sorority or another type of fish?

[phoenix91]

Today i am in the process of losing one of my two dwarf puffers. They were/are in a 20g tall tank by themselves. The one that is dying stopped eating about a week and a half ago and i tried everything to save him. Poor Vettel.

Well i don't want to leave 1 dwarf puffer alone in the 20 g so i thought i would move him into Artemis's 5 g and move her into the 20g. The 5g is heavily planted and he wold be really happy in there instead of in the 20 whos plants are just starting to take off. This brings up the question of whether to have a sorority and get a few more females to live with her or whether to get a completely different species of fish to go with her.

If i went with the sorority how many females would be good in 20g? I was thinking 5. Also, is it best to add them 1 at a time and wait a week or so to let them get acquainted or is it best to add them all at once? or two at a time or something.

If i decided on a diff. species entirely what would be compatible with my female? she's pretty easy going, curious but not overly aggressive with things. Also how many of each would i get?

[Silverfang]

5 is the minimum number, however I'm not sure about how many to add at once. I added them at once, but I've got a 33gal. The danger with adding them one each week say, is that the first one will likely have increased aggression, since the new girls will be invading her territory.
The other issue is the plants. The girls need lots and lots of places to hide. Having plants to the surface will really help.

[phoenix91]

The tank looks like this:



Once the plants get to growing a bit more they should get pretty big. I had some val in there which was pretty tall but it went all melty.

[Silverfang]

I'd wait till they get taller, the girls need places to hide.

[Pitluvs]

If you are going to add one a week, you need to remove all females and change up the tank and add them back in every week. Adding once a week without chnaging the tanks allows them to stake out territories which makes it hard on the New girl to fit in. I would change the layout and take all the girls out every week, or I would all them all at once. You need enough places for each fish to claim/hide and plants tall enough to reach the top to block the line of sight. I have 4girls in my 10g and I can see why this is needed. Good luck!

[phoenix91]

So basically if i got tall plants and put Artemis in there by herself when i added the new females i'd have to rearrange the tank and add them all.

I only have a 5 g qt tank, that could be a bit of an issue.

[Pitluvs]

Could you buy a group of females from a breeder or a pet store with a sorority of females? You could take your female out, redo the tank with some more hiding spots and tall plants, add the New females and your current female and sit back and monitor them. Usually with sororities, you have to have a spare tank in case someone needs to be removed. It could be the bully or a female that's been harmed or bullied. I have 5 here and my smallest is NOT welcome in the bigger tank, so I have to give her a 1g and try again later.

[Silverfang]

I second buying a group of females from a breeder, if you get siblings or at least girls that have been raised together you have better odds.

[phoenix91]

hmm, i could look into it sure. The petstores around here all have bettas in cups but if i could find a breeder in the area i could do that. I'm not so sure i want to buy through aquabid, might end up a bit pricey and i'm budgeted.

I have a spare 5 g, it's used as a hospital tank if i need i, which unfortunately the past few days i have with my puffer :(

[Pitluvs]

If you plan on a sorority, I highly suggest having a spare tank for a permant home just in case. Keep your hospital tank in case you need to treat someone. Maybe you can find members in here that have an older spawn for cheap, you pay shipping? Auquabid can get costly, I payed $80 total for a $25 fish. I payed $65 for 4 from a local breeder. I have no idea how to work females in divided cups other than to add at once and watch for problems (chasing, nipping, fighting).