# Setting up my first betta sorority, need advice



## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

Hello fellow betta lovers!

So, I've had a recent unfortunate event in one of my 10 gallons from an unusual climb in nitrates. This issue is being taken care of, and the tank is currently empty. My interest in bettas has been coming back, and the thought of turning the empty tank into a betta sorority is quite appealing to me. That is, after I'm 100% sure the tank is safe.

I have a few questions though, and I thought the best place to ask them would be here.

Is a 10 gallon large enough to keep 5 female bettas in?

How should I introduce them? All at once? Or get one at a time?

I may have more questions, but these are all I can think of for now.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

You can do 5 in a 10 gallon easily. All in at once, or a couple at a time, lesser aggressive ones first. Don't want to get just one and let her establish territory before adding in others.

Betta sorority thread.


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## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

Thanks for the link! I'm eager to start up this sorority and rescue some girls from Petsmart. If she's still there, there's an all-deep-purple female in one of their larger tanks with some tetras that I was eyeing... she was with only one other female and her poor fins were all torn up. Darn you Petsmart employees! D:


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

How high did your nitrate get and did you have any ammonia, nitrite spikes, how long was the tank setup....did a water change/vacuum and/or rinse of the filter media not lower the nitrate to a safe level...under 20ppm....

Setting up a sorority-I would get 6 females and add them all at the same time...be sure and have at least 3 tall items in the tank that goes all the way to the top-to break the line of sight-since Bettas are surface dwelling species they need a way to the top without being seen to breath, rest, feed......also, mid and bottom level are important to have hiding places as well but not as important as the surface....


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## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

The tank has been set up... hm... maybe over 2 years. The nitrates I'm pretty sure were not a spike, just due to me improperly performing water changes; my API liquid test kit read over 200ppm... yea my mind exploded when I read that number. I did a proper water change last night, and I'll probably do another one if the nitrates aren't around 20ppm when I test it when I get back home.

As for the tank set-up, here's a picture:


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## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

Well, nitrates were still high when I tested yesterday. Gonna do a water change tonight and test again tomorrow. This is like my fourth or fifth water change since last week.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Are you shaking the second bottle in the nitrate test enough? You really have to bang it hard against something a couple of times as I think it forms crystals and can give inaccurate results. 

Also, have you tested the amount of nitrates present in your tapwater? I know some people can have as high as 20-40ppm, which isn't ideal if you're trying to lower them.


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## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Are you shaking the second bottle in the nitrate test enough? You really have to bang it hard against something a couple of times as I think it forms crystals and can give inaccurate results.
> 
> Also, have you tested the amount of nitrates present in your tapwater? I know some people can have as high as 20-40ppm, which isn't ideal if you're trying to lower them.


I knew to shake it longer than what the instructions say, didn't know to bang it on something though for breaking up crystals. o.o I haven't tested my tap, but if the nitrate test comes out stark red _again_, I'm definitely going to.


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