# Starting a sorority



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

I'm currenty cycling a 10 gallon heavily planted tank to start up a sorority. I had a question about adding the girls. I don't want to stress the new tank by adding too many fish at once, but I've also read that only adding one or two at a time almost guarantees fighting and possible death. Yikes. Should I start with three and then add two more (going for a total of 5 girls). Space them out more than that? I'm scared to start with just two in there. Any suggestions? Thanks!


----------



## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

I have the same question, but I think you should float the cups in the water so they cam see each other the same tank and see their tank...Then add them all at once. But don't look at me.


----------



## peachesxo (Jan 20, 2011)

I don't know too much about sororities but I do know that that plan is not a good idea!! 
They should all be introduced at the exact same time so they have an equal oppurtunity to claim territory/establish a pecking order. Having only 2 or 3 to start will very likely result in bad injuries/death of one or both of the fish, they can't spread out the aggression with that little a number (that's why more 5+ are recommended), and by the time you added the rest of them if the others hadn't mauled eachother to death already, they will then target those new ones because they have already "called" their territory.


Anyhow, someone else can probably elaborate more, but i would cycle your whole tank or whatever first and then add them all at once.


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

Won't 5-6 fish all at once stress a tank? Iwould think that many at once would spike ammonia in even a well-planted tank?


----------



## peachesxo (Jan 20, 2011)

LisaLB24 said:


> Won't 5-6 fish all at once stress a tank? Iwould think that many at once would spike ammonia in even a well-planted tank?


that's why you should let it cycle first


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

If it's already cycled it shouldn't be any problem. As was stated before, the girls should be added at the same time so no one has a chance to claim territory first. There will be some nipping and chasing while they are establishing a pecking order. Be aware that sometimes sororities don't work. Sometimes they just aren't compatable with each other.


----------



## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

When I started mine, I added the smallest, least aggressive one I had... Which was Mew by the way, and let her swim around and explore for about 10-15 minutes, after which I floated the rest of the cups in the tank for a bit, and released them in order of least aggressive to most 2 at a time. They all flared, locked lips and bit each other constantly for the first hour or so, then they explored together and all that, while still showing some aggression. I only had one troublemaker (Daiquiri), who built a rivalry with Faye, but they've since settled their differences. lol... When I do 100% changes, I do the same thing. Based on my observations I release the least aggressive one first. It doesn't even seem to matter anymore since there's barely a pecking order anymore. If I'm introducing a new betta she's always the one to go in and explore first. Eh, some people may not agree with the way I do things, but it's evidently worked so far.


----------



## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

My sorority is amazing! Instead of avoiding one another, my 5 females act like schooling fish, they always hanging out.


----------



## Chard56 (Jan 22, 2011)

My only contribution to this post would be, "The more the merrier". You didn't say how big your tank is so I couldn't make a suggestion on the numbers you would need to create a fairly peaceful tank. I have a 100 gallon tank for my females and have 150 to over 200 in there at any given time. There is a big power filter at one end to give a decent current without blowing them around. By the time two of them square off 3 or 4 more come by and they forget what they were doing.


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

Wowza, that's a lot of fish! Just gorgeous! 

I'm currently cycling a 10g, filtered, heated tank to get ready for them. Lot's of hideys and heavily planted. I thought the tank was cycled and was planning on getting the girls this weekend but my tester snail went belly side up (I've got another post out there about this) so I might wait a bit longer to get the girls. I've been reading up on other sites about sororities and the general consensus is the more the merrier. Would 7 be ok in my 10g?


----------



## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

I think 7 too much. 5 is perfect


----------



## Theraggy1 (Jan 30, 2011)

seven will go fine, you could even put eight. Five is to few, they pick on each other greatly.


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

I read somewhere that even numbers can be a problem and they do better in odd numbers. That's why I chose 7. Any experience with this?


----------



## Chard56 (Jan 22, 2011)

*Odd or Even*

It's not the number that counts really it's how many you want and how many the tank can handle with your maintenance. I have over crowded fry tanks that I have to do almost complete water changes on once a week and other growout tanks that have had all the males pulled from and only have 8 or 10 females left in a 20 gallon tank. They could be left for weeks with an occassional partial water change. The more caves, rocks, plants or whatever hiding places you have, the better they will get along. With a good filter system and weekly water changes and a good maintenance regimen you could have 8 to 12 in a 10 gallon. I spend half my day in my fish/bedroom tending to my 1,500 or so Bettas. I don't expect someone else to spend that much time nor would I recommend someone have 40 or 50 half grown Bettas in a 10 gallon tank like I do. It's all about how much time you personally have to take care of your fish. If you only have time to feed them once or twice a day and one day a week spend a half hour cleaning filters and changing water then go with a half dozen in a 10. The more fish you put in your tank the more time you spend keeping it clean and keeping your fish healthy.


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

Thanks. I think I will go with 7-8. I'm meticulous about my tanks. It's what I do in the evenings while the hubbs plays video games! If I post a pic tonight, can you all give me feed back on my setup? Whether I should add more hideys, plants, etc?


----------



## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Of course! We're always happy to give feedback and help out! Can't wait to see what you do with it!


----------



## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

Just make sure you watch the aggression, some girlies just aren't meant for sororities!  I have a girl that is more aggresive than all of my boys put together!


----------



## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

Theraggy1 said:


> seven will go fine, you could even put eight. Five is to few, they pick on each other greatly.


Not my 5 females, they act like schooling fish :lol:


----------



## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Really it all depends on the personalities of the fish you have. I've had as few as 4 in my tank at a given time (Daiquiri was in time out for a while), and they've gotten along just fine. However I've heard other stories from other members that have more aggressive fish. Really, you'll learn what works best for YOUR fish based on your experience with them. Don't expect to get it perfect the first time, something is always going to go wrong, just be ready for it when it does.


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

Thanks so much for all the tips. Here are some pics of my tank. Sorry so blurry. It is still cycling but any feedback would be welcome!


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

The planting looks pretty sparse in the pics, but that water sprite will take over the tank in a couple of weeks! I have all the sprite floating right now, should I plant some near the middle of the tank to make more of a "barrier"?


----------



## LisaLB24 (Oct 26, 2010)

Bump! Should I add more plants? I've been looking at some pics of other soroitites on here and I'm thinking my tank looks a little sparse. Maybe remove one or both "caves" and add more plants?


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm sure your girls would love for you to add a few more plants. I'd leave the caves in there.


----------



## Torat (Dec 22, 2010)

I put all of my girls in the tank at the same time. I have a ten gallon with four (was five - one was a boy) girls in it. I kept the light off for two days when I put 'em all in. Turned it on and all was well.

I vote cabomba for a fast-growing, easily spread, easy to cultivate plant. It takes over my tank in days, literally days.


----------

