# Betta Sorority.



## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

I’m starting a betta sorority. I finally got some money saved up and my local fish store is selling juvenile female bettas. I’m starting with adding more driftwood and plants to my 20 gal high tank. I’ll wait about a week for everything to settle before going out and buying the girls. I don’t want plants dying or driftwood floating while the new fish are settling in. The tank already has neon tetras but only 4, so I’m going to add 2 more. Hopefully everyone will get along when I add the new fish.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Good luck!


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

Got the girls today! They only had 3 left so I took them all. They got a new shipment today but those won’t be on sale until Sunday, so I’m coming back for more then. Overall the girls seem to be in great health. A tiny bit of fin damage on the smallest one but that is all. They all ate readily while acclimating.

for plants today I got dwarf saggitaria and “creeping Charlie”. the creeping charlie should fill out the back of my tank pretty well within the next few weeks.

I also got a new Nerite snail who’s name is Tyrone.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Good luck be careful if you see any bullying seperate them just so you know because some larger females will pick on the smaller ones wish you best of luck they are so pretty I love betta fish there intelligence and beauty at the same time 😉


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## The fish (6 mo ago)

They are really beautiful fish!
Be sure to send photos when you get more! 
Good luck!
You're aquascape is very pretty too!


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Love your aquascape! Good luck!


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

I may have accidentally crashed my cycle. Ammonia is reading 0.25 and nitrates are a LOT lower than usual. My usual nitrates are at about 10-15 ppm and they are now between 0 and 5 ppm I’ve had the ammonia problem before however (turned out it also reads ammonium, which, if memory serves, is harmless) and I did do a deep clean of the aquarium a couple of days ago because it wasn’t looking great.

other than that everything is still going good. Fish are all acting great. The 2 bigger girls are picking on the littlest one a little bit, but she hasn’t been injured and they leave her alone as long as she’s not in their areas. I may get another one her size so that the aggression is more distributed.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

Hope you have good luck with the sorority but if you see it's more than her just being picked on move her so she doesn't get injured or killed


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## Rose of sharon (May 23, 2020)

Beautiful girls!!! Hope it all works well! Can't wait for updated pics, too! 

Keep an eye on the neon tetras...the can be a little nippy at times.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

I’ve heard that of neon tetras but mine have never picked on my bettas. This specific group of neons has gone through 3 bettas now (2 long-finned males and a short finned female) and have always been little sweethearts. They are very greedy when it comes to food though so with my long finned boys I had to watch to make sure all their food wouldn’t get stolen. 😂

I really don’t think the littlest betta is in any danger so I won’t be separating her for now. By “picking on her” I mean the two larger girls flare at her is she gets close and if she doesn’t leave they chase her out. I may be wrong but it looks like normal pecking order behavior to me.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

Ok so I think my ammonia test is just also reading the ammonium because my fish are all acting perfectly normal, my nitrites are still at 0 and my nitrates have gone up just the slightest bit. Yesterday it was hard to tell if they were zero or not but today they are definitely at 5 🙂


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Why don't you get a SeaChem Ammonia Alert? It only reads NH3. I wouldn't be without them.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

My betta flares at my mollie everytime she trys to steal his food I'm sure it's normal


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Forgot: Beautiful girls and tank. Don't forget to keep us updated with lots of pictures.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Why don't you get a SeaChem Ammonia Alert? It only reads NH3. I wouldn't be without them.


That’s my plan. I had one earlier but algae got all over it and I had a hard time cleaning it so I just threw it away.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

One of the girls is going through quite the color change which is worrying me. Is this because of stress?















She started changing color almost immediately when I brought her home. She had less black spots in the pet store. What can I do? I planned to go to the pet store today but I may not be able to because it just snowed.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Looks to be natural changes seen in bettas with marble/koi coloration.

It’s very likely her colors will continue to evolve over time.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

That’s what I thought at first but the change happened so fast that I’m not sure. The 2 pictures are just days apart, not even a full week.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

My betta changed the day I brought him home it's normal she's not stressed unless you see stress stripes


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Stress stipes are not the only indication that a fish is stressed but that does look like a natural colour change. Were you able to get any more females? I am worried about the small one that you said was being picked on a little. Because they aren't fish that naturally live together it isn't quite the same as pecking order establishment. They will pick off the weakest and then fight it out themselves. I would add a ton more plants and add more females as soon as possible. That being said, I have never had a sorority myself so you can take what I have to say with a grain of salt.


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## Betta Nerd (3 mo ago)

I agree with bettaloversara


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

Sorry i'm replying so late!! I wasn't able to get more females but the girls are settled in very nicely and aren't being picky with each other anymore. 

I absolutely love bettas; they are like puppies with fins. these little buggers have so much personality. My girls follow my finger around if i dip it in the water and recently started eating out of my fingers. I'm so glad all my girls are happy and healthy.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

They're so beautiful!! 
What are their names, if they have any? 

Glad to hear they're doing great as well


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

They do not have names yet. I was thinking about naming the marble one speck, after a late pet, but I’m not sure. The other two still need names.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

well here is a belated update. Speck is now named Spot. The gray iridescent fish passed away a few days ago. The third fish is doing fine but still doesn't have a name.

The gray iridescent fish was a bit more bloated looking for about a week before her death. I cut down on feedings in case that was the issue. She was doing and acting well right up til the day she died. I believe she only suffered a few hours.

I was worried the other 2 girls would start fighting since gray fish was previously at the top of the pecking order so the next day I went out and bought 2 more girls. I would have gotten 3 but my store only had 1 inexpensive fish and the rest were $22+. I bought the inexpensive girl and one expensive girl. The inexpensive one is still a baby; she is very small and still has stripes. She is an iridescent blue that looks purple in most light. The other is a marble koi betta. She is mainly red and black on her back and white/yellow on her belly and face. She has a few iridescent scales scattered about.

I was worried on how they'd settle in but everything went incredibly smooth. My 2 original girls were very welcoming of their new tank mates and the 2 new girls were very respectful of their elders 😂. By that I mean: I didn't see a single flare from anyone and they all just swam around in peace. Considering how smooth everything went, I might go get another girl for the tank.


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## Hania41806 (Dec 10, 2020)

Oh and unfortunately I cant get any pictures up before anyone asks.


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