[toryani]

Hi there. So my male betta passed away about 2 weeks ago. Im pretty sure he had a parasite and i didn’t catch it til it was too late. This time i wanted to try out a sorority of females. i bought 3 female bettas, one of which seemed a bit older and was bullying the other two. (She was larger and had algae in the cup i bought her in so am assuming she must’ve been there a bit longer.) anyways, i removed her and put her in a 3 gallon I use for a medical tank. I know this is too small for her, but i am going to wait til the other two are a bit bigger and have established territories with each other before adding her back in. Anyways. My tank is 10 gallons. I thought this would be enough space for 3 because as i was doing some research I found that you can house 3-4 in a 10 gallon. However part of me feels this must be too small for them. Im adding live plants so they can hide from each other because i honestly hadn’t thought this through before buying them, as much as I hate to admit. Anyways, I wanted to make sure 10 gallons is safe for 3 female bettas. The two younger ones that are currently in the tank fin nip and chase each other around quite a bit. They eat together fine though. I read that this is normal for them to establish their places within the community, but i do worry still. I would like to know how to handle a sorority, and if anyone could guide me through this so that my fish will be safe, healthy, and live peacefully together. If i need to return one I’d like to know soon preferably as i cannot afford to buy a larger tank as they are pretty expensive past 10 gallons I’ve found, I can attach some photos of their current appearances as well if needed. I only bought them about a week ago though so I’m not sure how long this process of them establishing their place in the community will take. Thanks!!

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You could check to see if/when PetCo is having its sale. Used to be $1 per gallon for 20 gallons. You want long; not tall.

A three-gallon is not too small for a single Betta if it is filtered, heated and maintained.

 

[toryani]

You could check to see if/when PetCo is having its sale. Used to be $1 per gallon for 20 gallons. You want long; not tall.

A three-gallon is not too small for a single Betta if it is filtered, heated and maintained.

i didnt even know petco did sales like that! Thank you. And yes her tank is filtered and heated, thank you for letting me know that.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You know, you could get a tank divider with one female on each side and the third girl in the three gallon. Just a thought. Then when you can set up at least 20 gallon you could try again or set it up with one female and make it a community tank..

I'm not anti-sorority but both male and female Bettas do best as the only Betta in a tank. Less stress, less friction and better health.

 

[toryani]

You know, you could get a tank divider with one female on each side and the third girl in the three gallon. Just a thought. Then when you can set up at least 20 gallon you could try again or set it up with one female and make it a community tank..

I'm not anti-sorority but both male and female Bettas do best as the only Betta in a tank. Less stress, less friction and better health.

Ah, Okay. Im going to watch it for a few more days and if it doesn't work out i'll get one.

 

[XDbetta]

You should probably get one now as betta deaths can happen overnight and you don’t want to risk that imo.