# Sorority Log - Fish from Aquabid - Photo Heavy



## GreenTea

Hey all! I know there is a sorority sticky, and various questions and answers given every day on the topic of sororities. Initially I wanted to keep a record of how I started and kept my sorority for personal reference. It then occurred to me that a log would be a potentially beneficial reference for others who are considering starting a sorority or are just interested in just one example of how one is set up. If there is no interest in 

_**I am planning to leave out basic/ general rules for sorority keeping, as those are mentioned and discussed in the sticky. However if anyone does want to know or has any questions I'll be happy to answer them here._**

*Here is my setup:*
Cycled and filtered 20 gal long tank
Heated to 82 degrees
About 8 or so medium to large amazon swords and 2 or 3 compact amazon swords 
A bit of duckweed
7 fake plants of various heights
3 small pots
1 giant vase
1 large decor item with hide-y holes
2 baby snails










Top down view










Density from left










Density from right











*On how I chose my female betta fish*:
I chose to purchase all of my fish from aquabid as young females, all of the same tail type, which is halfmoon plakat. I also purchased all but one from the same breeder. A few of the females are siblings. I did this for a few reasons - I figure fish from the same breeder of the same age and tail type will probably have the most compatible and consistent behavior. I also got a discount for purchasing many fish from the same breeder at the same time. After that decision was made, I simply spent a month selecting an adequate number of beautiful fish from his plentiful selection! There is no one way to select fish for a sorority. Many pet store and chain store bettas have unknown and complicated genetic backgrounds that can make illness an issue. It is also impossible to know the ages of these fish or ask their original breeder or owner about their temperament, diet, etc.

*These are** the girls purchased:

*








Orange Copper Dragon









Marble Dragon









Red Dragon *(DOA)*









Yellow Lavender 









Black & Red Dragon









Blue Dragon









Purple & Copper Marble 









Orange Dragon


Thanks for checking out my thread! I'll be updating regularly as long as there is interest. I plan to just run updates until the sorority is established or as long as you all are interested or have questions.


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## GreenTea

*Day 1*

*DAY 1 - *

Shipping:
I received my shipment earlier than expected, unfortunately finding the 3 bettas on the top layer dead. A few of the girls looked as though nothing were wrong, with full color and lots of vigor. Two barely moved in cloudy water, and the rest were somewhere in the middle. Fearful of losing more of them, I immediately transferred them to clear plastic betta cups I'd gotten for free (by asking) from Petco - I did this in my dim bedroom so as not to stress them. Then I emailed my transhipper and seller to let them know I had some DOA fish, and sent accompanying photos.

Acclimation:
I had previously purchased a large pipette so that I could acclimate the fish very slowly. I began dripping 10 drops at a time into their betta cup after acclimating them to the temperature of the water for 30 minutes. I added about 10 drops every 40 minutes. This is a method slower than others use, I just wanted to be very gentle and slow with the girls as their shipping adventure had been less than relaxing. After about 4 hours of doing this, I just filled their cups about 3/4 of the way full with the pipette. This was all done in my dim bedroom as well.

Introductions:
After a few hours in their new water, I opened some blinds slowly and let them adjust to the level of light that would be present in the area where their tank is. Then I gave each girl two pellets and a few frozen bloodworms. Everyone ate! Eventually I moved them to float in the tank. I decided to allow them to see one another, as they had been already on my shelf. It quickly became evident that the Yellow Lavender girl and Orange Dragon were extremely aggressive. It also became evident that the Marble Dragon was not feeling her best, as she had clamped fins and was only resting on the bottom. Everyone else had mostly regained their colors, if not completely, and was happily swimming and checking one another out in their cups. I removed the Marble Dragon to a 5 gallon I had arranged beforehand in case one or two were ill and added a few grains of aquarium salt to her floating cup.

I released the Orange Copper, Purple and Copper Marble, Blue Dragon, and Black and Red Dragon into the tank to see how they'd interact. I left the Yellow Lavender and Orange Dragon in their cups so that they could still interact but could not attack or chase anyone. The girls initially showed no signs of aggression, but soon began to notice one another and checking each other out. To my surprise, there was a good deal of flaring and a few tail slaps, but no fin nipping or jaw locking or signs of extreme aggression. It quickly became obvious that the Blue Dragon was at the bottom of the chain. The B&R Dragon just kind of did her own thing while the Purple Marble and Orange Copper fought it out.

For today I just let those 4 out for about an hour with no damage. Everyone but the Blue Dragon went back into their cups for the night. I'm going to allow them to see each other for a few more days and increase the time they're exposed to one another, and I'll add the Yellow Lavender before the Orange Dragon.

Aside from the DOA's and the Marble Dragon being clamped and inactive, sorority DAY 1 is a success.​


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## GreenTea

Here are a few photos of the girls I took 










































































These are just a few I snapped of a few of the girls, hope you like!


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## snoopy

Nice females bettas! Can I ask a question?

Why don´t you create a harem better?


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## Smokey65662

I shall be watching this thread like a hawk O.O I am very interested in seeing how this turns out


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## Laki

Aw, congrats on the new setup (love it) and the girlies (very nice selection). How long did it take for them to ship to you? And what can be done about the DOA?? Poor things  
They're doing okay still?


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## youlovegnats

snoopy said:


> Nice females bettas! Can I ask a question?
> 
> Why don´t you create a harem better?


A harem? As in females with a male?! 
We tell people *not* to do that. It usually ends up with a dead male- as the females will gang up on him. 


Greentea- Very lovely looking females!!! I hope they get along alright! ^^


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## Silverfang

oh wow! such lovely girls. Glad to hear they are doing good, keep us updated!

Oh and your purple copper looks so much like one of yours. Just don't think she's got the full 180 spread.


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## Yaoilover12397

Wow lovely girls.

I'm a little confused. You said you had more then one DOA but you only show one DOA female in your pictures, Was it a typing error?


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## GreenTea

snoopy said:


> Nice females bettas! Can I ask a question?
> 
> Why don´t you create a harem better?


I am not sure what this means, but yeah, no males in the sorority!!!

Sorry Silverfang but I don't understand your comment about looking like...one of mine? One of someone elses? 

Status update: Everyone but the Marble Dragon is doing great. A few are looking at their pellets like o_0 but everyone's eating bloodworms and most of them have had no trouble nomming their pellets. Everyone's' colors have gotten better overnight as well! 

The Marble Dragon has little white fluffy things in her cup, I think she's shedding her slime coat from the aq salt I put in there last night. I hope she pulls through...she's the first fish I bought and what inspired the sorority! Her fins look a little more relaxed today but she completely ignored her food so we'll see...

About DOA's : There were 3, you were right. The other two were males I was planning on breeding with this girl. I originally had a comment about it but decided it wasn't relevant to the thread.


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## Silverfang

Sorry for the confusion, just commenting on how much your girl looks like mine!

Sorry about the little girl who isn't feeling so well, hope you can get her feeling better.


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## Bambi

I adore the marble(hope she pulls through) and the purple copper. ~is also stalking~
I have a 20long i plan to make a sorority tank full of Aquabid girls and/or girls bought on here and another betta forum i'm on.


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## Tisia

I saw them in person a little while ago, they are some big girls, lol


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## betta lover1507

I JUST LOVE ALL OF THEM >.< I wish i could get a betta from aqua bid, to expensive for me D= i already fell in love a betta there to it is killing me


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## GreenTea

The marble girl died while I was gone :'(


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## PitGurl

I'm sorry :-(. Sometimes shipping is just really tough on them. I hope the rest do ok. They are all beautiful.


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## alysalouise

GreenTea said:


> The marble girl died while I was gone :'(


 
AH no :/ Im sorry  (she was my favorite out of the bunch you got, i now have a big soft spot for marbled coloring since i've had Monet)
Hopefully the rest pull through and do better!


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## Smokey65662

alysalouise said:


> AH no :/ Im sorry  (she was my favorite out of the bunch you got, i now have a big soft spot for marbled coloring since i've had Monet)
> Hopefully the rest pull through and do better!


I saw your snake. Its really pretty  I know this is random but ive always wanted a snake....I just know I would never be able to feed it a mouse or gerbil....I like all animals too much (except f*** spiders....ugh I HATE spiders lol)


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## Tisia

GreenTea said:


> The marble girl died while I was gone :'(


>_< poor thing


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## GreenTea

Sorry for the delay, here are updates.

*DAY 2*

First I fed everyone about 4 pellets in their cups. A pointer given to me when looking up sorority information was that slightly overfed girls are happy girls!

I released the Blue Dragon first, followed by the B&R Dragon, Yellow, and then Purple Copper Marble marble girl. While very aggressive in her cup, the large yellow girl is easily the most relaxed in the tank. She ignores everyone for the most part, or swims along in peace. Proving themselves the day before to be feisty, the Orange Dragon and Orange Copper girl remain in their cups while I let the less aggressive girls reestablish rank. This is done quickly with the Blue girl swimming for her life. The Purple Marble only seems to flare if someone comes near her.

I let out the Orange Copper first, and she begins relentlessly chasing everyone she sees. I thought this was interesting because she is the smallest of the fish. (She does have the biggest fins to body size though) I quickly release the Orange Dragon so that she may put a stop to that. The Orange Dragon is definitely the alpha female here, but isn't a jerk like the Orange Copper girl can be. The Copper is now too busy swimming and looking for a hiding spot to harass the others.

They do the usual chasing and hiding with nothing too aggressive. With my boyfriend home to check on them every once in awhile, I am satisfied with how things are looking and decide to leave them all in the tank for the day while I am going to the places I work and class.

I come home to check on them at about 9:30 at night. Everyone looks pretty good. There had been no fin nipping or anything yet, so I wasn't surprised when 3 girls each had a tear in their caudal fin. I couldn't tell if it was torn from flaring or if they had been nipped. Regardless, I decided to cup the two aggressive orange females for the night and leave everyone else in the tank for their first sleepover...! I am hoping they all continue to get along and behave into day 3.

And here's my favorite photo from Day 2


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## GreenTea

*Day 3*

*Day 3

*With the two orange girls still in their cups, I decided to feed them all at the same time and see if it incited any riots...I gave the girls in cups 3 pellets each. 

Strangely, when I opened the tank they all swam up to check me out and ignored one another. First I dropped a few pellets right next to each girls mouth to make sure they all got some food. Next, I started dropping pellets equidistant to the mouths of two girls to see how they would decide to divide it up. I expected the naturally more docile of girls to just let the alphas have it, but that was not the case. Whoever was fastest, got the pellet. The Purple Marble girl is from a different breeder than the rest, and is having the most trouble understanding what the pellets are for. She ate one only and then went back down to her little pot.

I released the two Orange girls into the tank at the same time so as to prevent the Orange Copper from picking on everyone. *The Orange Dragon has established her territory as alpha... and it's a very fitting spot. Right around the top and inside the lip of the crown on the decoration of Shiva. She mostly stays there now and calms down the copper or chases other girls away from her roost.
*
I decided to leave the girls all out in the tank again today, since yesterday had gone so well. I would be home more to watch them today, and when I was gone my boyfriend was home to check on them every once in awhile for me.

Nothing too exciting to report on that front. The Marble Girl has what are definitely a few little nips in her anal fin, and other than that everyone looked the same. I haven't seen anyone locking jaws, or anyone picking on anyone else relentlessly. There seems to be a bit more chasing today, but with very few aggressive acts going with it. I've decided to leave them ALL in the tank overnight tonight. I'm sure I'll wake up at 3 am in a cold sweat to check on them, but I've got to let them completely settle sometime...

Tomorrow, I leave to go home (to Seattle) for the weekend. I feel comfortable leaving them alone, but not leaving them alone without food or supervision for two days, so unfortunately I will have to cup and float them. I am hoping that because they will still see one another, they won't have to reestablish everything next Monday. We'll see...I will be asking my neighbor to feed them for me so they can keep getting their strength up after shipping.


*Here are photos from today. And a video if I can link it properly! The video is from right around feeding time, so you can see them together and how they act with one another.
*















































*Here is a link to the video: *

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/greentea191/Fishy guys gal/?action=view&current=MVI_3039.mp4


*I hope you guys are able to learn from this log and are enjoying my photos and updates! As mentioned I will be gone this weekend but back
next week.*


FYI - Korwhord has emailed me back and agreed to replace all 3 DOA's as well as the white marble girl who passed. Jennifer has also agreed to waive shipping fees on those 4 for me. This is great because 1) It's fair, and 2) I now have the option of getting up to 2 more girls, or just getting 1 and 3 boys for breeding. Woohoo!


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## Bambi

Glad to hear it(I love that black and red one).

if it where me i'd be sure to get a male or two in case i decided to breed(probably one dragon and one not-dragon). >_<


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## Yaoilover12397

I would see her new stock and how you like it but you should probably get at least two males for breeding. I would be very very intrested in the purple marble or the blue dragon fry myself.


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## MarinePsycho

Tracking post =3


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## Vanah

Yay for happy healthy girls! I love the tank setup, how it's mostly natural but with a few fanciful touches of color.


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## betta lover1507

am sorry she was so pretty, but everything happens for a reason you know, i know how you feel...

alsa love that snake >w<


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## Flaretacious

I am sorry to hear about the ones you lost  Its great news though that he is going to replace them and your shipping from that transhipper is going to be waived as well. :-D 

I really like your tank setup very neat. I also like your selection of females and the colors your chose, very fabulous. ;-)


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## Aluyasha

What a wonderful thread!
You gave me some great ideas for my possible future sorority.


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## betta lover1507

all i can say it is hard to care for sororities (to me though) but it is VERY rewarding ;D


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## GreenTea

*Day 4...5..6???*

Hey all sorry for the lack of update! I have been crazy busy. Here's an update on my sorority!

Turns out, I didn't cup them when I drove up to Seattle. I fed them a lot and decided to leave them alone and hope for the best.. When I got home at 1 am Monday morning, they were all fine. Hungry! But fine. 

Today, the sorority seems to be at a sort of stand still, a few girls have their own territories, and there is still some chasing and a bit of nipping. The nipping doesn't seem to tear fins though. There were some torn fins around day 2 or 3 when I posted that there were, and since then they have been healing with no new rips. Because there is still a bit of nipping I think I will add a few more plants.

A few of them are still having a bit of trouble eating pellets, but they're all trying to. I've named them, I'll post names with their photos!

*NEW GIRL UPDATE - I HAVE PURCHASED A GIANT FEMALE FOR BREEDING AND A NEW GIRL FROM KORWHORD. I would have been able to add a few more girls but with the giant I am just going to leave it at 8 females. Has anyone kept a sorority with 1 giant and other females of regular size? Of course, photos below..*.

Sorority photos -









Names from left to right: Belle, Penny, Clementine, Suma, and Lexie 









Lexie under Belle









Beautiful blue Belle, and CowCow in bottom left.









The queen of the roost, Suma.









CowCow following Suma to food.









My docile females looking like Yin and Yang. Clementine and Belle.









CowCow and Lexie being cute.









Lexie, Belle, CowCow and Penny.

*HERE IS THE GIANT AND THE NEW REGULAR SIZED GIRL!* 

Giant -









Salamander female -










***I think from now on I will only be updating with changes and when the new girls are added. I'd love to open up the thread and answer any questions anyone might have - about sororities, about me, about buying from aquabid, anything you can think of.***

And thanks for all the compliments! I hope I am able to help other forum members.


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## LittleBettaFish

You have some beautiful females in there. Excuse me while I just go and steal them from you :mrgreen:

When I have the space and funds, I'm definitely going to be doing something similar. The whole process of purchasing and transhipping always makes me nervous. Although our transhipper is always really nice.

I had two imported females that have found themselves in my VT going-outside-in-summer sorority tub to make room for my breeding stock. 

I think they know they're a little too good for that common riff raff.


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## Tikibirds

> *. Has anyone kept a sorority with 1 giant and other females of regular size?*


Not sure if mine is actually a giant or not but she is MUCH bigger then all my other females and bigger then ALL my males as well. She looks bigger then the King bettas at petco, she came from walmart so I have no idea what her genetics are. I though I would have issues with her as she is so big and I have two that I am not sure are even adults yet but I have never seen her cause any issues - at least not with the smaller fish. I did have an issue with her and another girl but the other girl was a bully and tormented everyone. She totally destroyed the fins on her breeding partner as well...poor guy.

I want to breed her but none of my males are big enough


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## GreenTea

She's very pretty and if she's bigger than a king I'd say she's a giant!


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## GreenTea

These are girls that are being added to my sorority - Orange dalmation, salamander girl, giant girl, and blue marble. I am still hoping to have a blue marble line as well as my goal of giant green marble line. My girl Lexie is not doing well in the sorority. She glass surfs, is always pale and hiding, and is the only one who gets picked on. I hope she will be able to fit into Tisias sorority, and if not she'll get her own tank or go to another friend starting a sorority. She's been floating in their tank with IAL, a bit of aq salt and some TLC for a few days after some nasty nips.



















Right now, with the exception of Lexie, the sorority is completely peaceful and seems to be established. The girls all eat together with no issue, have quit their chasing and nipping, and have lost all signs of distress. I still will be adding a few plants before introducing these new girls, to insure continued success.


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## Vanah

Omg the blue marble is so cute!


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## Yaoilover12397

Hey Greetea. Who si the marble dragon from?


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## GreenTea

Thank you! Her face looks like a bird.

Yaoi the user account was Ttbetta, she was only $17.


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## mjoy79

Love your sorority log! Your girls are just gorgeous. Is this your first sorority?
This kinda makes me want to re-vamp my sorority decor. Look forward to more updates. I've had my sorority going since mid- August. I have lots of plants and hidey places but they still do a bit of chasing and fin nipping. I wonder if the 10G might be a little small even for 5? Or is this to be expected?


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## GreenTea

Since I revived this thread with a link, is there still anyone looking and would you guys like some updates? I have photos and videos 


























Giant marble and regular sized marble girl



























Here's a video of the sorority! -

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/greentea191/Fishy guys gal/?action=view&current=MVI_3330.mp4


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## hotrod57ts

love your girls,id brack my arm agen to have girls like that


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## hotrod57ts

i wount to see a lot more


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## Tikibirds

They seem so calm at feeding time. My girls are like pirannas.


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## mjoy79

Tikibirds said:


> They seem so calm at feeding time. My girls are like pirannas.


Haha. Mine are too. I'm surprised none of them have jumped out of the tank yet.
I'll have to watch the video later.


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## Silverfang

calm... food?
I've got one girl who clears 3 inches horizontally at least in her haste for food


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## GreenTea

Haha sometimes they jump up on leaves to get pellets that have landed there. They are super accurate with that...

I guess they are pretty chill...Having a few giant females in there has insured that an alpha among the smaller girls is irrelevant... not that there were issues before, but now everyone's pretty chill. I also tend to feed them in groups? If this makes sense? A few of them are just more docile and will allow other females to get food, I've gotten it so they sorta hang to one side and get food while the others fight over it. 2 of the females are about 1/5 the size of the giants and because of this only need a couple pellets while the giant girls each need a minimum of 8, so sometimes I throw some off to the side and then some right to the giants after they swim away.

Feeding a sorority can be tricky, that's for sure! The piranhas in them come out when it's time for bloodworms


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## Tikibirds

Tell me about it. Giant girl can eat three of the larger floating pellets in one gulp and they are too big for the smaller girls. So I feed the floating ones first to distract Miss Bettazilla and then feed the smaller sinking ones for the smaller girls. 

Ya know, I honestly can not tell who my alpha is. I would think its the giant girl based off size, but I really can't tell. I think my VT's are at the bottom since they seemed to have more nipped fins when I had the two trouble makers in there, but its been peaceful since they were exiled.


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## GreenTea

Other girls being added..


















and


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## mjoy79

You find some gorgeous girls, GreenTea! I watched the video last night. Cute little girls! and none of them jumping for food!  i wish I could tell my girls "when you jump, you're actually getting farther away from the food, sillies!"


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## GreenTea

Thanks mjoy...

Well I did this thing that might have let them know it's a bad idea to spazz. If they were aggressive with one another I.E. nipping or whatever during feeding time, I would use my finger to gently tap the ridge of their back, pushing them down and away from food. I did this for about the first week I was establishing my sorority.


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## FuulieQ

How how many fish are in the tank now? They're all so pretty!


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## MaisyDawgThirteen

I'd love to see more updates! Your sorority looks beautiful!


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