# 10 gallon sorority tank mates



## Neutron (Apr 6, 2011)

So I found a LFS nearby that is selling female bettas who have been together since birth... and I have been wanting to start a sorority for a while now. I feel this is the safest way to go! I also don't want to have to separate them and have even more single betta tanks around the house!

I currently have 2 emerald cories in the 10 gallon, got them from a pet store where they were in BAD shape.. and in the same tank as goldfish. So anyway I took 4 of them home and only two survived. They are pretty happy just the two of them, they swim along together in the tank. I don't want to get any more of them because it's only 10 gallons and I am going to wait until I set up my larger tank. 

I have live plants and a TON of algae in the tank so I was thinking I'd pick up an Oto or two to clear that up. Good tank mates for females, correct? 

Now for the female part, I was thinking I'd just get 3 of them to avoid over stocking my tank. I read somewhere to avoid even numbers of them. Can anyone clarify this? Is 3 enough to spread out the aggression? All the bettas for sale are cambodians and I want the chance to add some different coloured females in the future. Furthermore, if I got say 5 bettas would my tank be overstocked with 2 cories and 1-2 otos?


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## mjoy79 (Jul 13, 2011)

Someone may have a better response for you - but in my opinion 5 female bettas + 2 cories might be overstocking. And 3 females is usually too few - two of them will gang up on the weaker one. Plus you'd be taking them from their original group so the dynamics would cause some issues, at least initially. Hopefully someone with more sorority experience can help!


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

It's always possible to just keep one betta in your ten gallon tank and add two more cories. I'm sure a betta wouldn't mind this setup nor would the cories.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

hedgehog said:


> It's always possible to just keep one betta in your ten gallon tank and add two more cories. I'm sure a betta wouldn't mind this setup nor would the cories.


That would work but he or she (sorry) want to set up a sorority. Don't take this as a harsh comment though I think you may have just skipped over it


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

kfryman said:


> That would work but he or she (sorry) want to set up a sorority. Don't take this as a harsh comment though I think you may have just skipped over it


It's okay I don't think it's harsh. It was just a suggestion since cories should be kept in groups of four. Satisfying both the cories needs and the needs of the sorority would be difficult to do in a ten gallon. I personally would chose to meet the cories minimum requirements first since they are already in the tank. It's also just generally easier to keep a single betta in a tank. I didn't skip over the sorority aspect I just thought that the tank planning seemed overstocked especially since a sorority needs 4-5 girls and cories should be kept in groups of four. 

Seriously though the comment wasn't harsh at all


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Yeah I understand though the fish that are already owned should have priority though.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Yeah I do think that the fish that are already bought and owned should have priority. i said thaat because some people might think,"You calling me dumb? Ahhhhhhhh hell no!" Yeah, so I just didn't want you to may hate me. Wow my post didn't show until now -_-. Sorry for the double post!


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

I do not know anything about sororities, but as mentioned above, corydoras should have a school of at least 4. Corydoras are very social fish that do well in schools and can be housed with most any type of fish, as long as the fish isn't large enough to be a predator. That being said, with a ratio of 1 betta to 2 corydoras, your little cories (not sure of the plural of cory o.o; will probably get a little "bored" and tend to be a little more lethargic.


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## mjoy79 (Jul 13, 2011)

I dont think the OP is responding to this thread. Plus he's posted a pic of his setup in another thread of 3 female bettas 2 cories and an oto. just FYI


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## Neutron (Apr 6, 2011)

Sorry, I'm somewhat new to this forum thing and forgot I even started this thread! 

Anyways, I picked up 3 females from my LFS. They are super small and all look the same. I only picked up 3 because I want some variety in colours and also because I wanted to avoid overstocking my tank. 

I set up my 55 gallon this morning and the two cories will be going in there in a few days. I am fully aware that they need to be in bigger groups... I didn't just buy 4 and expect two of them to die, but they weren't in the best shape when I got them. I need to wait until my LFS gets more emerald cories before I can get some more. Guess I should be a little more specific on this website. I know you all have good intentions though! 

Anyway, I want to add 2 more females to the sorority once the cories are out of there. So 5 females with 1 oto is not overstocking to my knowledge? Oto will be going back to my dad's tank once the algae is cleared up. How should I go about adding the two of them? I would pick them up from Petsmart because my LFS only has females that all look the same. However the females at Petsmart are all in individual cups, potential problem?


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

You should have them separated, as by the time the 55 gallons cycles through (a few weeks at minimum) you will end up having many issues with just the 3 girls.. most likely one will be killed and a second one just about close to that by the end of a couple weeks. Highly recommend you separate the 3 girls until you have the appropriate number.

You can always just clean out the algae yourself so the oto can be placed in the group it needs.

As for introducing the girls.. once the 10 gallon is empty of all other fish, rearrange it and float each girl in their own cup and acclimate to both temp and chemistry as you would normally. It's always a risk when setting up sororities, as we are forcing them to be together when they naturally wouldn't be constantly together. Having only 3 right now, 2 will gang up on 1 and wear her down til she can't take it anymore, then the 2 will battle for the tank. The reasoning behind 4/5+ is that it allows the fighting and chasing to be spread out between enough of them as to hopefully avoid just one being bullied. Even then it's still a risk- weeks, months later a fight can easily break out and you will have to separate them all and keep them separated. One of the general rules is make sure you have enough spare tanks to home each girl permanently if the need arises, as it's a high risk enviroment. So would be recommended to separate them for their own safety and health for now. Or.. clean out the algae on the glass yourself, grab a couple of ghost or cherry shrimp to put in to clean the tank so you can get the other girls in there asap.


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## Neutron (Apr 6, 2011)

Myates said:


> You should have them separated, as by the time the 55 gallons cycles through (a few weeks at minimum) you will end up having many issues with just the 3 girls.. most likely one will be killed and a second one just about close to that by the end of a couple weeks. Highly recommend you separate the 3 girls until you have the appropriate number.
> 
> You can always just clean out the algae yourself so the oto can be placed in the group it needs.
> 
> As for introducing the girls.. once the 10 gallon is empty of all other fish, rearrange it and float each girl in their own cup and acclimate to both temp and chemistry as you would normally. It's always a risk when setting up sororities, as we are forcing them to be together when they naturally wouldn't be constantly together. Having only 3 right now, 2 will gang up on 1 and wear her down til she can't take it anymore, then the 2 will battle for the tank. The reasoning behind 4/5+ is that it allows the fighting and chasing to be spread out between enough of them as to hopefully avoid just one being bullied. Even then it's still a risk- weeks, months later a fight can easily break out and you will have to separate them all and keep them separated. One of the general rules is make sure you have enough spare tanks to home each girl permanently if the need arises, as it's a high risk enviroment. So would be recommended to separate them for their own safety and health for now. Or.. clean out the algae on the glass yourself, grab a couple of ghost or cherry shrimp to put in to clean the tank so you can get the other girls in there asap.


First off, I have other tanks that are cycled (including the 10 gallon) so I'm using some filter media from an established tank to cycle my 55 gallon. I know 100% how to cycle a tank so that is not an issue for me. The cories will be in there as soon as the test results come up good. Just had to clear that up so people don't waste time telling me things I already know lol. 

I have tried cleaning the algae out myself but a lot of it is on the leaves of my live plants and I don't want to damage them. I'm going to get some duckweed today or some other plant that grows quickly to outcompete the algae for nutrients and see if that works. The oto is quite busy now eating algae so I'm not too worried if it's just for the short term. He has a group of 8 or 9 of them to go back into, I suppose I could put 2 more in my tank to give him some buddies? 

Either way, I will be getting two more females as soon as the cories can be moved to the 55 gallon. I will get a few new live plants and rearrange the tank a bit when adding the new ones. Thanks for clarifying how to put new ones in, I'll post again how it goes. 

I have the necessary spare tanks incase they need to be separated. I am going to keep it heavily planted with lots of hiding spots to reduce the stress and fighting that may happen. I have always wanted a sorority and feel as though I am experienced enough to do it. I was a bit led on by the guy at the fish store who told me they are great community fish and 3 would be enough to spread out any aggression, if there even is any. I knew enough not to get 2 of them but at the same time I didn't want to overstock my tank before being able to move the cories. Guess I should have waited before getting any females but now I'm just trying to deal with the situation I'm in. Should be sorted out within a few days but I'll keep a close eye on them in the meantime.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Sounds great  Didn't mean to harp on you, I'm sure you know a lot.. I can be over protective sometimes, guess it comes with seeing a lot of people who haven't done the research necessary to keep these little ones. 
As long as you keep a watchful eye, and remove any being overly bullied until you get the rest, then all should be fine. I would still recommend removing the 3 girls when you get the others, rearrange the tank if possible, and placing them all in at the same time so any territory that was established is now gone.  
Good luck and would love to see the pictures once you get it going!


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