EllaEcstasy7]

So I just started a community tank and I'm thinking I want to turn it into a sorority tank, how would I go about adding the other females and how many should I get?

[Tikibirds]

How big is the tank? it should be at the very minimum 10G but a 20G is better.

You shuld so some resesrch before starting one as it can be hit or miss. Plus you should also have an extra tank on hand in case one of the girls you pick can't play nice with others.

Basically all you need is a tank, decor and 5 females. However you want the tank to be heavily decorated. The more objects there are in the way to disrupt the line of sight, the easier it is to escape from being chased or bullied.

Once you have the females and tan set up, I float them in cups to acclimate them and then I release them one at a time. Try to release the least agressive one first and most agressive one last. I could never tell so I just released one and then 30 minutes later, released another and so on.

They should explore for a bit and then you may notice they will start to bicker. This is pretty normal but you should keep an eye on them incase the fights get severe. They are establishing a pecking order, just like wolf packs. Some chasing and tail nipping is normal but if any one is getting pretty beat up - remove her ASAP. If one female is being overly aggressive, cup her and let her chill in the cup for awhile and then release her again. Keep an eye out for trouble though.

Some say get all siblings or all the same size/age. I really do not think it matters as I have had juviniles in with Giants.

my 20G with fake plants


Live plants

[EllaEcstasy7]

It's a 10 gallon tank. I have one female in there already so I'm not sure if it would be a bad idea to get more. She isn't aggressive at all which made me like her. She is really curious and just swims right by the ghost shrimp and tetra.

[aemaki09]

You are going to want TONS of decor! The more heavily planted/decorated the better.
Anything that will break up the line of sight for them an places for them to hide makes the tank less volatile.

Add all the girls at once, whenever you want to add a new girl your going to want to remove all the existing girls and redecorate a bit so they get confused. Then add them all back at the same time.

[EllaEcstasy7]

Alright :) sounds like a plan. I've been researching for over a week now so I think I'm ready.

[Tikibirds]

Good Luck and post pics

I have live plants so I don't rearrange. I put the new girl in a breeder net and then release her after a day or two. OR I wait till i do some plant trimming and then add the new girl - never had any issues this way.

[EllaEcstasy7]

Of course!!!

[aemaki09]

Originally Posted by Tikibirds

Good Luck and post pics

I have live plants so I don't rearrange. I put the new girl in a breeder net and then release her after a day or two. OR I wait till i do some plant trimming and then add the new girl - never had any issues this way.

That could definitely work! I personally dont re-arrange either because of all my live plants, but I always suggest it for newbies with sororities.
Too many live plants and too many girls to cup individually.
I just add a new girl in during feeding times, and it seems like nobody ever notices her.. But I have, and have always had, a very low amount of agression in my sororities. I rarely see any squaring off or chasing. They all just try to stay out of each others way, and it works swimmingly!

[EllaEcstasy7]

Speaking of feeding... When is a good time to feed them? I tried to feed my new fish last night but she didn't want to eat. I'm guessing because she already ate.

[Shadyr]

Good luck with your sorority, it's a fun tank when you have a group of girls that gets along well. The girls have such cute faces, and having the group of them eagerly awaiting feeding time makes my evenings.

With a 10G you'd probably want 5-7 girls and a couple of bottom feeders. Not sure how many to recommend. I have a bigger tank, so I have a total of 5 "clean up crew" type fish. Guessing you'd need to stick to a couple to keep from being overstocked. If the tank is already established, that's great, otherwise introduce fish slowly so you don't shock the water parameters.

As others said, be prepared to deal with any girls that don't work out - one of my original girls became sick and I didn't catch it before it got bad. She has recovered, but her injuries (got stuck on the filter intake because she got so weak) mean she can never go back into the big tank.

Lots of decor/hidey spots/plants.

And yes, pictures