Female Bettas

[jessibell]

Well I took my guppies back to my LFS yesterday (saturday) after getting a little frusterated with them dying so frequently. Now I have an empty ten gallon that is established and I was thinking about getting 2 female bettas for it. Question is, will they peacefully live together, or do they have to be separated? The sources I've read online say yes and no. The LFS said I needed to get two Thoughts?

 

[Aquarium1]

With females they like to usually be in groups of 3+ from what I've read/heard.

 

[DragonFish71]

It's really down to the personality of the betta. An example: we had (she died in Jan) a blue crowntail female betta who was meaner than her male companion. She killed everything we put with her. Corys, otos, mystery snails, neon tetras. She hated neons so much she would actually stalk them and shake them like a ragdoll. She was moved to a 5.5 divided tank, her male on the other side, she would try to get to him through the divider.

Now, our other females, there are 3 in a tank together. It's a 20L divided into 3 sections, males at either end, females in the middle. They get along fine. There is 1 dominant female but for the most part, she only gets mean when it's feeding time.

One thing that worked well when we were adding them was I did a water change and moved around the decor when we added a new female. That kept the dominant one off guard and she couldn't establish a territory. When we added the second, I did the same thing, then again with the third. Females can be just as territorial as the males so changing around the decor throws off their territorial markers.

On the other hand, you might get some mellow females and won't have to do this. But again, it boils down to the fish.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I would be concerned about the deaths of the guppies... guppies, for the most part, are pretty hardy fish. One here and there is one thing, if you had them frequently dying, i would be looking for what was going on in the tank before adding more fish.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I would be concerned about the deaths of the guppies... guppies, for the most part, are pretty hardy fish. One here and there is one thing, if you had them frequently dying, i would be looking for what was going on in the tank before adding more fish.

+1 Anytime you have a fish die i would start looking at your parameters.

 

[jessibell]

I know with other animals that are territorial/agressive, it is best to have a larger group than a pair, for a pair will constantly fight where as a group will maintain a heirarchial caste system fairly peacefully. This seems to be the case with female bettas. I suppose I could try it and watch what they do, and if they seem to be too agressive, I could move one to a 1 gallon jug (a -palace compared to where they came from - I think it used to me a merchandising stand with 3"x4" little containers all stuck together in a rack.) The five gallon I have is not finished cycling.

I had added a ton of extra plants in preparation for this, as I hear Bettas like plants to hide in and feel safe.

 

[jessibell]

Btw the water parameters in this tank are perfect and have been so ever since I finished cycling it a year ago. I did have a fungus outbreak about a month ago but the melafix/pimafix nipped that in the bud right away. I think I was just getting shabby fish from the pet store. From what people have been telling me, guppies regularly die for no reason we can see - just some kind of invisible infection. So I am keeping the tank empty for a bit and treating it with the melafix/pimafix and hopefully that will do the trick. I also have the 1.5 gallon but the guppy fry are still in it. My mom's betta loves to eat them but I think they will grow quite large before he gets the chance to eat them all.

edit: Actually after talking to the lfs about it, I am suspecting that I had too many of them in that tank. When I had three guppies in the tank everything was fairly hunky dory, but when I added a couple more, that's when they started dying off. I'm hoping Bettas are a slightly hardier fish in that I don't have to replace them often, because it seems like every time I add a new fish, there in lies the problem.

I reaaaly don't want to have to break down the tank and re-cycle it (lol as opposed to "recycle" it) but that sounds like what I might have to resort to. To be on the safe side?

 

[dkpate]

You might have to do a little TLC on the ladies when you get them home, because they have been in less than ideal conditions, as you know. I am a sucker for the sick ones that I can heal.
Are you "feeding" the bacteria in your tank as you are medicating it?

 

[jessibell]

yes, I give the tank food every day just as if there were still fish in it.

I looked at the female bettas at the store and they *seem* healthy, although they are kept in VERY small quarters - ie something that appears to have been a merchandising display of some kind, with little rectangular tanks about 3 inches by four inches by 3 inches in size. The lfs did say that this is temporary quarters at least, but how often to people come in looking for female bettas? They could be in there for months.

If (um, when ) I do bring any bettas home, would giving them a few days on Melafix be a good precaution? It recommends on the bottle treating all new fish for three days.

 

[anna0219]

Well I am no fish expert, but I can give you a specific case-study style of an example when it comes to female bettas.

I had a male betta for a while and he died several weeks ago, so I replaced him with a new tank with a "betta sorority."

I have a 5.5 gallon, so I was limited to only three female bettas, but I had heard that getting two was considered dangerous because the hierarchy would be too concentrated.

So I bought three lovely girls and have had them for a few weeks now. People warned me that it totally depended on the temperment of the fish and I completely agree.

One of my bettas was picked on pretty mercilessly by the other two. They chased her constantly, and I eventually took her out and put her in an unused one-gallon bowl that I had.

Now I have a divider separating her from the other two. Contrary to what I've heard about pairs of female bettas, the other two get along just fine - one is definitely dominant and once in a while chases the other one off, but they are really doing well together.

I would say that nobody will be able to give you a definite answer. From my experience, female bettas are a double-edged sword - the more you have, the more balanced any bullying will be, but also the more likely you will get a "mean" fish.

But they are really fun fish with really distinct personalities - I'm already in love with my girls! So I would say if you want to give it a go, I would recommend maybe three or four female bettas in that 10-gallon tank and make sure you have the option of separating them if need be. Watch them closely at first (but do give them time to adjust) and you might be just fine!

 

[dkpate]

I wouldn't treat them unless you have to. They will have enough stress with the move and the new area they will be in.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Well I didnt want to start another thread so Ill tap into this one. I had (yes dk I HAD 3 females) I put them togeather in a community set up and the new one immediately killed (meaning overnight just about) the weakest one. I had a strange suspision that it was that one and then I came home last and...I had a betta lying on the gravel dead!! So this little turd killed my wifes betta and my betta in a matter of 2 days not to mention....one of my cherry barbs. Needless to say I took that turd back and got a beautiful deep blue female that looks exactly like the first female we had. I have noticed an immediate calm come back over the tank so i dont think ill be doing multiple female bettas anymore.

 

[dkpate]

And like I have said a million times, it depends on the betta.

 

[jessibell]

Well, I will be sure to be very careful if I get two - and maybe better just stick with one at the moment

 

[runninwoof]

i have 13 females in a 29g. its pretty well planted so they have places to hide, but even when they see eachother there is no fighting at all. i even have a lone black molly in there from a previous setup.

when i started the "sorority" there was some fighting, but i disapeared quickly. just my experience

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Like dk says its all in the betta so maybe if i decide to start a sorority tank i will do major decor so there are plenty of places.

 

[dkpate]

Wow Wolf! 13? That's AWESOME!!! 13 less bettas stuck on a shelf in little cups. That makes me very happy.

 

[anna0219]

Wow, I want thirteen too! Haha. That is really awesome. I bet they are all such pretty colors!

 

[corrado33]

Hey dk/wolf, from your experience, is there any way to see if you have an aggressive fish before putting the fish together?

If you had a female in a tank, and wanted to add two more, how could you do it SAFELY without endangering any fish?

I don't plan on doing this... now... but I would like to know for future reference.

 

[dkpate]

Well, there is really no way, but if I was going to buy a female betta for a sorority, I would pick the most docile one in the tub from the shelf. I chose one of my males for his attitude in the tub, and I would NEVER put him with any other fish haha, because he's quite the brat. I have one other one that I wouldn't put with any other fish, but the other 2 would be fine I believe because they are pretty laid back.
Also, try to see if you can get females that are the same size as the one you have, and rearrange the tank before you put them in so the one that is already in there will have to establish new territory.
Then pay CLOSE attention for a day or 2 and see how they interact with eachother.
Hope that helped and didn't just confuse you more LOL.