Betta being nippy

[mewhales]

Hi! I just start a new betta tank. It is a 13 gallon tank with three female bettas in there and they seem to be getting along. Although one of my bettas tend to chase or nip the other two and I'm not sure why she is doing that. any suggestions?

[Sena Hansler]

She is establishing dominance, and territory. Do you have lots of live and fake tall plants? Those will help to keep aggression down.

[emeraldsky]

Most sororities need 4 females as a minimum so it spreads out aggression. I would suggest getting another girl to add.

When adding her, make sure you take everyone out and rearrange the tank so new territories can be set up and the new girl wont look like she is "invading" the others space.

Also, for sororities, theres needs to be a LOT of cover. Not having enough hiding places can cause nipping as well.




Lastly, your girl may just not be a social fish. If the aggression keeps up she'll need a tank of her own


^^

[Sena Hansler]

^ +1

[tf1265]

Agreed, add at least 1 more. With a 13 gallon you could add 2 more, that will lessen the aggression further.

It sounds like you haven't done much research on sororities - I'm not saying this to chastise you, but they can be pretty complicated. The aggression is inevitable, which is why you want to have more female bettas to spread out the aggression.

I would recommend reading some existing threads on here about sororities so you can head off problems before they arise - because they probably will, with a sorority. The more you know, the better the environment you can give them.

[mewhales]

i have plenty of plants for them to hide so the other two bettas and hide from the nippy betta
the new bettas seem to get along so i have no problem with those two
it is just the nippy one im worried about

[Sena Hansler]

Did you get her with them? Are they siblings? I noticed my one female who was not a sibling bullied more than the four who were. I had to remove her. How did you introduce them?

[mewhales]

i did some research but that is a good suggestion

[mewhales]

i introduce them by placing the two bettas in a separate container and letting the container float there so the bettas can get use to each other

[mewhales]

i bought them at petco and i don't think they are siblings