Need advice from soritory folks.

It would disrupt the pecking order. Is she okay otherwise? Just shredded fins? What you can do to NOT disrupt the pecking order but pull her closer to the surface is get a mesh breeder's net. This way her scent, and the sight of her remains for the other 4. I'm guessing she is now the lowest ranking hey?Minny is too, and she tends to be slipping around here and there at the bottom :lol: half the time I never know where she is!

How "full" is your tank? By that I mean how much have you stuffed it with plants? That'll help too with aggression

Thank you so much for the quick reply...... but I'm afraid its too late. I didn't realize that she died- It must have been last night. I think the others picked on her to death. *Is shaken* She's my first betta to die. RIP Ember. <3

Thank you so much for the quick reply. <3

*Deep breath* I'm going to go ahead and do a 50% water change, but is there anything else I should do because she died in there? I'll also get more plants next time I'm out and about- there's plenty in there, but more can always be added, and I want to avoid having this happen again if at all possible.

50% change is good. If it was just from the picking, you're fine. But I would do a water test, check parameters, and watch the other fish for signs of illness. There's no point to QT as the whole tank has been exposed, just be ready for something sinister.

If you're going to get more girls, you need to do it carefully. First off, get more plants and another girl at the same time. Remove all of your girls and rearrange the plants/decor. Add all the girls at once, including the new one, so they add her into a new pecking order and she's not left at the bottom.

Well, there's still four girls so I think I'll leave them at that number, since they seem to get along pretty well. I'll be ready and watching for any sinisterness, but hopefully it was just that Ember got on the wrong side of a few of the girls too many times. I'll be sure to do a water test and am starting on water changes now. Thank you for the advice.

It's okay, it happens. When you have a sorority, that is an outcome you have to brace yourself for :-( My little Rose, who really didn't want alpha (obviously) was beaten, and she suffered organ damage and died with dropsy later on! It sucks.

I'm sorry your girl died... I think it would be good just to leave it at 4

It happens, but dont let it shake you. It does suck when you lose girls, i lost half my sorority just recently. two within a month =/ so now i have three, but they are doing fine, you will come to find little nips here and there but if their order is established and stays like that you should be fine, what i do when i see nipped fins is i add alil stress coat to the tank as well as some clean water.

Thanks guys, I'm better now. :] My mom and I just buried her, and the others are swimming around happily. (Lil boogers. x])