Can you gradually add females to a sorority?

689 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by vilmarisv, Mar 14, 2012

Ianthe

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2012

Can you gradually add females to a sorority tank, or do they all need to go in at the same time? I have had lots of boys, but never girls,and we have a spare very well planted ten gallon that I am thinking about turning into a sorority. Right now the only residents are 2 small cory cats and a mickey mouse platy.

1. Will the platy be ok, or should I move her?

2. How many females to a well planted 10 gallon?

3. I would prefer to start off with maybe 3 or 4 females and then add 1 or 2 down the line (as I see some I need/want/can't resist)... is this doable or do you need to start with all residents at the same time?

Thanks!

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LugiaChan

· #2 · Mar 13, 2012

I'm wishing for updates in this thread too- I may be doing the same thing. Please comment/quote me for updates

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lvandert

· #3 · Mar 13, 2012

**thread stalking**

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MaisyDawgThirteen

· #4 · Mar 13, 2012

In a 10 gallon sorority you could have 5 or 6 girlies and no other fish. The bio-load would not allow for there to be more. I'd get 3 more cories and a 2 more platies as cories are schooling fish and platies like to be in groups.

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Ianthe

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 13, 2012

We really want to do a sorority, so I will probably just move the other fish if they can't go together

Anyone have input on adding girlies slowly?

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chrissylee13

· #6 · Mar 13, 2012

well i don't know from experience but i've read a lot of threads where some people have had success with adding girls slowly. although there have been some where people have had no luck with it and had to redo their entire tank just to introduce another female. the ones that i've read to have success are that they usually get the other girls to one corner of the tank with food then release the new girl on the opposite side. but i'm sure it all depends on the fish and tank size as well. sooooo it's pretty much a hit or miss i think. i'm pretty positive once i start my sorority i'll probably introduce my females all in the same day either by aggression order or all at once some how. not sure though.

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chrissylee13

· #7 · Mar 13, 2012

oh and i've also read in some threads in other forums that people have had up to 9 or so females in a 10 gal tank. i know it's not suggested because of the bio load but i'm sure these people did special cleaning on these tanks. probably had a more powerful filter too. but personally i probably wouldn't go that many in a 10 gal.

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Ianthe

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 13, 2012

Thanks! As far as redoing the tank, does that just mean rearrange all plants and decorations? Or do you have to totally dismantle it?

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chrissylee13

· #9 · Mar 13, 2012

oh i mean rearranging the plants and decorations. this is because you'd be putting them back into a whole different setting with different territories. so that they can reestablish them so that way the new females can too and they aren't invading anyone else's.

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Pitluvs

· #10 · Mar 13, 2012

I've added 3 Bettas to a 10g, then added another female, and another female a week apart. I did this because I got my 3 girls from a breeder and had to wait for new Bettas at the pet store. What I did was add the 3 girls, and bought my other two and had them in 1g tanks. After a week, I added one healthy girl after changing all the plants and such. Then a week later I added the other healthy girl after changing everything. It worked well for me, but every fish is different. I wouldn't leave small numbers in the tank for long, because aggression can build up and they can start fighting with each other. The reason we say 5-6 is to space the aggression out so while one hides and rest, another gets picked on lol

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LittleBettaFish

· #11 · Mar 13, 2012

I'm always adding new females to both of my sororities. I have only ever had issues with a couple mature females that took exception to each other, otherwise I have never seen any overt signs of aggression towards the newcomers.

I always feed my other females first, and then just empty out the newcomer at the opposite end.

I've had 11 females in a heavily planted 10 gallon tank and was fine. The amount of plants I had served both as a living filter, but also provided enough space and cover for my females.

If you want to include your platy and cory cats, I would recommend up-sizing to a 15-20 gallon. You also really need to increase the number of corydoras to 6, as they are a shoaling fish by nature, and do best in larger numbers.

For the average betta keeper, a maximum of 5-6 females in a 10 gallon is usually advisable.

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cp6445

· #12 · Mar 14, 2012

6 in a 10gal (with no other fish) has worked well for me. I just set this up a week ago. I had 2 together for 24 hours (not recommended, but mine were fine), then when I got my other 4, I put them in the tank floating in their cups first- I'm not sure this is recommended but it did help me determine who was going to be most aggressive. I introduced 2 at a time over the course of the day, the most aggressive last. I did have to remove 2 briefly, one that got nipped and the nipper- but I was able to put them both back in the next morning.

They were nippy for about 48 hr total but since then have been happy- now instead of fighting they gang up against me with their little faces all together pressed to the side of the aquarium constantly begging for food.

There is a good sticky on this forum re: betta sororities.

Also, one thing for sure with mine was they needed constant supervision for the first 2 days, so I would only set it up when you have a some time to supervise- I would actually have to physically break up a couple of nips gently with my finger, which may be frowned upon by the forum, but it worked

good luck!

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vilmarisv

· #13 · Mar 14, 2012

I added 2 to my sorority about 2 weeks ago and to this day they have not been nipped.
I used one of those plastic breeding containers that have 2 compartments to float them in the tank. I think they were there for 4 or 5 days, not sure but they were flaring like mad at first because they had been living without seeing any other fish for a while. I was particularly worried about how dominant the largest female was going to be because she had been living in a 2.5gal by herself for months but she adjusted very well.

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