# Female betta sorority



## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I started my first Betta sorority today, which consist of 4 female betta's, 2 albino corydoras and 1 Chinese algae eater in a 6 gallon tank. At first, all was well, but then my oldest and largest female began going around and chasing every betta she could. She even attacked my Chinese Algae eater out of excitment.

Now, this is my first sorority, but not my first betta's. I currently have 9 betta's[3 of which are the newcoming females]. I know that the 6 gallon tank isnt large enough, but, its all I can do until i receive my 10 gallon.

My main question is:
Is it normal for the largest female to push around all other betta's in her territory, even when they are simply going up for air?

Note: the tank is well planted and has many hiding spots.


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## styggian (Dec 13, 2011)

She is establishing territory and will likely continue bullying until someone dies. 

Also, that tank is massively overstocked. You shouldn't have tried this until you had a bigger tank, especially if you already knew it was too small.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

also from what i hear, CAEs shouldnt be in something that small


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I figured that she was simply behaving out of instinct, and not establishing a hierarchy. I did remove her, and the other betta's are quite fine, no aggression or anything. 

I am expecting to get a 10 gallon tank within a few day period, so, the tankmates of the current tank will most likely be moved into that tank, along with all decorations.


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## styggian (Dec 13, 2011)

All bettas, including females, are very aggressive and territorial. They will fight and bicker over everything. I have 8 females in a 15gal and they still bicker. I wouldn't have put them together for even a few days because of the aggressiveness and the small size. They will establish a pecking order, and you will get ammonia build up very quickly.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

So, this raises another question. Actually, a few.

Do I keep the larger female in there[highly doubt this is recommended, but, just figured I'd say it].

The ammonia build up I can deal with, since i preform 100% water changes with all my betta tanks. I clean out the gravel and decorations, making sure everything is sparkly clean for my fish.


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## styggian (Dec 13, 2011)

Keep them separate until you have the big tank. It's too risky keeping them in such a small space.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Noted. I have separated the larger female, placing her within the cup she came in for a bit while I debate on where to hold her until the bigger tank arrives. Upon removing her, the other three females' stress bars went away and their full color came back. 

Do I keep the three in the tank, or, separate them into their individual cups?


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## styggian (Dec 13, 2011)

Keep a very close eye on them. Personally, I'd float them, but if you watch them and separate if you see them fighting, they may be okay.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Upon placing the four into the tank, they all showed no aggression. The larger female flared, showed her fins, then left them alone. Then, she turns into a piranha and starts abusing the others.

I understood what to expect, but, it was getting out of hand. A few of the newcomers were starting to get weak. So, i netted her and placed her into her cup.

Not to mention she is much MUCH larger than the other 3, due to her age. She is most likely 6-9 months of age, or maybe more. The other 3 seem like 4-6 month olds, since they are so tiny compared to her. I can gladly get an image of them, if you'd like


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Uh, I'd return your chinese algae eater.. they need to be in 40 gallon set ups or else they will be stunted. They get pretty big. And you need at least 4 cories. You can't have 4 girls and 4 cories in a 10 gallon. You also run the risk that your cories barbels will fall off in gravel, they really need a soft sand substrate.. I'd leave the cories in the 6 gallon and get them more friends. I hope you're testing your ammonia levels daily..

Also when you get the 10 gallon, buy two more females, so you have 6 in the ten gallon.. They more females the better it should work..


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. I know the size that CAE's get, and I have another tank. Its a 75 gallon tank with 4 Convict chilids and one Alligator gar. Im kinda a bit hesitant to put the CAE in there, since it's small enough for the Chilids to devour in a single gulp.

I also know that CAE's are aggressive and territorial when fully grown. Hes only in there until he reaches a size where he wont be devoured by the chilids.

I can try to get 2 more female betta's for the ten gallon. And yes, i check my waters every day, and preform 20-100% water changes, depending on the tank. The 6 gallon had a 100% water change the day i got the betta's, with gallons of water that i keep at room temp, and usually sit out without the lids on.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Sounds like you're good to go!
Haha I had a pair of convict chicilids once. They had eggs, and they stripped my poor pleco's scales off. A PLECO. Like, I thought they had good armour, but those things get aggressive when they have eggs. 
Also I'd love to see a photo of your gar. They are adorable :3


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Yeah. The Convicts I dislike greatly. They are just too aggressive. I'd rather keep the Gar in there with something much more peaceful, rather than have the Gar in there with fish that tear up any other fish that is placed into the tank.

I currently have all 4 females in their cups. I am also now greatly regretting getting a CAE, since I've been looking around on the other threads and finding out just how aggressive they are.

I've placed all 4 females into the 1.75 gallon tank where I keep my red crowntail male[Yes, the tank is small, but, hes quite happy in there. I change his water once every week, and he builds a massive bubble nest every 2 days] to test something out with the females.

All females showed flaring, but, no chasing. Not even Sam[the oldest] chased the others. The problem with the 6 gallon is that Sam has lived there for about half a month now, and the decorations havn't been changed at all. I think shes being over-territorial rather than just being unpleasant.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

How big is the gar? And are the convicts males and females? 

Yes that'd be it. If you have to put them in the 6 gallon for a few more days, then rearrange everything then she will be like OMG NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE, and won't see it as her territory, which should mellow her down.
Don't keep them in the sight of the male for too long as this can cause them to produce eggs, which can be hard to get rid of without breeding. At least I think so.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

The gar is 8 inches long, and a year old. I got him from someone who fished him when he was young, but, was gonna kill him. So, i took him off his hands. And the convicts, i have no clue the gender. I know the larger two[Pink and dark black] are males, but, the other two are too small.

I kinda guessed that the same look made her overaggressive. The tank has lots of cave-like areas, including a petco tree root thing in the middle, and fake plants in the side. 

I'm actually considering breeding my females, but, the time isnt right yet. I barely have enough room for the 4 tanks on my tiny dresser. The 1.75 gallon and the 1 gallon pet carrier things where I house my Black orchid male crowntail and my Cambodian red crowntail are sitting on something equal height to the dresser.

Yeah, I think i should remove the girls. I keep adding all 4 girls at least once every 6 hours to the 6 gallon tank, and i keep the cups near each other, this way they are used to seeing each other.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Females tend to have oranges bellies.

As long as you change the decor I think you can add them in together. They WILL fight and chase each other, but this is natural because they have to establish a pecking order. So some ripped fins are to be expected.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

The only problem is that I have no idea how I'm going to move the tree root thing... Its always in the middle, because it's too thick for the sides. And my filter and heater take up room, as well. But, it also provides bonus hiding places for the females.

Also, would it be a good idea to get dried Leaves and fallen stick formations from outside and put it into the betta's tanks? Or no?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

A highly debated concept this is!
I would not put just anything in. Be SURE that no pesticides are used on anything you put in, obviously.
For dried leaves, the only thing I'd put in comfortably would be oak leaves. Put them in boiling water for a few minutes to be safe.
For sticks, avoid softwoods, birch, pine, cedar etc. Oak wood would be good I think. You'll have to soak it, probably for a few weeks, to get out tannins because it will produce way more than you'd ever want in your fish tank. After, or before this, you can bake it in your oven, at a high temp, for maybe half an hour.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

How would you know what kind of leaves and sticks you have laying around your neighborhood? 

I'm pretty sure all my betta's would enjoy some dead leaves and some fallen stick formations. It would make the water more natural. Since I don't have the resources for live plants, I might as well get dead ones that would stimulate a natural environment.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak
Oak is pretty easy to recognize.  Just look for a tree with those leaves.
It is pretty rare where I live, so you may not be able to find it. o-O You can always research on other websites for other safe trees.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I looked up native trees in my state [RI, USA], and came up with these results:
Bitter-nut-hickory, white elm, slippery elm, butternut, chestnut, rock maple, red maple, white maple, black birch, canoe birch, gray birch, yellow birch, and a whole bunch of others.

What would be the best recommended tree-parts. If there are no native recommended parts, if I obtain parts of a species, what do I do to make it safe for the betta's?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Aspen and ash are okay too. You'll have to research how to ID trees. Another option would be near a lake or other freshwater, to look for a well worn down piece of driftwood.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

The only body of water near me is the brackish waters. I don't even know where to find a small creek or something in the more wooded area's of my state. Quite a difficult turn of events.

If i do find suitable leaves and sticks, how do i go about preparing them for my betta's? I know you said to boil the leaves in hot water, but what about sticks? And large, flat rocks?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Sticks, soak them in water for a few weeks. Youll have to change the water every now and then, until it stops turning the water brown. Dong boil rocks. Scrub them really well with vinegar and water. Rocks can alter hardness and pH, as can leaves and twigs. You'll have to monitor this.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

So, in simple terms, it would make the tank more natural looking, but, also make things more harder? Sounds fun.

Would the betta's enjoy floating leaves and stick formations in the tank, or no? Would they find it more interesting?

Also, in the terms of live foods, would they enjoy eating live-wingless fruit flies?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

If know they'd like leaves. Sticks, maybe, as long as they can't cut themselves.
They are insectivores, so once a week the fruit flies should be fine.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

How do you know if the sticks could cause damage to the fins?

So, after changing around the scenery for the 6 gallon, do you think the females would be able to get along? Or no?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Running pantyhose along it, if it snags you should sand that part down.

They should be fine to add together now.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I have not moved the tank around, but, I just want to double check that they wont end up slaughtering each other, hence why i asked. Previous posters say that the tank was too small[which i knew, but, the betta's didn't really seem to care]. I honestly think that the larger female went Piranha on the others because the tank looked the same as it was originally, when she was in it alone with 4 cories and two african dwarf frogs.

Just to note; I DID have 4 corydoras in there, aswell as two frogs, but. They died. Now, only 2 remain. They died due to underfeeding, since, they were never able to find the food, even when I put it right infront of them.

Im about to change the scenery around a bit, and since the tank just had a 100% water change, i doubt it'll be cloudy during the movement.


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## veggiebetta (Mar 2, 2012)

I have a feeling your Corys didn't make it because they starved. Those fish are aces at locating food sources. My bet is that the small size of the tank and overpopulation and being unfiltered and underaerated may have caused the death of your Corys. 

There's also no guarantee that the girls will get along. The larger the tank the better the odds that they'll at least be able to hide and remain safe. 

Also not that placing dead things in your tank will cause the ammonia levels to rise significantly. Rotting plant matter isn't the greatest thing. You could do some research into local, naturally occurring aquatic plants in your area. That would be safer/better than just rotting dead plants. 

I would wait on the 4 bettas until you have a larger more stable environment for them. The constant adding and removing of them to a small cramped space isn't going to make their lives any less stressful. Have you looked into breeding mesh or breeding contraptions that stick to the side of the aquarium? They're relatively cheap, $6 for a three-way breeder which you can keep your larger female in. This will allow the others to see her and interact with her but without her being able to get at them. When I introduced two new females to my 10 gallon I put them in this with the divider down the middle so they could aqquaint themselves with eachother without any physical damage being done. My original lone female I had was removed from the tank and placed in her old cup on her own while the other two acclimated. After about 30 minutes I put all three into the 10 gallon. It's been three days now and the most that's been done is one new girl strutting her stuff. My original girl couldn't care less, ang the biggest of the three just wants nothing to do with any of them and takes care to keep her distance. It's nice seeing the biggest fish turning the other cheek every time. Of course there's been stand-offs, flaring and lots of vibrating and some chasing. But my tank is decently planted with lots of hiding spots as well as 6 White Clouds and two mystery snails to occupy the bettas' curiousity as well.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having dried leaves in your tank.. Leaf litter tanks are quite beautiful. IDEAL betta tanks are filled with dried Indian almond leaves. They release hardly any ammonia, and provide tannins to replicate the natural blackwater betta are found in..


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

djembekah said:


> also from what i hear, CAEs shouldnt be in something that small


Agreed. Not only do they max out at about 12 inches long, they can also become really territorial. Mine is about six inches long (was about 2.5" when i got him) and will chase ALL of the fish away from his territory, including my 10 inch granulated catfish. He is a jerk. I have tried to give him away to friends several times, but he is also very smart and hides every time I approach the tank.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

veggiebetta said:


> I have a feeling your Corys didn't make it because they starved. Those fish are aces at locating food sources. My bet is that the small size of the tank and overpopulation and being unfiltered and underaerated may have caused the death of your Corys.


I'd just like to say this, the tank IS filtered and heated. I did put all four females into the tank once agian, only to have the larger female constantly chasing the new commers endlessly. Every time she even sees another, she goes after it until she loses it.

It always starts off the same, the larger girl flaring, showing her fins. After a few minutes, she chases all the other girls and cause them to become stressed.

Im also fully aware of the constant shift in container size from the females, and I'm also aware of what stress can do to them, which i dont want.

The tank is spacious and has a lot of room for all three girls. After moving the decorations last night, the larger one seemed confused at the arrangement, but, noticed that all the decorations remained the same.

My guess is that she knew that it was HER territory, and, even though the decorations were moved into different parts, she still saw it as her own. And she was the last one placed into the tank, too.

Another note: The CAE isn't going to be there long. If anything, its being pushed around by ALL my female betta's. I do intend to put it into the 75 gallon tank, but, its too small now. It WILL be devoured faster than it can zoom away by the much larger fish in the tank.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

People are criticizing without having read the whole story. :/ the CAE thing was already brought up.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

So once agian, i bring up the problem with my larger female, Sam. When she is removed, the other three dont even notice each other, and when they do, there is only minor flaring and chasing. 

My main issue is with the big girl, whom is bullying all the tank mates EXCEPT the two cories.

Any ideas/suggestions? Upon reintroducing her into the tank, she flared, showed her fins at the other females then left them alone for a bit. She swam up to them and they swam away. Then, she'd become enraged and begin bullying them like there is no tomorrow. There are no nipped fins, but, the other females have stress bars and are hiding in small spaces, since they are smaller than the larger girl.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

It'd probably be best to get her an individual tank.


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Pod said:


> So once agian, i bring up the problem with my larger female, Sam. When she is removed, the other three dont even notice each other, and when they do, there is only minor flaring and chasing.
> 
> My main issue is with the big girl, whom is bullying all the tank mates EXCEPT the two cories.
> 
> ...


Do you have a breeder net or something that you could keep her in inside the tank? maybe if she is confined for a few days, the other girls could re-establish a pecking order..
or maybe separating her permanently would be a better idea.

The last time I had a girl bully the rest of the girls, she turned out to be a young male HMPK.


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Olympia said:


> People are criticizing without having read the whole story. :/ the CAE thing was already brought up.


Sorry if I came off as criticizing! I just wanted to share my mistake, and note that as my CAE got bigger, he became more of a jerk.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

twinjupiter said:


> Do you have a breeder net or something that you could keep her in inside the tank? maybe if she is confined for a few days, the other girls could re-establish a pecking order..
> or maybe separating her permanently would be a better idea.
> 
> The last time I had a girl bully the rest of the girls, she turned out to be a young male HMPK.


I do not, sadly. And my female is a 100% female. Shes bigger than my HM male. My guess is that she spent a year at petsmart[where i got her, since I hate seeing them in the cups. It depresses me], and is pretty used to being alone. 

Right now I have her in a cup, floating in the new and improved tank. I drastically changed the scenery, and i'm hoping that after a few weeks in the cup, the girls will be used to seeing each other, and there will be no more fighting.

Is this recommended? Or no?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

twinjupiter said:


> Sorry if I came off as criticizing! I just wanted to share my mistake, and note that as my CAE got bigger, he became more of a jerk.


Sorry, that came off as mean  It's good that you put your input in, since you have experience with them. :3


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Pod said:


> I do not, sadly. And my female is a 100% female. Shes bigger than my HM male. My guess is that she spent a year at petsmart[where i got her, since I hate seeing them in the cups. It depresses me], and is pretty used to being alone.
> 
> Right now I have her in a cup, floating in the new and improved tank. I drastically changed the scenery, and i'm hoping that after a few weeks in the cup, the girls will be used to seeing each other, and there will be no more fighting.
> 
> Is this recommended? Or no?


I think floating her is a good idea. Maybe poke some holes in the cup to help water circulation?
I would also like to suggest adding more decor/plants. Maybe with more hidey holes things will settle down.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Yeah. I'm still working on getting more plants. Some that float and some that sink, but also allow swimming room for my other fish.

Things have pretty much settled down since shes been in her cup. And, its a petsmart cup that they keep male betta's in, so... I cant poke a hole in it without the cup breaking. I saved all the cups, this way, when i move to florida, I can take all my betta's with me.

What should be the recommended time that she stay in the cup for?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I'd keep her in there until you get the 10 gallon. o-o


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Tell me, would the following tank work well for a betta sorority?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Regent-10-Gallon-Aquarium-1-ct/10312733

Im honestly getting the 10 gallon from a friend, and it wont be here until April 9th. And I isolated another female, my smallest one, due to constant being picked on. Two cups are now in my tank.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

That is fine, but you WILL need a lid of some sorts. Females can jump crazy high.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Yeah, i saw that yesterday. During feeding time of all my girls, one of my girls[whom i now suspect was spawned with the other girl who is free-roaming along with her, as they show no aggression towards each other and pretty much dont stray far from eachother], decided it would be nice to leap at my finger, which had a unthawed bloodworm on it. 

I dont know if im going to get the 10 gallon from Walmart.

I've also looked around on random betta forums/advice collums, and many people say it isn't a good idea to keep females in a 10 gallon tank. Is this true?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

o-o Ten gal for 6 females is fine.. Who said this? :s


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Random people at different places. I was looking up female betta sorority at school, clicked around, and saw many different fish hobbyist, some having a few years worth of experience, saying that a 10 gallon isn't good enough for females. 

I'm intending to convince my mother to buy me 2 more females, along with large, dense plastic or silk plants. I intend to make the 10 gallon as recommended as needed, as I care deeply for all my fishies.


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Pod said:


> Tell me, would the following tank work well for a betta sorority?
> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Regent-10-Gallon-Aquarium-1-ct/10312733
> 
> Im honestly getting the 10 gallon from a friend, and it wont be here until April 9th. And I isolated another female, my smallest one, due to constant being picked on. Two cups are now in my tank.


Works pretty well for me! ;-)
I've got 8 girls total in here, and going to upgrade to a 20gal long or a 29 gal in the next month or so.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I shall use that picture as reference, thanks a bunch! I just got a female crowntail falsely being advertised as a female veiltail. Shes larger than the other females, but smaller than my oldest.

I also removed one of my females from the tank, even though she was in her cup. I beleive she has the early stages of Fin-Rot.

I removed my halfmoon male into a cup and used his holding-tank as a hospital tank. It's a half-gallon tank.

The female has white spots on her dorsal, anal and lower back fins. Her anal fin also has a few tiny tiny holes, is a bit black at the tip, and has a missing peice. The missing peice was not in her cup.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos...573809_100002164460572_583738_765029041_n.jpg Image of her in the holding tank. The delta tail male is also in a holding tank


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Pod said:


> I shall use that picture as reference, thanks a bunch! I just got a female crowntail falsely being advertised as a female veiltail. Shes larger than the other females, but smaller than my oldest.
> 
> I also removed one of my females from the tank, even though she was in her cup. I beleive she has the early stages of Fin-Rot.
> 
> ...


Don't you love it when pet stores mislabel their bettas? I've definitely found a couple crown tail girls mislabeled too.
my best find was my green double tail girl. she was labeled a VT, so I only paid $2.89 for her :-D

Side note: It sounds like your female has ich as well as fin rot. I'm no expert, so I am not the one to go to for treatment. Last time one of my girls had it I treated the whole tank with Kordon Ich Attack. The ich was gone after about a week or so.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

The white spots covered the larger fins, and her tiny little anal fin is black at the tips. I have no idea where to get the medications for it, nor if my mother would be gracious enough to buy me the medications for her. . . Quite the issue indeed


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/2286/whitespothg5.jpg
Ich.
quite icky.

Most major pet stores sell ich medication, I got the Kordon Ich Attack at Petco. I think it was like $8-10 ish.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Hmm. The spots don't really look like that, unless it comes in a slime form...

Yeah, when i realized she was a CT female and not a VT, I was both happy and unhappy. I keep hearing that CT's are highly aggressive, hence the unhappy paranoia part.


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Pod said:


> Hmm. The spots don't really look like that, unless it comes in a slime form...
> 
> Yeah, when i realized she was a CT female and not a VT, I was both happy and unhappy. I keep hearing that CT's are highly aggressive, hence the unhappy paranoia part.


This is only my experience, but I have had no problems with my Crowntail and Combtail girls being more aggressive. If anything my VT girls are bigger punks then the others.

umm, here are other pics of Ich
http://www.my-tropical-fish.com/images/ich.gif
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fxnYnYdVi...0-_qM/s1600/fish-disease-+white-spot-neon.jpg

and a great site on ich information and treatment:
http://fish-tank-filters.org/dealing-with-ich-in-a-fish-tank/

do you have any other pictures?


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Yeah. The white looks nothing like that. Its more of a slime-like whiteness. Mostly on the fins, not on the body, or the front fins.

I can try to get another. Would the flash from the phone make the situation more visible?


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Possibly. Try to take one and see if it comes out any better. Or bring your girl near a light source and try again.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos...70091_100002164460572_583815_1589191196_n.jpg
Sadly, this is the best that the phone would do at close range. It DID have a sharper picture, but, then the picture turned blurry. Low battery. I think she has very VERY early stages of Ich


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Rather than medicating if you aren't sure, just turn the temperature up to 85 for a week and do daily 10-25% water changes. That should cause the ich to die within a week or so.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

^- This will help if you can control the temp.
If not, you will have to treat ALL the fish she was with, because they are all at risk for it now, and you will have to clean the tank really well too :/
Are the cories in there two? They may be different to treat then betta..


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

And about the fin rot? I can gladly keep the water nice and warm, seeing how my room is abnormally warm to the point where i'll be unable to breath in the middle of the night due to the heat alone.

Two of my females in the 6 gallon decided it would be nice to take my CT's meal by leaping towards my fingers. Smart little demons.

Yes, the cories are with the two, and the heater in my tank along with the abnormal heat in my room will most likely make this go by quickly. Or not.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Fin rot can also be treated by very clean water (and heat?)

Note, you can buy a huuge thing of aquarium salt at petsmart for around $4.50 with taxes.. this is good to have because it can kill off a lot of infections in the early stages.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Don't use salt with cories, though! As scaleless fish, it can irritate and sometimes cause lasting or fatal damage to them.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Noted. The only ill fish i have at the moment is my lone little girl, whom is the smallest Betta i have. Since the rotting is in its very early stages, do I not get medications for it? I'll most likely talk to my mother about this tommorrow, due to the fact that she didn't even want to buy me the CT.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hah. Knew cories were different. Just didn't think they were scaleless, because they SO have scales. xD hahaha. 
I'm pretty sure any disease like ich, just because you can only see it on the one fish, doesn't mean the other fish aren't getting it as we speak.. I mean it's in the water..
I'd just keep the heat high and hopefully it'll kill any ich left in the fish tank..


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Hopefully... She didn't show any signs until after i came home from obtaining my female CT. I inspected her closer, and the white-slime is actually decomposing flesh from her fins. Shes lost some color in her lower back fin, and her anal fin looks like its disintegrating.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

oh no! i'm hopeful for her!


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I am too. I do NOT want her to die. Shes the smallest female, and I know its my fault shes in so much stress. Well, mostly my older female, but, still my fault. I intend to do everything I can about this. There is this amazing fish store up the street that i'll ask my mom to take me to, and I'm pretty sure they have needed medications and can assist me.

They did so with one of my teachers, whom also has a betta with Fin rot


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Again, I wouldn't use medications for fin rot unless you absolutely have to. Clean warm water, with a bit of Stress Coat or Indian Almond Leaf if you have it, will get it cured without chemicals.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Its only minor, and it already looks slightly better now that i moved her into a somewhat larger tank, which is used as a holding tank for my HM. I guess i'll see tomorrow morning how bad it gets. If worst comes to worst, I can ask my teacher or my lunch lady, both of which house fish, if they have any spare Fin rot treatments. 

My lunch lady has salt water tanks, so, she'd be able to supply me with a small bit of sea salt


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Sea salt for saltwater fish and aquarium salt are two different things. Don't use sea salt with your fresh water fish ever!!


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Noted. I honestly didn't know there was a difference O:


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

if you have a walmart nearby, they sell the aquarium salt for a few bucks for quite a bit of salt.


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

Sadly, she wont be an issue anymore. I awoke this morning to find her dead in the holding tank. Upon returning from school today, i removed her and rinsed the holding tank with water, dumped out the water, cleaned the rocks and re-introduced the male with the remains of the gallon of room-temp water that i had aging for a few days.

I'm hoping whatever got her isnt in the tank still.

Mother will be buying me a 5th, and I may push for a 6th just incase Sam is too aggressive to live in the 10 gallon.


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## twinjupiter (Aug 20, 2011)

Aw! So sorry for your loss. I hope your next girl is very happy and healthy!


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## Pod (Mar 11, 2012)

I'm quite sad about this. She was so young, younger than my other girls. Poor thing. 

I'm hoping that the next girl, which I will be getting tomorrow, is healthy. Or is from a batch that just arrived at the pet store


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