Betta Sorority Gone Wild :(

[nowzem]

So my new female bettas have been in the same tank for a while now and not showing aggression, but today I came home and the little red girl was acting funny and upon closer inspection, her fins are a little torn and one of her pectorals is completely missing! She is showing typical stress signs (clamped fins, fast breathing, not moving much although she's still eating). I've removed her from the tank and she's in her own (too small 1gallon) tank for now.

I'm a little dismayed because I was planning on moving my 3 females into a 20 gallon this weekend and now I'm not sure they can get along! It's not a big deal if I have to separate them, but I wanted to have a sorority and now I'm concerned because there are only two of them in the tank (again, the tank is too small because it's temporary).

Should I treat her with anything? If so, what? Sorry if this is in the wrong area...I wanted to post it in" sorority" but there isn't a listing for that!

Ugh! Poor fish! I hope she lives...

[nowzem]

Well, on closer inspection this morning, she has BOTH pectorals. Oops! She is much better this morning in her own tank (whew! What a relief!)

[lilchiwolf]

I had some that looked liked they had missing pecs. They hold them very close to their body when fighting or stressed and for some odd ready will swim around only using one. My females had to go through to hard spots till they would all get along. I still have my dom female that will chase them, but they do all eat together just fine.

[nowzem]

That's exactly what happened! She was only using one and of course its clear colored... :) I am going to try her in the larger tank with them (I have a 55 that I'm cycling that I want to put them in after the 20 g. Should be plenty of room and places to hide!) But I'll keep a really close eye on them (naughty mean girls!) :)

On a lighter note, I put her next to my male VT and he's going wild, building her a lovely bubble nest and flaring his gills. Too cute. She isn't ready for him tho, LOL (neither am I, for that matter!)

[fleetfish]

If her fins are only mildly torn she should be okay after a few days, just watch for signs of rot. If you have some aquarium salt, you could use it as a precaution against infection.

You might also separate the other two temporarily, just because there is a huge possibility of them fighting. It sounds like your three have already established a pecking order, with the injured girl at the bottom of the pole.

You might want to get at least 2 - 4 more girls; having an uneven number of girls will help spread the aggression throughout. Hope this helps :)

Aww fishy love <3 My crownie girl Frigga and my new veil boy Wilder are like that. He keeps flaring at her, she dances merrily away, then comes at him and teases him. He then flares in frustration. All I can think of is Pyramus and Thisbe, lol

[nowzem]

Thanks so much! I actually ordered one more girl yesterday (I've become obsessed!) And maybe I'll buy another once their tank is ready. I'm going to keep a close eye on them (I read that less than 3 is a disaster!)

It's so strange, I had witnessed their order, and the red girl was in the middle (or so I thought!) and they weren't showing any signs after the first night and then all of a sudden while I'm at work they go nuts on her (I assume!) I know which is the alpha, tho. She's the" prettiest" so of course she thinks she's the best haha.

[fleetfish]

It can be difficult to tell who is where sometimes. I'm never certain which of my girls is the Alpha. It seems like the sorority is co-ruled ... but by whom? I guess I won't know unless I ask them. I do know that my newest girl is at the bottom since she always hides, is always nipped and chased, and always the last to eat. I give her lots of special attention :)

[nowzem]

Yes! It seems the order changes around. They certainly are fascinating! <3

[Crazykat]

Definitely do what Fleetfish said and get some more girls. I saw a huge change in behaviour even just going from 4 to 5 girls. The littlest one was being ping ponged around the tank, and that's all stopped now that there are five. Aurora, the alpha is the same amount of aggressive, but it's more spread out, so no one gets hurt. Also, MOAR FISHIES!!!! Feed the addiction! XD