Female Betta Sororities.

[Lion Mom]

Originally Posted by BettaHeart

How many females i can i get away with in a 30gal?

IMO, 15 - 2 gals. per girl.

[Neil D]

Maybe 25-30 was a bit high, but depending on filtration 20-25 seems ok. Lucky you!!

[Marieukxx]

Hi guys I'm from the UK. I have one female Betta in a 60 litre which I think is about 10 gallons cycled tank. The tank has a long hollow log a cave and loads of tall plants. I have just ordered 4 more females to start a sorority and they arrive on saturday. I've wanted this for a long time and some friends I talk to online on anothet forum have been successful.

I'm really worried about it as I've read both good and bad stories. Is it true that bettas that look different are less likely to fight?

Anyway I guess I'm looking for words of encouragement. I'm pretty nervous in case they tear eachother apart.

[Neil D]

It'll work out! But if you want REAL help, talk to drama queen. And some other sorority owners. Good luck! 60 literes is more that 10 g, it's 15!

[indjo]

Originally Posted by Marieukxx

I'm really worried about it as I've read both good and bad stories. Is it true that bettas that look different are less likely to fight?

No, it's not true. Sometimes different contrasting colors may not fight at first (depending how they were raised) but eventually they will have an "alpha" contest.

If the new females were in a sorority, they would probably be more docile. But your current female has been alone for some time. She will probably be aggressive, at least when you first put them together. This usually triggers others to flare.

You have to let them fight a bit. Usually most females from sororities won't go to the bitter end and will swim away after a few bites. But those who were in solitary might hold her territory.

Keep an eye on them for the first 30 minutes. If they don't fight, they should get along. Take out any female that's too aggressive (always chasing and biting others).... flaring is ok, but fighting/biting is not.

Hope this helps

[dramaqueen]

Actually I don't have a sorority but I did research, got info from some people who do have sororities and wrote up the sticky.

[Shimizoki]

I just set up my first sorority... It was nearly as stressful for me as it was for the fish. Watching some of them fight like that was absolutely terrifying. For some reason they don't mention that when telling you to set up a sorority.

[Fishkeeper71]

Betta sororities are not very difficult though at times can be a real challenge. From my experience Sororities are best started with all the females present. This prevents the Newbie syndrome or intruder alert response from the other fish. If you want to add more females it's best to remove them all for a bit then rearrange their furniture as this will reset territories. Then add them all at once and allow the pecking order to re-establish.

I usually end up with over 50 or more females when a new batch of fry hatches <Sometimes well over a hundred>. I would put them all in a 30 long until they got too big and would then begin to sell off or give away my excess and never really had too many issues with 30+ females in one tank <My 55 would take the most> Now that I'm breeding them again I hope to have some pics soon of a what I refer to playfully as a Betta Harem (30+ in larger tank>

Store bought females seem to cause the most issues because they are so isolated these days, when I was kid it common to goto a LFS and see a tank with 10 or so females in it ready for sale. Nowadays everyone thinks that <Bay-tuh> females need to be separated. However <Beh-tuh> females don't in most cases.

Love these fish and keep up the good work to all you sorority keepers out there, love the pics and love to see so many taking great care of these often abused fish.

[astoda]

I'm cycling a 20 gal tank right now for a soroity. Will the females be aggressive to other fish that I add such as catfish or other peaceful fish?

[Shimizoki]

Astoda - Mine are getting along just fine with assassain snails, Cory Cats, Neon Tetras, and Ottos.