Betta Sorority

[Ravenstar]

So I've decided that I'd like a sisterhood of bettas for my incoming 15G tank. Now, I've really only ever had males, and the internet isn't giving me many answers about sororities.

Does the standard "inch per gallon" rule apply here, or should I be generous so the girls have a little extra space to run and hide in?

I hear that odd numbers are best. With 5 girls, would there still be room for anything else? I was pondering some bottomfeeders like cories or loaches, if the loaches don't get too big. Or snails. Opinions?

How long do sororities typically take to establish a pecking order? Hours? Days? Weeks?

If anyone has information, I'd really appreciate your input!

 

[Ravenstar]

Well, I never got any replies to this thread, so I figured I'd pioneer a bit. I set up my girls' tank yesterday, went through everything (rinsing gravel/decorations, getting the filter up and running, etc) and acclimated them all very carefully. There are 5 of them, and they're quite lovely. I'm a little worried though, as they're still sorting out a pecking order. I have two crowntails, and the bigger of the two was duking it out with a "normal finned" one for a while last night. I woke up this morning to (thankfully) no fatalities or major injuries, which gives me hope. However, Phoebe (the aforementioned CT) has some pretty good nips in her beautiful fins, and she's showing signs of swim bladder...they were only fed for the first time about an hour ago, so I know it's not constipation. Once she's less stressed, do you think it will go away?

Oh, and what do you guys know about stripes on bettas? I've heard that vertical stripes indicate stress, and horizontal are...not-stress?

 

[DclownD]

Sweet post some pics hehe

ps dunno what will get along with betas well but bioload wise you could add more stuff i think its what 10" of fish so rule of thumb you could do 5" more but i would let the betas kinda cycle the tank unless you cycled it already somehow

 

[homebunnyj]

I wouldn't add anything more, or at most a couple of oto's later on.

Is the tank cycled?

Do you have lots of plants in it? You need to have bunches of plants to give them plenty of places to find a bit of solitude. Otherwise the alpha female will likely nip the rest of them mercilessly.

Also, you're absolutely sure they're all females, no male plakats by mistake? (no full gill beards) This can happen sometimes, but since they're all still alive, it probably isn't an issue in this case.

 

[Ravenstar]

The only one I'd even suspect as being not-female would be Phoebe, since she's substantially larger than the others and has a solid flare. I looked, though, and the pattern of the fins really looks female, so I just don't know.

I'm going to my LFS tomorrow, I'll see if I can't find more plants. The tank is a 15G, but it's tall, as if you turned a normal 15G on one end and had a tank that way. I'm hoping it won't be too difficult for the girls, since it is awfully tall for bettas and I don't know if feeding will go any better. Some of them didn't notice any food was dropped in...

The tank is not cycled, however I've got filter media from a cycled tank in the new filter. I just don't know how long it will take for everything to latch on in the new filter.

 

[Ravenstar]

Well I got another plant from my LFS yesterday, a sort of hanging plant that suctions onto the side of the tank. After the addition, the girls seem a bit calmer. Phoebe was getting picked on incessantly, I don't know if it's because she was showing signs of swim bladder and was an easy target or because she's a crowntail with double rays and the other girls are jealous... But this morning, the jungle is a bit calmer. Phoebe isn't showing SBD unless she gets stressed from feeding time (when there are a fair number of fin nips) or when Cassiopeia is picking on her.

It's been fun trying to guess who would be alpha betta (har har). At first I was convinced that it would be a duel between Andromeda and Phoebe, followed by Polaris then Luna then Cassie. I was shocked (and amused) when Cassie started bullying everyone to prove her dominance! Not too far off from her namesake I suppose. She and Phoebe went at it for a while, but for the most part I think Cassie is top fish, followed by Phoebe, Andy, Polaris, then Luna. Poor Luna is so small too!

So now that the girls are settling down, I'm pondering adding some friends to the tank. I don't know if I should go with cories (which would require at least 3, putting me an inch over the "in/gal" rule), a few khuli loaches, snails, or what. I've heard horror stories of snails overrunning tanks, but I don't know if that's a different kind of snail from ones that don't already come on plants. At least if I go with cories, I think having 16" of fish in a 15G would be okay as long as I cleaned the tank religiously...

Pics coming soon!

 

[sheamurai]

Hey how's your sorority doing? All is still well with your bettas?

 

[littletankbigworld]

Oooh...sounds like a beautiful tank! I'd love to see some pictures.

 

[Ravenstar]

Well I'm currently abroad, but I found all my camera stuff so I'll take pics when I get home in a few days. :3

The tank is doing pretty well so far, the girls have fallen into order and Phoebe's tail fins are growing back nicely. I'm a little worried about her health though, as she's a floater/seems to have a swim bladder issue. I'm hoping it'll sort out, but it's likely that I'll remover her from the sorority tank so she can have her own space. I thought about trying to take her back to Petco, but she's just so pretty! She has double rays and everything. So once I get the big 29G set up, I'll move her into Io's little 2.5G. And then I can still have good use of all my fish stuff! And once all the moving around is done, I'll have room for some cories.

 

[sheamurai]

Not sure if you found the answer on your own by now or not, but with regards to stripes - what I've read - and seen on my own male betta - is that horizontal stripes on a male or female are signs stress/fear/submission, and that vertical stripes are signs of readiness to breed in the female.
Betta Listserv - Frequently Asked Questions

 

[Ravenstar]

Pictures!

The tank is up and running, and the girls seem to be doing great! Now that things are going well, I'm pondering a few cories for the bottom areas, but I'm still a little uncertain, given the lack of lateral swimming space.

Pictures!

I'm surprised I actually got the girls all together for some of them.