# Sam's Sorority



## samiam11894 (Apr 18, 2013)

I'm going to use this way as a document my sorority experience 


















Unfortunately, I had to separate a girl(Brooke the big bully) already, as seen by the vase (don't worry, it's just temporary 'til the quarantine tank is cleaned) and she'll be separate for a few days while the others establish their territories and then reintroduce her. 
Poor Ruby


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Cool, do you just have the two girls right now?

Not knowing your plans I won't comment too much, but I think you should get some more plants in there so that they don't see each other all the time  I love my water sprite plant that floats at the surface for that, and my Betta's like to sleep in them too! Especially in my sorority, cutest things ever!

Good luck and I hope Ruby heals up quickly!


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## samiam11894 (Apr 18, 2013)

lilnaugrim said:


> Cool, do you just have the two girls right now?
> 
> Not knowing your plans I won't comment too much, but I think you should get some more plants in there so that they don't see each other all the time  I love my water sprite plant that floats at the surface for that, and my Betta's like to sleep in them too! Especially in my sorority, cutest things ever!
> 
> Good luck and I hope Ruby heals up quickly!


Man, I got my own fish's name wrong -__- It doesn't look like it in the picture, but the fish has purple fins, her name is Violet.

I have a total of 4 female bettas in there and it's a bit hard to see but I have the right side completely cover in plants, the back is also covered in smaller plants trying to grow, and the left cover is also closed closed off with plants, and it has become voilet's little home. I added another grassy plant in here and when I return the hood tomorrow, I'm going to raid petsupermarket for more plants


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## samiam11894 (Apr 18, 2013)

Unfortunately, Violet passed today  I know you just cant help certain fish because the stress is too much for them. I realized that she was actually biting her own tail  Poor little girl. I now need to consider adding 1-3 more females because I only have 3 in the tank and that isn't good. Brooke and Krystal are in a never ending fight for dominance and Ruby gets picked on some.
I added added some more plants and 3 ghost shrimps today. It's quite funny because Brooke and this one shrimp are mortal enemies now xD She finds it on the ground or on a leaf and inches closer 'til he, what I presume, bites her or swims away really fast and it scares her.

Current tank conditions 
These picture really don't do justice for just how much decor is in the tanks. 
8 large live plants
1 large fake pant
1 moss ball
several small baby plants
1 hollow skull
1 mask
1 double column
I do plan on going to PetSuperMarket again next weekend and getting more plants or stealing some from my boys


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Aww I'm sorry to hear about Violet  S.I.P. little girl.

I would get at least 6 girls in there total so the aggression is spread out a little more evenly. Also you should get a clear breeder trap or something of the like. It's a godsend for when you find a bully. What you do is you just put that bully in there so she can still see the others but can't actually get at them. I've heard it sometimes taking up to two weeks to get that one to settle down but I had a bully and it only took three days to get her to calm down. Now she could care less about the others since she couldn't get at them.

That trick doesn't always work and sometimes you'll have to put them back in "time out" but it's certainly a much safer and easier way to handle a bully. Because if you take her out of the sorority all together and then put her back in, the same things will just happen.

But there will always be fighting for a good two weeks or so after everyone is in, you only have to interrupt fights when you think they are getting so severe that someone is going to get hurt.

Plants are a big must in sororities and I'm super glad you got more! Sometimes you can't always aquascape it like you would like, in favor for the girls. Like I see there is still lots of space in the front and middle, I would either spread out the plants more towards the middle or just get some more plants to fill it. Make it a jungle almost  But so far so good!

Also, sorry if you knew the above info already -_- don't mean to be stepping over boundaries or anything!

Oh, some floating plants would be good too like water sprite (you'll probably have to order that online if you do get it) or hornwort would be good to give them some more cover since Betta's are mid-top dwellers and will see each other more when they are at the top of the tank.


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## samiam11894 (Apr 18, 2013)

I have added two new girls into the mix, a red/purple veil tail (unnamed) and a green veil tail (also unnamed), 3 or so days prior. 
All the fish are getting along really well with hardly any tail biting or bullying. However, 2 our of 3 of the ghost shrimp have been eaten and each time i had to skim the top of the tank to get the oil out.
My red Cambodian crowtail , Ruby, is clearly the least aggressive of the bunch. Though, once Brooke, blue veil tail, took a piece of food out of her mouth and she snatched it right back, I was so proud of my shy girl :')
Krystal, marbled crowntail, is 100% the top dog despite being the smallest.
I finally was felt comfortable take the ties off the plants now that I knew the light and water wasn't going to make the plants die and my tank is looking like a mini juggle. Must get more plants!! 
Finally, one of my females in an expert bubble nest builder. Despite having had the nest destroyed completely two nights prior while I was skimming the top for oil, the fish had a nest that covered one third of my tank!! I messed up again today when I was skimming for oil so I only took a picture of what she started a few hours ago:/


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Nice!! Oh man, that's looks great! I'm lovin the jungly look, of course I'm biased but shhh lol

Just watch out, that girl might actually end up being a boy! Girls usually don't build bubble nests that big. Could we get a picture to maybe help?

I just keep staring at the Marimo moss ball and I really wan't wait to get mine! I mean, they're only 1/2 inch in diameter but they were only .99 cents! I want them now!! *throws a fit and then looks embarrassed*  lol

Looks great so far


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## samiam11894 (Apr 18, 2013)

lilnaugrim said:


> Nice!! Oh man, that's looks great! I'm lovin the jungly look, of course I'm biased but shhh lol
> 
> Just watch out, that girl might actually end up being a boy! Girls usually don't build bubble nests that big. Could we get a picture to maybe help?
> 
> ...


I'm actually not sure which one is building it. She only seems to want to do it when nobody is in the room to watch -__-
But I have checked and all the girls have their little dot so it's pretty much 100% that they are all girls.
I probably just have an odd ball fish, or some fish saw the girl blowing bubbles and started doing the same thing, just a guess.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay 

That white dot, or ovipositer isn't always a good indication of females lol just another way for them to screw us up! Quite often young males also have an ovipositer, or rather an imitation of it. So unless you can see their ovaries by shining a light behind them, then you won't know until their fins grow out long enough for you to be completely certain.


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## Fabi (May 29, 2013)

Cool~~~


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