Starting a sorority

[KKAY27]

Hey everyone I redone my planted 29 g and I want to start a female betta sorority! My tank is moderately planted not heavily but in between! I have 2 ottos in and I purchased 2 half-moon females last night! I introduced them and they seem to be doing great! No fighting or anything! They swim by each other and then go about there business! I was wondering how many I could have in a sorority in a 29g or any other tank mates that could go with them ! And any advice would be great! I love them already I feed them some blood worms and they loved them!!!

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[henningc]

Enjoy them and add a few more if you like. Mine are raised in large groups and they are docile as can be.

Best of luck and happy holidays

 

[RackinRocky]

Most female bettas will do well with each other in a big enough tank. That seems to be a big factor. When I tried a sorority in a 20 gallon, I had some problems. One would usually end up being a bully. But when I got a 55 gallon tank, I had very few problems. The worst would be that certain more dominant females would "claim" a territory and keep submissive ones away from that area, but not bother them in other areas. I did have some nipped fins because of this. Occasionally, you will run across one that will be more aggressive than usual, and with these fish, I've ended up taking them back to the store. But I've only had to do that twice, and I've had sororities for several years now.

You do, however, need more than two in most cases. They seem to do better in larger groups of five or more. Five should do alright in your 29 gallon. They also seem to get along great with most other non aggressive fish. Go slowly though, to make sure they are going to get along. Are they babies? Babies almost always get along. It's when they start reaching sexual maturity that you might start spotting a bully or even two. I once had nine in my 55 with no problems. They are so much fun, and so friendly. Be careful with the bloodworms. Female bettas bloat easily, so I would only give bloodworms no more often than once a week, and even then, in small amounts. Vary the diet as much as possible.

 

[KKAY27]

Most female bettas will do well with each other in a big enough tank. That seems to be a big factor. When I tried a sorority in a 20 gallon, I had some problems. One would usually end up being a bully. But when I got a 55 gallon tank, I had very few problems. The worst would be that certain more dominant females would "claim" a territory and keep submissive ones away from that area, but not bother them in other areas. I did have some nipped fins because of this. Occasionally, you will run across one that will be more aggressive than usual, and with these fish, I've ended up taking them back to the store. But I've only had to do that twice, and I've had sororities for several years now.

You do, however, need more than two in most cases. They seem to do better in larger groups of five or more. Five should do alright in your 29 gallon. They also seem to get along great with most other non aggressive fish. Go slowly though, to make sure they are going to get along. Are they babies? Babies almost always get along. It's when they start reaching sexual maturity that you might start spotting a bully or even two. I once had nine in my 55 with no problems. They are so much fun, and so friendly. Be careful with the bloodworms. Female bettas bloat easily, so I would only give bloodworms no more often than once a week, and even then, in small amounts. Vary the diet as much as possible.

Thank you for all the wonderful advice!! They are pretty big so I don't think they are babies! But I plan on adding a few more to make it 5 but slowly! Thank you for telling me about the blood worms to!! I didn't know that lucky I only feed the blood worms every once and a while! I have various types of frozen foods and pellets and things that I will mix up on different days! It is really interesting I'm beginning to really like my sorority ?

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[Eggheadfish]

I usually keep 1 betta female per 3-5 gallons. It's better to introduce them all together so they can establish a pecking order and stake out territory. With fish that are highly territorial most times if you put a new guy or gal in they get the snot beat out of them. Monitor for aggression and remove fish as needed. It's cool to see people keeping sororities, doesn't seem as commonplace
Good luck!

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

It's best to introduce them all at the same time, so I'd go and buy 3-5 more then rearrange your tank anyway you want or add more deco. So that they can all establish new territories, and in a week you can put it back the way you like it.