# Why are my bettas dying in my sorority



## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

For years I have kept bettas alive they are very easy fish and this is in bowls

I got a 55 gallon tank for my sorority it’s fully cycled, but fish just keep dying I don’t understand it extremely frustrating

I love Elephant ear bettas, so I decided to buy one even though it was expensive and it just died today I spent way to much on that fish for it to just die a week later

and this keeps happening


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

I’m sorry your bettas aren’t doing well. Could you fill out this form and include some pictures of your bettas and aquarium? We will do our best to help you out!








*****PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so...


Many thanks to BF/TFK Member Mike for developing this questionnaire. It is the same form with a few additions. Please copy and paste into a new message and complete this form when seeking help for your Betta. This information and a clear photo posted directly into the thread will help us give...




www.bettafish.com




In the meantime, I would recommend reading this thread about sororities, it has a lot of helpful information!








Important tips to a successful sorority


I've seen a lot of threads on sororities asking pretty basic questions and although I know that there is a thread already dedicated to this, it seems kind of disorganised and the OP doesn't cover as many areas as I think it needs to. I had this floating around on an unfinished site of mine so...




www.bettafish.com


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 55 gallons 
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees 
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?
Neon tetras 
Snails
And Cory catfish 

Food: new life spectrum betta pellets, and aqueon flakes

What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Both
Freeze-dried? Once a week bloodworms 
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? I feed 5-7 days a week and as much as they can eat in a minute or two

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of water did you change? 30 percent 
What is the source of your water? Tap water
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum 
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? Aqueon conditioner 

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water _before_ the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7.6
Hardness (GH):
Alkaline


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

Do you have a picture of your tank?


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I can get one soon I’m 5 hours away from home for competitive cheer 

my dad and brother are taking care of them

all their doing is feeding them 😂 I wouldn’t trust them to do much else


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Can you please complete the entire questionnaire? We need all of the information requested or all anyone can do is guess.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

No I can’t I don’t have that information or remember


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

That's too bad. Without knowing about behavior before death, marks, etc., there's no real way to pinpoint what's going on. It could be anytjing. How many have you lost?


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I’ve lost 3 in the last week or two and I have two acting weird right now just not very active


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

My females killed my male betta overnight which is strange because my girls are not killing each other

And my male was the friendliest betta I’ve ever seen he never chased other fish 

I don’t think he could get away he’s was 4 years old and really slow I’m a little upset I should have just left him in his bowl


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

You had a male in with females? When and why did you put him with the girls? They can not be housed together. People that breed bettas will take the females out after the breed them.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I know many people successfully keeping males with females and my male wasn’t even trying to breed if it is a friendly male it’s no different than keeping females together


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I know someone with 3 males and 14 girls all in the same tank and they have lived this way for months now


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

.
I was able to take a picture


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

I didnt mean to offend I was just saying that I have an all girl sorority and I have lost 2 females. All I was saying was there has even been males and females injured with experienced breeders. Not that you were trying to breed these fish are not always predictable when together. One minute they are swimming around just fine next minute someone is injured or even dead. Several people have given up sororities because of it. I want an EE female and a candyor galaxy female for my sorority but since everyone right now is getting along , I’m afraid to upset the apple cart and won’t do it. I’m truly sorry about the loss of your male.


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

Betta craze said:


> View attachment 1031010
> .
> I was able to take a picture


You have a very nice big tank. I would add a lot more plants. There needs to be more coverage and sight lines distraction. So one can zigzag through and the others decide not to follow. I have a girl that looks just like your one girl. She is now my alpha girl. Here is her picture


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

Yes I’ve actually thought of being done with sorority’s there just to difficult it was easy at first I just had 2 females in a 10 gallon tank I know thats not recommended but it luckily worked for me

I diddnt expect my females to kill him though hopefully they don’t start killing each other
I don’t think it helped that he was so old and couldn’t get away

if this ends up not working I might have to rehome some of the girls and hopefully they don’t keep getting sick it’s strange how they slowly keep dying, one at a time

I might turn it into a goldfish tank or a Oscar tank but I need to do research first but I’m waiting to see if things get better with my sorority, from what I know there’s no aggression but that seems to change at times very fast unfortunately!


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

You have such a nice huge tank to have your sorority. My is a 20 gallon sorority/ community tank and I have 4 girls in it. I know they say odd numbers but that’s what I did have but one of my 5 got dropsy so I lost here. I just think your main problem with it is you just need more plants. And especially at the top. RTST had posted for me this bamboo floating plant you can get at chewy and I think Amazon. I would have to go through my post to find it unless she gets on here and post it. But I went to petsmart to get something like it because I had a bare tank like your at first and I wanted the coverage right away and didn’t want to wait for the shipment because with COVID everything was so late on arriving. But I would see about that thank. I really think it saved the lives of the rest of my girls. I bought these Lilly bulbs from APF and it has gone crazy. my girls swim in and out of the shoots so they are occupied by doing it and rarely pay attention to each other. The only time the are all together is when I feed them and they come charging for food. Lol


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

Betta craze said:


> Yes I’ve actually thought of being done with sorority’s there just to difficult it was easy at first I just had 2 females in a 10 gallon tank I know thats not recommended but it luckily worked for me
> 
> I diddnt expect my females to kill him though hopefully they don’t start killing each other
> I don’t think it helped that he was so old and couldn’t get away
> ...


When and if you do decide on gold fish I saw the really neat set ups online with fancy goldfish. I did research because I was going to set one up in my basement/family room. i googled goldfish tank set ups and some are so gorgeous.


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

Betta craze said:


> I know someone with 3 males and 14 girls all in the same tank and they have lived this way for months now


Measure "success." A person that puts this combination is measuring success based on if they have killed each other YET. Experienced fish keepers measures their success on longevity (in years not months) and health and happiness of the fish. Regardless of what the owner thinks of this tank it is at the very least under extreme stress. Her fish, even if they don't fight to death will die of disease. This is not a natural way for them to live and it's cruel in my opinion. Throwing a bunch of fish that you know won't do well together into a tank and calling it "successful" doesn't mean they are amazing fish keepers, it means they are arrogant and put their own wants before what's best for the fish.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

If there were diseases wouldn’t my neon tetras and other fish be dying?

I found another dead female and I put 2 sick girls in quarantine and I’m really frustrated that it’s not working I just spent $500 on fish and the tank I’m wondering if your right!?
Because my bettas who live alone live years usually 

one of my youngest betta was only a year when it died, but in my sorority I’ve only had most of these fish at most 1week

if this continues to not work, does anyone have any ideas for stocking the tank?? What fish are compatible with my neons, And Cory catfish

and also the fish that are not bettas are doing great and not dying


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

One of The girls in quarantine just died

and I’ve also tested the water again it’s still safe and the same


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## Momofbetta (May 16, 2020)

This is classic sorority failure. The water is fine.. The other fish are fine. Bettas dying one after the other is a pretty clear sign that they are stressed and fighting. This often leads to death.

A successful sorority is a misnomer. Temporarily, it will seem fine. It can absolutely fail at any given time. 

Either way, if you want a sorority, you need ay least 50% plant coverage of the entire tank and many hiding spots too.

Never house males and females together.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

They are definitely fight some I took one of my breeder quality bettas out because of torn fins I didn’t want it to get worse 

several have clamped fins and stress stripes

What should I do? I’m thinking of taking them all out soon then giving them a quarantine and finding them homes


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

As noted, success is rated in years; not months. Sadly, many people claim success far too soon and lull others into thinking whatever they're attempting will be a-okay. And they never come back when it fails. Even the member who wrote the "Successful Sorority" sticky no longer supports the idea.

Your females are most likely dying, as noted, from compromised immune systems stemming from stress.

Whether you continue with a sorority or go with a community tank, you need at least 50% planting. Unlike Saltwater fish, Tropicals do not live in barren environments. They need cover to feel secure. Once you plant properly a 55 makes a great community tank.

Good luck!


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## Kat50 (Dec 22, 2020)

That would probably be best unless you want individual tanks. Once they start on one they usually find that one weak and they will be vulnerable. I tried to reintroduce my one girl when her fins healed back and as soon as I turned her loose, My beta girl went right after her and injured her. I got her out as soon as I could because I had to grab a net under the tank. It would have been a blood bath my girl that wasn’t afraid of anything was hiding and it was a sad sight. I had her in a container to acclimate just because this tank was cooler than her other tank so I didn’t just dump her in but it was like moonpie was circling like a shark just waiting for a weak fish to come by. I would move them put Indian Almond leaves or tea in to calm them and help if they have wounds. Sororities are hard and if you are just wanting fish in the big tank and no others I would get community fish since you already have some. For example I would get a large group of neons and corys and find a fish as a focal point like an angel or a reg not dwarf gouramis and harlequins, and danios. You can’t put goldfish in with the tropical community and they are very dirty fish or I should say they leave a lot of waste. If you decide to redone them I would let people know they should be separated and not in a sorority because they have already gone through this stress and it may kill them. I wish you the best on the choice you make.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

Do I need to separate the bettas?? I had 3 more die today


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Yes, you should separate them.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I did separate them all except for three who have lived together their whole life, and I put them in a ten gallon together, it’s the same tank they have lived in for a long time, so hopefully they are fine 

I put the others in bowls and I find it weird they like their bowls better than the 55 gallon tank

And the three like their ten gallon better


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## Momofbetta (May 16, 2020)

Given that they were all just stressed/fighting/dying, it is anything but surprising that they prefer a small space alone.

Please rehome the bettas unless you can keep them in individual tanks.

Even the 3 that did live together in the 10 gallon may now fight.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

All are divided in in a 10 gallon tank I only have 5 left and eventually they will have more space

my mom won’t allow me to rehome my fish anyways, and most of my fish have lived permanently in 1-2 gallon live planted bowls

I don’t permanently keep them in the tiny bowls

I also found out I wasn’t testing the water the right way and my water was 2 ppm Ammonia which is way too high I’m doing a 50% water change tomorrow then I will wait a couple days and do another 50% water change


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I did the water change and it’s now .50 ppm ammonia

The tank isn’t going to be a betta sorority anymore I got 3 cat fish I can’t remember the type they get up to 5-6 inches 

when and how large of a water change should I do now to get rid of the ammonia

The tank isn’t cycled it a new tank and since I wasn’t testing the correct way I thought it was safe


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## BettaloverSara (Oct 15, 2020)

If there are fish in the tank I would do two 25% water changes. If there is no fish 1 50% would be fine.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I already did a 50% water change but I will do 1-2 more 25% water changes


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## Momofbetta (May 16, 2020)

Even the smallest cat fish need 10-15 gallons per fish with heavy filtration (typically capable of filtering twice your tank size) and heavy plant density. Most varieties of cat fish prefer groups of 5-7. They are quite sensitive to water quality so you will struggle with them in an uncycled tank.


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

I have a tank almost double what they need so they should be fine and I got better filter, and I’ve actually heard the opposite that they were hardy! But I will test and change water so that the tank can stay stable


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## DE-BETTA-BOWL <3 (Jun 13, 2021)

Betta craze said:


> For years I have kept bettas alive they are very easy fish and this is in bowls
> 
> I got a 55 gallon tank for my sorority it’s fully cycled, but fish just keep dying I don’t understand it extremely frustrating
> 
> ...


I love those fish too! I have 2 of the same fish. I have my fish in a 29 gallon. One went missing tho. 😢 do u have these? A heater 78-80 degrees, a sponge filter, hiding spaces, and are the other fish killing them? And how many fish do u have in there and what gender are they?


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## DE-BETTA-BOWL <3 (Jun 13, 2021)

Are there white specks on them if so it’s ich. Sorry for your loss of bettas. 😔😣🙏🏻


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## Betta craze (Feb 17, 2021)

They had a heater that was 80 degrees and no ick 

the tank was not cycled yet and had a ammonia spike which I didn’t realize because I wasn’t waiting for the test colors to develop, I learned the hard way

a 1-2 were killed but that was my fault because it wasn’t densely planted


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## DE-BETTA-BOWL <3 (Jun 13, 2021)

There are some test strips that come back immediately. I use some my self. If you don’t have a filter clean the tank at least twice a week or more. And wipe off the algae a bit but leave some for the live plants if u have any. 😊


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## FishandBirdLover (May 5, 2021)

I am sooo sorry that your bettas are dying! Hope you find a solution soon!


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