Hi!

For sororities, it's recommended to have a minimum of 4 fish for a reason haha. When female bettas cohabitate, they create a pecking order like any schooling fish does. This pecking order consists of an Alpha, Beta, other school members, and occasionally an "omega" (often a fish with a defect of some sort that is being singled out unnaturally). The reason the minimum number is 4 is because that's the minimum number required to have a fully functioning pecking order. With only 2 fish, the more dominant of the two always feels threatened and will constantly attack the less dominant of the 2 on sight. With 3 fish, the alpha remains unbothered while the beta beats down the third, least dominant fish. In a group of 4, your alpha remains unbothered and occasionally pecks at others and your beta is able to spread the aggression between the remaining two fish and will be less aggressive in general because your remaining two fish will occasionally peck at each other as well, fighting for the third most dominant position. This allows a more clear social dynamic and thus less confusion and stress between fish, leading to less aggression. The larger the group, the less aggression any one fish is being subjected to, lowering the stress on each fish in the school and increasing their overall wellbeing. With bettas being bettas, a larger group of course does not guarantee success in a sorority like it would in fish that school naturally. Female bettas schooling in the wild is often a matter of circumstance, not choice. The schools are a temporary means of survival, so many sororities eventually fail when the females fail to tolerate each other anymore. The only reason your girls are coexisting semi-successfully right now is because they have enough tank space to live their lives separately 90% of the time.

Fish social dynamic lesson over! Sorry for the essay lol!

For your options, the least stressful and most likely to be successful of your options is getting a tank divider- the kind that has holes in it to allow water flow. This would allow both ladies to live completely separately without having to see each other, as you probably know. You could even get a different schooling fish for the side the ember tetras don't go on. I would definitely go with this option if you're not absolutely confident in your ability to run a sorority. Sororities are very stressful and often fail or have issues, and that's on top of the first few weeks the bettas spend being aggressive to establish a pecking order, which need to be closely monitored and can be very stressful to deal with. I assume you would feel terrible having to return one of your girls, so I would cross that option out unless absolutely necessary!

My advice should be taken with a grain of salt, as I am not very experienced in sorority-keeping. I'd wait for someone more qualified to respond, but this is my opinion on the matter! Good luck with your girls, whatever choice you make!!

 

I have see alot of people on here mention a black divider (woth holes) to reduce visibility to each other, even more.

 

Well, the problem can be solved very easily! Get 18 more fish! The more you over crowd the aquarium, the less aggression happens! They will even make their own little groups! It's recommended to put one female betta fish for every 2 gallons. Or, later in the future, put one male and four females in there and get some breeding going on!

 

So now both ladies are in separate pond baskets (https://www.lowes.com/pd/smartpond-Aquatic-Plant-Basket/1000862960) that I clipped onto the ends of the tank. Now I have to figure out a prettier long term solution.
I really like the idea of trying a sorority, but I don't want a bunch of little tanks if things go sideways so for now I'm just going to separate them. I have some plexiglass sheets left over from a project, I'm thinking of making slots for water/little critters to go through (https://www.bettafish.com/threads/divider-hole-size.90108/post-955163). I assume at least the smaller cherry shrimp would go through a .75 cm hole. Ideally, I'd like the embers to be able to cross, too, but I don't know how realistic it is to think they would. Maybe with a slit that's taller than it is wide? I think I'll have to split the Otocinclus, but I'll play around and see what happens. I'm thinking of splitting the tank into three sections so I can block line of sight while maintaining a transparent divider. Thoughts? That also gives me a backup in case someone finagles her way through the holes.
If I decide to go full sorority later, is it possible with adults or am I more realistically looking at waiting until Rose and Bluebell have passed away? Can I get a sorority sized batch later, put them in all at once with the current two able to see but not touch them, then open it up with supervision? What would be the minimum number that's reasonably likely to expect to work in a sorority- I've seen anything from 5 to whatever makes the tank overcrowded. Is it tank-size specific? Am I any better off getting females who are already living together (the store I got them from usually has anywhere from 8-10 in their plant tank, usually all adults) or getting babies (probably from Petco or similar)?
So many questions, sorry... I appreciate everyone's help!

 

Alright, firstly, a tank with a divider is good, but not very pretty. The minimum size for a tank for a sorority is a 29 gallon, but bigger is appreciated. The best rule to follow is one fish for every two gallons, and that confuses betta fish who want to be top, so they don't even try because who wants to fight at least 14 people for dominance? Anyway, don't feel sorry for asking questions! I don't mind at all, and @JackTheCaptain won't mind at all either! And don't follow Petco, I've been watching their sorority in my local area, and all of the fish died because they didn't want to quarantine the one sick betta. Oh, and siblings lower the chances of fighting. And be careful raising babies, because the might fight because one will grow faster and become queen. And will expect to be treated like queen.
The tank split in three sounds like a good option with no risk, so I would go with that for a while and see how you like it. Or get a Giant Betta and see how it will become in charge of you 😆 . If you have anymore questions, I would like them set out like this:
#1
#2
#3
So I can see the questions easier. Thanks for loving betta fish!

 

As Galaxy Scale said, there are several ways you can run a sorority!

If you buy from a store that already has bettas cohabbing, that is probably your best option in terms of creating an adult sorority. You probably know more about the bettas' behavior and how they're treated in that store, so if they look healthy together and don't seem to be expressing problematic behavior, it may be worth just clearing out the tank and bringing that established school home haha. I'm unsure how the school would react to your girls or the new tank, though, so it's probably best to just keep your two girls in the tank as is or create your divider system to be safe.

As for babies, they're much harder (but behaviorally safer) to start a sorority with just due to natural defenses they have in place to weed out competition. When growing babies in the same tank, especially in groups, you need to do more frequent water changes because they release hormones into the water that stunt other bettas' (and even sometimes their own) growth. As Galaxy also said, you would need to be careful to try to feed every baby the same amount, as one growing faster than the rest could result in a bully. In the end, unless you're up for the challenge and don't mind taking intensive care of a group of baby fish, I wouldn't go the baby route. It's safer to just buy young-ish bettas and introduce them using clear dividers/isolation boxes.

 

I agree.

 

Update - I set up the dividers but didn't like the way it looked, so I decided to risk it and got five more females to set up as a sorority in the center. I had the two existing females in their sections at the ends and the new females floating in cups next to each other. One of the new females was so aggressively attacking the walls of the cup that I decided to return her. The rest were acting okay so after two days I let them out together. I'd planned on giving both the older girls a couple of days to see-no-touch, but Blueberry was so non-chalant about the new females that I decided to let her into the main tank. After a day, Rose seemed to be over her interest as well. I let her into the main tank and after a few failed charges and a few days of intermittent displays to each other, everyone seems to have settled in.
A few remaining questions:
1. I'm leaving one of the dividers in for now in case things go sideways. If everyone seems settled after a week or so, is it safe to pull it out and trust they've mostly settled down? (I would, of course, keep checking for signs of stress, torn fins, etc)
2. To reduce the risk of food related aggression, I've been feeding each Betta individually in the cups and then returning them to the tank. I like the idea of being able to inspect them a little more closely and ensure everyone is eating well, but I worry that it might be stressful (though they don't spook away from the cups, so maybe it isn't) and it is rather time consuming. Is it worth continuing to pull them out daily or does am I risking their well-being by interfering so much?
Thanks again for all your help!

 

Sounds good, and if they calm down (I'd give an extra week) I would try it out.

 

I'm glad your new sorority is going well so far! I would try to feed them together. You can spread food out across the surface of the water to make sure everyone has their own space and gets enough food. The introduction of communal feeding will likely cause aggression at first, but they will eventually develop a pecking order and everyone will get their share. If feeding together doesn't work, your cup solution, though more tedious, will be fine!

I agree with Galaxy Scale: leave the divider in for another week just in case, then remove it. Worst case scenario, you need to separate them and use their cups temporarily.

Hopefully things keep going well!!

 

Sorry, this may sound different to all opinions given.

1. Some are instinctively more aggressive than others. Aggressive characters in one batch can be very different.

2. Any stress will induce aggression, regardless of siblings or groups living in one tank. If they are stressed in any way, they may begin to show aggression.

3. New environment may induce aggression as they will instinctively create a pecking order. Any new "real estate" (lets say a new floating leaf) may cause aggression. Hence try not to rearrange your tank too much/often

4. Blocked sight may prolong aggression. Constant sight will eventually (most bettas) make them uninterested and calm down.
# Down side; some may get hurt during the pecking order process. You must be ready for any signs of illnesses, especially on the alpha as subordinates will attempt to take over ( more aggression)

### There is NO fool proof method in keeping soroities. Any changes, stress, or illnesses may tip the balance. Better living conditions (compared to fish store) may make them more (sorry for poor choice of wording) comfortable and want to breed - which in turn causes aggression.

### I suggest feeding them together. Though some may eat more, it's less stressful and easier on your part. The only time consuming part would be feeding the more timid ones. Careful not to let greedy ones over eat as it will eventually cause health issues.