You could likely put 7-10 females in a 29g no problem with lots of plants. You could not mix in a male to the sorority.
By plants do you mean live plants? Additionally should I also have a lot of hiding places for the bettas? Lastly, I had the thought about the male since someone told me as long as the female to male ratio is big, everything will be fine. Is that untrue?
By plants do you mean live plants? Additionally should I also have a lot of hiding places for the bettas? Lastly, I had the thought about the male since someone told me as long as the female to male ratio is big, everything will be fine. Is that untrue?
Yes live plants and lots of them. They help break up visual sight lines as well as all the other good things live plants do. Many hides as possible, terra cotta pots, caves anything that can give some privacy from each other. Imo you would be asking for trouble adding a male. It is hard to keep a sorority at relative peace even with only girls. They are fighting fish by nature and when a male is present you bring in the breeding element. This can be a vicious element and Ive seen damage from even well conditioned pairs while breeding. I am not saying it is impossible OFL has done it, but it takes a very long time to establish something like this and experience that goes beyond what average keepers like me would want to attempt. It is certainly not as simple as having a high female to male ratio. I wouldnt try it myself as its hard enough to keep even females together for my own sanity. I believe OFL has a good post regarding this subject on this forum.
Yes live plants and lots of them. They help break up visual sight lines as well as all the other good things live plants do. Many hides as possible, terra cotta pots, caves anything that can give some privacy from each other. Imo you would be asking for trouble adding a male. It is hard to keep a sorority at relative peace even with only girls. They are fighting fish by nature and when a male is present you bring in the breeding element. This can be a vicious element and Ive seen damage from even well conditioned pairs while breeding. I am not saying it is impossible OFL has done it, but it takes a very long time to establish something like this and experience that goes beyond what average keepers like me would want to attempt. It is certainly not as simple as having a high female to male ratio. I wouldnt try it myself as its hard enough to keep even females together for my own sanity. I believe OFL has a good post regarding this subject on this forum.
I got you. So I'll only keep females with a lot of live plants, caves, etc. Additionally, what type of filter would be good for these fish? I have a 50 gallon power filter from aquaclear... will that do fine? I also wanted to know where the best place to buy bettas is.
I got you. So I'll only keep females with a lot of live plants, caves, etc. Additionally, what type of filter would be good for these fish? I have a 50 gallon power filter from aquaclear... will that do fine? I also wanted to know where the best place to buy bettas is.
My sorority tank has an aquaclear like yours. I also add a sponge pre filter to the end of the intake, Fluval makes a good one. Its like a good filter all by itself and loads up with bb quick, take tons of muck out before it even hits the aquaclear. In addition I have a sponge filter at each end of the tank. I highly recommend them. So its like having 4 filters to back each other up. Plus the plants. Very stable cycle once its established. May be overkill but this works for me. As far as the best place to buy a betta its not the local pet shop most likely. There are some terrific breeders on this forum who may be local or ship to you.
Last edited by logisticsguy; 02-24-2013 at 01:37 PM.
My sorority tank has an aquaclear like yours. I also add a sponge pre filter to the end of the intake, Fluval makes a good one. Its like a good filter all by itself and loads up with bb quick, take tons of muck out before it even hits the aquaclear. In addition I have a sponge filter at each end of the tank. I highly recommend them. So its like having 4 filters to back each other up. Plus the plants. Very stable cycle once its established. May be overkill but this works for me. As far as the best place to buy a betta its not the local pet shop most likely. There are some terrific breeders on this forum who may be local or ship to you.
Alright thanks! I think I will try my local store soon. So I will plan to have around 10, but not all at once. How many should I add at one time? I was thinking around 6-7 in the beginning. But I also read somewhere that if you are adding new females, you have to take the current ones out and change the placings of the ornaments/plants so they can re-establish pecking order. Is this true?
Alright thanks! I think I will try my local store soon. So I will plan to have around 10, but not all at once. How many should I add at one time? I was thinking around 6-7 in the beginning. But I also read somewhere that if you are adding new females, you have to take the current ones out and change the placings of the ornaments/plants so they can re-establish pecking order. Is this true?
You could start out with 6 girls, I like to add 2 at a time for some reason it goes over better. The 1st 2 weeks your tank could have some negative energy as the girls sort out the order. You may even need to pull one or 2 that are just too mean for sorority life and get them their own apartment. You can try them again later often they settle down with time. I leave the girls in, do a 50% water change, change the decor and plants around, add new girls then refill tank.
You could start out with 6 girls, I like to add 2 at a time for some reason it goes over better. The 1st 2 weeks your tank could have some negative energy as the girls sort out the order. You may even need to pull one or 2 that are just too mean for sorority life and get them their own apartment. You can try them again later often they settle down with time. I leave the girls in, do a 50% water change, change the decor and plants around, add new girls then refill tank.
So for the separation part, would those clear containers that separate them work, or would i need a full separator? Additionally, when adding the new fish, do the existing betas treat every beta as new ones and re-establish pecking order?
Make sure you QT them first... Especially if they are coming from the pet store..
If I add by 2's though, wont it be a problem as 1 would assert dominance? Would I have to keep them in separate tanks? Additionally, how big must the other tanks be as the only other places i have to keep fish are a 2.5 gallon Fish bowl and a small blue fish container...
So for the separation part, would those clear containers that separate them work, or would i need a full separator? Additionally, when adding the new fish, do the existing betas treat every beta as new ones and re-establish pecking order?
I keep an extra tank around so that s what I use. You may have to keep a girl or 2 permanently separated so best to be prepared and it never hurts to have an extra 5g tank around as you may need it as a hospital tank as well at some point. You can also try floating her in a clear cup in the aquarium for a short period. With any luck you wont need to worry about it. If sorority life isnt working out for her my time outs are 7-14 days. The new ones usually start at the bottom but every betta is different, ive seen new small ones chasing the big girls like crazy, most times it is just a little get outta here push which is just normal betta behavior.
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