# Cannibal in the Sorority??



## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

So I am now down 2 females in my sorority. The first was Ini (Gem's sister) and there was no trace of her AT ALL. I did a complete tear down, and sifted the sand. My only guess is she was eaten...

Now about a week after Ini, Danica my little yellow dragon has disappeared without a trace. I'm so sad... 

Has anyone experienced this? And how do you put a stop to it? I don't want anymore of my girls dying!


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

I think you should calm down first. lol 
Animals eat animals, excluding herbivores and whatever. 

Betta fish will eat dead fish, if given the chance. In my experience, my past sorority ate a dead guppy, their choice. @[email protected] I think the females that disappeared, died first and then your girls ate them.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

I don't see how they would have died. I check on them all of the time, and they're all super healthy.  I think maybe one initiates a massacre of another one of them.

Now that I think of it though, they were only eaten when I didn't have a male in a QT cup floating in the tank. Could it be because they're hormonal and mad because they didn't 'get any'? <-Small chuckle at that one.

Still, they don't even really show aggression unless one of them invades the others 'territory'.


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

Are the females the only tank inhabitants? I've yet to experience my females actually kill each other. Its been a while since I've had an in tank death but the others didn't eat the dead although I do know it happens. How many females did you have in how big of a tank?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Also, didn't you just breed Gem? If so, the stress could have been too much for her and sometimes they just die, even when the breeding goes well. So that's a possibility and then the girls just did what they do best when it comes to eating. It's actually quite common for one or both of the parents to die after breeding and it's sad but it happens.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

I have a 20 gallon, originally with 9 and now there are 7. The only other fish in the tank are the guppies I have in there, one male and one female.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

lilnaugrim said:


> Also, didn't you just breed Gem? If so, the stress could have been too much for her and sometimes they just die, even when the breeding goes well. So that's a possibility and then the girls just did what they do best when it comes to eating. It's actually quite common for one or both of the parents to die after breeding and it's sad but it happens.


Gem isn't the one who died, it was Ini her sister. That was a week or so ago so before she was even put into the spawning tank. She's in a netted breeder in the sorority right now so she doesn't have to fight with anyone.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

My guess is the same as Lebron's... That they died for whatever reason and were then eaten.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Dang... I don't know why they would have just died? They were QTed and seemed fine. They weren't old, so that couldn't be it. I do water changes frequently and the water perimeters are as stable as they can be. The only things that changed were the boys who were in QT cups found new homes to clear up space for my breeding males. The little yellow was active and healthy from what I could tell and then the next morning she was missing.  She was one of my favorites too...


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Is there any way they could've jumped out?


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

No jumpers. It's a hooded tank. And the parts that are open are taken up by the filter and the heater. I know they didn't get sucked into the filter because I have sponge in there to help slow the current for when the guppies have fry... I don't think they could have gotten stuck anywhere? Other than plants I have driftwood, but all of the holes are large enough for them to fit through and then some, and a fish decor pot thingy. I'm just disappointed that the females keep disappearing.


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Have you completely searched the entire tank for their bodies? Maybe there's a fin left or something, to at least let you know that they were eaten, so you can then try and find the cannibal.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Yup. Both times I've completely sifted the sand, took out everything, all the water, sifted the sand in new water... nothing.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

I had an ADF disappear like that. Never found the body


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

& I'm really sad for you, I hope no more go "missing". I really loved Ini, She was beautiful. :,(


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Yeah... It sucks. :/ Like super sucks. I hope no more go missing either!


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

I'm scared to do my sorority now... I won't take my eyes off those girls ever!


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

It also happened to a 3" long emerald cory. I think some tanks are like the Bermuda triangle


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

That's a good way to put it! It's the dang Bermuda Triangle in my tank. :/

Man I hope no more go missing. I really love my girls.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

One last suggestion, did you try the filter if you have one?


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

They couldn't get in the filter. I have some sponge in there to keep the intake down a little. No way for them to get in there.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay, just trying to think of the options. But then in this case i'll have to agree that she was eaten which isn't uncommon but I hope it doesn't happen again :-(


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Is there a way to tell which it is? None really show too much aggression. I don't know. I can't really see a way to figure it out either.  I keep thinking maybe if I feed them more during the day?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It won't matter who it is, they'll all pick on the dead ones. Sorry for images, but dead meat is food for them no matter what or who it used to be. Even if you feed them, they'll keep eating.

I don't think one girl killed another, you would have seen the aggression even if it was flipped on a dime, that one would still be aggressive to others now. So it looks like your girl died of unknown causes and then the girls just ate from there. :-/


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I think nearly every fish will eat a fish that has died. I have found several half-eaten corpses in my tanks over the years. 

Fish are opportunistic feeders. They don't know that they are in captivity and they are guaranteed regular feeds, so they take whatever they can get when they can get it, whether that is pellets or a dead tankmate.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Well now I feel like I did something wrong.... I'm tempted to house them separately now. But that would take a lot of money I don't have right now.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

You can't do much, all you can do is prevent further deaths. 

I think you should just leave them be, check on the fish every hour and check every single one closely; excluding the time you sleep. Keep note on any weird behaviors, I think we can all learn from this. 

Good luck, I hope you find the reason that this happened. :I


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Don't feel like you've done anything wrong. Fish die for all sorts of reason, not just because of poor care. Unless you do an autopsy and 100% determine the cause of death there's no use blaming yourself.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Thanks you guys! I'll leave them be for now, but it might be worth housing my quality girls separately.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

That might be a good idea. 

Even the best of sororities will have some level of stress present because you are housing a group of aggressive and territorial fish together in close proximity. As most fishkeepers know stress can lead to disease or parasites taking advantage of particularly compromised fish. I think this is one of the main reasons why sororities do seem much more prone to sudden outbreaks of disease than other forms of 'community' tanks. 

If you have some valuable or particularly prized females it may be better to house them individually as I think you do reduce the possibility of stress, disease and death by doing this.


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

Yeah... I have a few that were $30 each... and the others range from a few dollars to fifteen. Personally some of the ones that were cheaper I like best, better form and better personalities. I'm going to keep watch on them. But I just feel like it's happening too much. Though Danica was the shy one and seldom came to strut her stuff to me during feedings and Ini ALWAYS showed her stress stripes, no matter what I did. Secluded her, or in the sorority she was always stressed out.


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## LADY K (Jul 28, 2012)

i would check around your fish tank. it could of jumped out.i have a 5 gallon qt tank.i put a pair of guppies in and in the morning the male was all dried up,he jumped out of the smallest and only opening by the filter. so yours could of jumped out


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## Lamb (Jul 9, 2013)

I've checked around the tank multiple times, we don't have a cat so there's nothing to eat them... But I know it's not them jumping.


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## DustinRichie (May 5, 2018)

*Cannibal Girls*

I realize this is an older thread, but I am now experiencing something similar... It seems to happen to the younger/smaller fish when I add them... But my girls are sneaky, they don't eat each other when I'm around and watching... I think they know when I leave, or the lights are off... and I come back to check, and ... where's your new little sister??!!

I have read about people who claim, "I have a male in with all my females, and they're fine" but they are typically told that when someone in the tank decides they're gonna do away with one of the fish, it happens FAST. And I think there's a difference between the change-up-in-dominance, when they flare and nip and curl up sideways at one another, to establish pecking order among the females.

Last time I actually upgraded to a new tank, I threw minnows in the tank -- call me crazy, but I wasn't willing to risk my "family" of betta girls; I figured if the feeder fish lived, the cycle was over... After I added the betta girls, I woke one morning to find a small minnow (partially) hanging out of my largest betta girl's mouth... So, I have this idea in my head that a sort of frenzy is possible if they decide they're gonna get rid of someone in the tank.

---

My current setup... Everyone* healthy and happy!

2.5 Gal: Mr. Limpet (1 male Betta) + snail, live plants - Betta Bulbs gone WILD -- he loves to curl up in them...
10 Gal, split divider: Mr. Poirot & Mr. Ballou (2 male bettas w/ black divider) + mystery snail, live plants - Betta Bulbs, Pothos, and water plants I can't pronounce...
29 Gal Sorority/Community: 10 Female Bettas (*1 is missing??!!), 3 minnows, 4 mystery snails, live plants - LOTS of Pothos, 1 mint, and water plants I can't pronounce...


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