# 14g sorority with story an pics



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

Heres my new 14g sorority

i have 5 ghost shrimp,some mts, some pond snails andsome assasin snails in it since before i got the females..

heres the story on the girls, i started with 5 females.. 2 veiltales from petsmart,they were on sale for 1 dollar each.. then i went to petco to check out the fish there the same night and i got 3 crown tails for 4 dollars each..

1 red vt
1 black/blue vt
1 light blue ct
1 cambodian ct
1 blue/red ct

so home i went and i added the 5 girls... they were all same size except for 1 red veiltale almost half the size bigger than the others.. from the start one of the crowntails was swimming slow and very shy and seemed very weak or maybe even sick.. i watched them for an hour.the big vt chased everyone except the small cambodian ct,the cambodian seemed to be shy and no one bothered her.. 

the big vt seems to hate blue fish and chased the blue ct alot..


the next day i woke to find the weak blue vt dead with her belly eaten away,so i removed her and did a 50 percent water change and i cupped the big red vt.this left me with 3 females in the tank and the bully floating.
the next day i noticed white spots. so i treated the 3 females for ich, it seems to be gone so i added them all back in and the big one still bullied even after 4-5 days cupped. ill be returning her..

the remaning 3 females get along ok for the most part these last 2 days, a little chasing,there was some nipping but thats mostly stopped now,the chasing is slow chasing now,more like just pushign someone away from their turf,they dont dart all over the tank like they did when the big vt chased and nipped them.. so for now the 3 females living relatively good together,ill get 2 more females tonight or tomorro

heres a chase










i cant get a good pic of my vt in there as she stays up top in the frogsbit all the time


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

heres the sorority


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

heres the bad female im returning

shame to return her,shes beautifull and very active and i really like the fish but i have no tank to put her into seperately


----------



## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I think you need taller plants, and a lot of them. Their line of sight needs to be broken up and they spend a lot of time near the top. I'm sure the floating plants can help, but if they're swimming under them, they can see every other fish in the tank. That was probably the reason for all the chasing.


----------



## underdebate (Jan 26, 2012)

Yeah, sometimes just stocking up a tank ridiculously with plants can be a HUGE help. This is what my sorority looks like, as of a re-aquascaping two nights ago:










It's not pretty and perfectly aesthetically-balanced-- actually it kind of looks like I just threw plants in there and hoped they wouldn't die-- but the girls love it. The tank is a fifteen gallon and only houses four girls, which gets a little risky, but because it's so spacious and well-planted I have zero problems with fighting.

(Pardon the girl in the corner, she's a recent adoption and I'm literally in the middle of getting her tank set up. The other girls don't seem to mind her chilling there for a bit.)


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

im all out of plants for now,thats all i could afford so for now it will have to do. hopefully they can all get along good enough untill i can get more taller plants in a couple months time,ill keep updated if anything happens, i started out with cheap pet store fish as this is my first sorrority and if i do unfortunately happen to lose a female or 2 at least i wont be out of pocket too much.its all learning as i go


hopefully tonight i can get to petco/petsmart to buy 2 more girls,with 5 in there total i should have better success than just leaving 3 in there.. hopefully i get peacefull fish.ill report back with pics and info when i add the new girls


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I'm watching your trials with "baited breath" (pun very much intended!!)
I have 2 petco females together in a 5 gal. They just started fighting a few days ago after months of perfect peace. Since people on this thread told me that trouble was on the horizon, I got a great deal on a 29-gallon. I started cycling it with plants/rocks from the 2 girls tank, plus water treatment foe heavy metals, chlorine, etc. After a week with great test results, I added 5 albino cory cats (canaries for my coal mine). One died within 24 hours. I returned the fish and bought 2 more- they are zipping around like crazy! This morning I awoke to a white patch on one girl's head (Gilly) and "Angel" (her tankmate) was chasing her around for the first time ever! I immediately tossed Angel into the 29 gal and started wound treatment on Gilly.
I've planned my sorority very carefully: I went on Aquabid and bought 6 females, carefully choosing the colors: I have a pineapple (!), a denim blue color, a white one, a "fancy" multicolored, one an orange and pale blue mix, and a solid blue "Dumbo" girl. I want them shipped from Thailand Monday and Express shipped from the US shipper overnight. My reasoning is that (hopefully) all the fish will have been used to being housed in close quarters, and will have had less stress than Petco fish. Many on this site "rescue" bettas from cups (that have been sitting around for weeks) but doesn't this just encourage Petco? If I chose 6 females from petco, chances are 1/2 will die quickly (I've purchased 4 females from Petco and 2 died within 2 days; I'm left with the 2 I have). Hopefully, by submitting my girls to one huge transition instead of 2 or 3, they'll be healthier...
Stay tuned! I guess I'll get my girls Wed. or Thurs.-:BIGnervous:


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

Hopefully you have good luck with them girls , I bet they cost you a few quid with all that shipping and everything.. 2 girls in a 5 gal was always gonna be risky, they will live your 29 now..


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

Update..... I went to petco last night . Got a beautiful bright red veil take female. She looks healthy so after two hours floating I introduced her, my dominant crown tail swam around her for maybe 5 mind flaring at her but they both stood their ground and then swam away without a chase or a bite. I've watched them thus morning for half hour and all was peacefull even during feeding . I think they have accepted her , ill keep my eye on them closely over the next week.. She's the same size as the other three do maybe that helps, the fish I returned to petsmart was much bigger and I think Maine that why it was a bully, ill add pics of the new girl soon,


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I cost me a bundle! But compared to the stress of buying 6 girls from Petco only for them to keep dying- then having to return them (then the stock is more picked over) only to have another die... well, this may be a disaster, too. I just can't handle falling in love with a fish in the store only to find it is sick/dead a day or two later. (Plus, I can't leave Petco/Petsmart with "only" a fish! I have to buy a plant, an additive, frozen food, food for my cat $$$)


----------



## fishy314 (Nov 8, 2012)

are you gonna put more girls in it?


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

To which of us is that question directed?
I'm thinking of "rehoming" my mystery snails so there will be less of a bioload on my fish. I wish I could get plain ol' pond snails. When they breed, the eggs/baby snails make a nice betta snack. Even mystery snail feelers make a betta snack, too :0(


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

fishy314 said:


> are you gonna put more girls in it?


4 girls in my tank right now,i was hoping for a fifth when i bought my fourth girl but i couldnt find any that looked the right size or healthy enough or had colours i was lookin for..

80 percent of the females in petco/petsmart seem to be cambodians,i allready have 1 so i did not get any more of them..

i might get a fifth girlin the coming week or two if i spot any nice ones,im keeping my eye on the classifieds section here hoping to find cheap females but its expensive for them when you factor in the shipping,much easier and cost effective to get a 1-3 dollar fish at petco.i figure ill get more tanks in future when im in a bigger house and then ill have more knowledge and can stock it with beautifull half moons from breeders..


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

little update

day 11 of my sorrority and all is good in the tank, a couple of fins were nipped but havent seen any new nips in 3 days or so,they dont really even chase each other any more, the blue ct alpha might chase one aay if they get too close but she doesnt chase all over the tank,she will just dart at them about an inch in distance then everything is cool again..

lookin good.ill update when anything happens


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

little update,with pic of the new red veil tale i had added last into my tank.. regular little vt nothing special but very shy and a great addition to the sorrority


----------



## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

I have a very docile little red girl too in my sorority! I got 8 of my girls at Petco and the other one at Petsmart. They've all been in there for almost a month now and are getting along swimmingly. I only noticed one real fin nip and that is healed now. There's a bunch of photos of my girls/tank in my albums.  Good luck with yours, it's a beautiful tank!


----------



## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

Juicebox- is your 14g from Petco??


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

yes 14g aqueon kit i got a while back for about 70 bucks i believe.came with heater,filter hood and food,not a bad tank..


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

carbonxxkidd said:


> I have a very docile little red girl too in my sorority! I got 8 of my girls at Petco and the other one at Petsmart. They've all been in there for almost a month now and are getting along swimmingly. I only noticed one real fin nip and that is healed now. There's a bunch of photos of my girls/tank in my albums.  Good luck with yours, it's a beautiful tank!



thank u, i like yours too.. good luck with your little beauties!


----------



## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

Juicebox said:


> yes 14g aqueon kit i got a while back for about 70 bucks i believe.came with heater,filter hood and food,not a bad tank..


 
Alright thank you! I was looking at this the other day at Petco and it got me interested


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

sadly my cambodian female passed away today..

for the past week she had been keeping to herself and hiding amongst rocks at the bottom of the tank,she wasnt eating during feedings,she was scavaging off the bottom of the floor every now and then.. yesterday i found her on her side at the bottom of the tank,the ghost shrimp were picking at her and she had red patches on her sides..

i took her out and floated her in a cup with some salt and extra stress coat,i put a little food in the cup,she was barely moving,found her dead today..

i guess she was not cut out for sorrority life  now im down to 3 females again,goin to try pick out a new one over the next week if i can find any decent ones at petco/petsmart..


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I'm so sorry!!!
I lost 3 fish, I am down from 12 to 9 BUT... the remaining 9 are as healthy and frisky as can be! At feeding time, it looks like a shark attack!!! Even 2 who "sulked" for weeks perked up eventually. I kept testing, testing... adding "Prime" and "Quickstart" if things seemed less than perfect. It really pays to test every day, and the MINUTE I see someone not acting right, I jump for the test strips so I can get an idea of what's wrong; I follow up with the liquid test if there's a test that's off. The strips are handy for a quick reading, esp. if you're trying to plan your day! It's important to know if you have to stop & do a PWC, or if you can eat breakfast and run errands 1st!.

I noticed that, on Aquabid.com, someone in the US is offering groups of 4-6 females for very little $. Also, ebay will have bargains on girls. I am so much in love with my yellow/orange girl, I bought a yellow male (I haven't got him yet). I hope I get a few yellow bettas to offer to our breeders. It's the one color that hasn't been worked on by breeders, which is too bad, they're gorgeous.


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I am so sorry for your loss 

I had three females that are still being QTed since I didn't have enough to put them all in the sorority tank, but one of them passed away from Dropsy the night before last


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

thanks for the sympathy.. sorry to hear of your losses too,its hard work gettin a nice group of females together,i was thinking about just leaving 3 in there but ill give it another chance at finding a tank mate,i think this time ill try get a fish slightly bigger than the 3 currently in there in case the new fish is smaller and they bully her..

whenever i get the new one ill report back with pics and tell how shes gettin on


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

You could try one from a breeder? Most breeders keep their girls socialized in big sorority tanks. I don't think size matters, though. They might be less friendly if they are older and haven't been around other girls... Hopefully, as long as you cup them all and rearrange decor, a new girl will work out!

Good luck


----------



## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

a 3 dollar petco one is all i can get ,goin to breeders a fish is gonna cost me 10 - 30 dollars,plus about 15 - 35 for shipping,its too much for now


----------



## broncosfan84 (Apr 11, 2012)

I recently got 6 young females from Chard56 for $30.00 and that included the shipping and heat pack. They all arrived healthy and getting along wonderfully.


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Chard56 is a very good breeder with very generous prices. I am getting the rest of my females from him. He has an abundance of dragon females right now, lol.


----------



## broncosfan84 (Apr 11, 2012)

I'll have to check with him again.


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I've purchased 3 females from him. 2 fins up from me!


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Sakura8 told me that as a breeder, he's sometimes looked down upon because of his "form" because he doesn't inbreed with his lines and stuff like that. This means that his fish are genetically stronger.


----------



## broncosfan84 (Apr 11, 2012)

Good to hear...I am in love with the 6he sold me. I will be buying from him again.


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I will say that one of the fish of his I have is a little funny-looking; her body is proportionately longer and slimmer than other bettas. BUT, she is a beautiful, healthy fish! I don't plan on breeding or showing, so I don't care. 
I can't wait until I can figure out how I can take good pics of my bettas. It's so hit-or-miss. There must be a thread on this subject somewhere.
Check ebay, too. Breeders are "clearing inventory" & there are bargains.


----------



## broncosfan84 (Apr 11, 2012)

I'll try that....thanks a bunch


----------



## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

Make sure you are keeping the new ones separate for anywhere from a few days to a week or so to make sure they don't introduce any unpleasantness to the tank. 

I've been floating my new girls in their cups in the big aquarium for the last couple days of their QT. This lets them see their new home without their new flatmates being able to get TOO up in their faces. *so far* this has worked great, by the time they are released, they have been thoroughly inspected by the existing girls. I've actually had a funny problem on the last couple of releases...I turn the cup gently on its side to let the new girl swim out. Which is fine, I then have to wait for up to 4 existing girls who swam IN to determine for themselves that there's nothing exciting in the cup 

All of my sorority girls are chain purchases, and yes, I did lose multiple ones either before or shortly after release (None were issues with the other girls though, at least), but as someone else said, just because they come from a chain and ore often in a fragile starting state doesn't mean they shouldn't have a good home. 

Keep at it, you'll arrive at a stable group, and when you get there, it's great!


----------



## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I've been floating my new girls in their cups in the big aquarium for the last couple days of their QT. This lets them see their new home without their new flatmates being able to get TOO up in their faces. *so far* this has worked great, by the time they are released, they have been thoroughly inspected by the existing girls. I've actually had a funny problem on the last couple of releases...I turn the cup gently on its side to let the new girl swim out. Which is fine, I then have to wait for up to 4 existing girls who swam IN to determine for themselves that there's nothing exciting in the cup  [/QUOTE]

LOL, bettas are SO SMART- when you have a good group of girls, it's hilarious sometime! They're like little dogs, everything must be investigated! This makes the sorority a really worthwhile endeavor. I think I've said it b/f but, since bettas aren't "schooling" fish, they are always up to something. They love to investigate the cleaning equipment! I have a tool to cut dead leaves- I have to be careful of 9 curious fish!!!


----------

