# Sorority tank



## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

So I just started a community tank and I'm thinking I want to turn it into a sorority tank, how would I go about adding the other females and how many should I get?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

How big is the tank? it should be at the very minimum 10G but a 20G is better.

You shuld so some resesrch before starting one as it can be hit or miss. Plus you should also have an extra tank on hand in case one of the girls you pick can't play nice with others.

Basically all you need is a tank, decor and 5 females. However you want the tank to be heavily decorated. The more objects there are in the way to disrupt the line of sight, the easier it is to escape from being chased or bullied. 

Once you have the females and tan set up, I float them in cups to acclimate them and then I release them one at a time. Try to release the least agressive one first and most agressive one last. I could never tell so I just released one and then 30 minutes later, released another and so on. 

They should explore for a bit and then you may notice they will start to bicker. This is pretty normal but you should keep an eye on them incase the fights get severe. They are establishing a pecking order, just like wolf packs. Some chasing and tail nipping is normal but if any one is getting pretty beat up - remove her ASAP. If one female is being overly aggressive, cup her and let her chill in the cup for awhile and then release her again. Keep an eye out for trouble though. 

Some say get all siblings or all the same size/age. I really do not think it matters as I have had juviniles in with Giants.

my 20G with fake plants









Live plants


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

It's a 10 gallon tank. I have one female in there already so I'm not sure if it would be a bad idea to get more. She isn't aggressive at all which made me like her. She is really curious and just swims right by the ghost shrimp and tetra.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

You are going to want TONS of decor! The more heavily planted/decorated the better.
Anything that will break up the line of sight for them an places for them to hide makes the tank less volatile.

Add all the girls at once, whenever you want to add a new girl your going to want to remove all the existing girls and redecorate a bit so they get confused. Then add them all back at the same time.


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

Alright  sounds like a plan. I've been researching for over a week now so I think I'm ready.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Good Luck and post pics :-D

I have live plants so I don't rearrange. I put the new girl in a breeder net and then release her after a day or two. OR I wait till i do some plant trimming and then add the new girl - never had any issues this way.


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

Of course!!!


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Tikibirds said:


> Good Luck and post pics :-D
> 
> I have live plants so I don't rearrange. I put the new girl in a breeder net and then release her after a day or two. OR I wait till i do some plant trimming and then add the new girl - never had any issues this way.


 
That could definitely work! I personally dont re-arrange either because of all my live plants, but I always suggest it for newbies with sororities.
Too many live plants and too many girls to cup individually.
I just add a new girl in during feeding times, and it seems like nobody ever notices her.. But I have, and have always had, a very low amount of agression in my sororities. I rarely see any squaring off or chasing. They all just try to stay out of each others way, and it works swimmingly!


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

Speaking of feeding... When is a good time to feed them? I tried to feed my new fish last night but she didn't want to eat. I'm guessing because she already ate.


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

Good luck with your sorority, it's a fun tank when you have a group of girls that gets along well. The girls have such cute faces, and having the group of them eagerly awaiting feeding time makes my evenings.

With a 10G you'd probably want 5-7 girls and a couple of bottom feeders. Not sure how many to recommend. I have a bigger tank, so I have a total of 5 "clean up crew" type fish. Guessing you'd need to stick to a couple to keep from being overstocked. If the tank is already established, that's great, otherwise introduce fish slowly so you don't shock the water parameters.

As others said, be prepared to deal with any girls that don't work out - one of my original girls became sick and I didn't catch it before it got bad. She has recovered, but her injuries (got stuck on the filter intake because she got so weak) mean she can never go back into the big tank.

Lots of decor/hidey spots/plants.

And yes, pictures


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

thanks for the help. I really appreciate it. I will be sure to post pics on this thread as well as in my pics.


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I've tried all 5 together but there is one that I chose to call fiery because she is so mean, puffing her gills up and flaring her fins at this one little one that I call Baby Blue. She chases her around so I took her out and put her in the cup she came in with some tank water and waited about 30mins, got a few more taller plants to put in and tried again, she did the same thing. So now I have her in a smaller tank by herself. So far they are doing fine with just 4 and a school of tetra (5). No biting so far which is good  Pitcures soon to come


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

*My Sorority Tank*

Everything is going great so far.. I'm hoping I can put the other female back with the rest of them but so far no luck. Only question i have is how long does it usually take for them to establish rank within the tank??


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

Before bed last night I realized that my two blue females were being chased around a little more than I would have like so I had to take them out of the tank as well. I guess I didn't totally fail in my attempt to make a sorority tank. Two of my females Are still together and barely notice each other.


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## jibruno (Dec 26, 2011)

you should add more mid-ground plants or decor. i had a 30 gal betta sorority with 9 females, at first they fought and i did the same that you did and took some out. you should not leave just two together though, eventually one of them will take control and pick on the other and that makes a lot of stress on that female. 

i advise you to get more tall bushy plants that ill fill ip the tank more, maybe even try floating plants with long roots. Then add the females back and watch them. it took my females about a week before they had a rank structure, and they still would fight every once in a while but in a more playful way. 

good luck !!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I'm kind of surprised people encouraged a sorority here - a sorority + tetras in a 10 gal is definitely overstocked. It can support the sorority or the tetras, not both. I strongly recommend upgrading, or planting heavily with live plants. Either way, you definitely need more tall and mid-ground plants to help divide territory and prevent aggression.

Your girls are very pretty!


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I was told 1 fish per gallon and all together that would make 10 fish in this tank. Either way, Thanks  I plan on getting some more plants tomorrow morning and trying the whole sorority thing again.


Thought you all might like to see this. I thought it was cute... Fiery is "sleeping" (I don't think fish sleep) on the leaves.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Yeah...you'll hear 1 fish per gallon, or one inch of fish per gallon, at lot, almost entirely from people who don't know what they are talking about, usually in petshops. Here's an extreme example of why it wouldn't work - imagine ten angelfish in a ten gallon, or a ten-inch oscar. Conversely, one little tetra would be very sad in a one gallon. That rule doesn't take into account a whole bunch of things, including territorialness/aggressiveness, bioload and schooling needs. 

Fiery is very cute! Does she have a heater in her little bowl?


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I understand. And yes, she does  I moved it to take the picture. She is the most aggressive of them all, hence the name I gave her.


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I finally got more plants and my girls are all together


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Super! Pictures?


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

The girl that was causing the problems... was it the one in the cup in the first pic, and flaring in the second and third pics? Because I think I see a beard, and if I recall correctly, that could mean that "she" is a he... And that would explain the aggression that you're seeing. Anybody else see this?


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

No those are different fish. The one flaring in the second picture is the aggressive one but she is flaring up her gills too. There are 2 other girls who do it too. They look normal otherwise. She is also the one in the picture that I posted last night.. The one with the female sleeping on the leaf.


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

Her body's a bit boyish too, I'd keep an eye on her in case she turns out to be a gender-bender. Another member, Syriiven had a few problems with gender benders in her sorority XD


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

Also, Pictures! I love looking at peoples sororities! Makes me jealous of what I can't have


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I see what you mean about the cupped betta in the first photo...can't hurt to keep an eye on her just in case. Can you post some closer pictures of her?


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

So far everyone is getting along.. There is a lot of chasing going on which is normal, but Princess and Fiery seem to only go after the bluer colored females which are the ones that are 2 of the 3 crown tailed. They don't pay Lady any mind which confuses me.




Princess and Fiery have the closest bodies to males out of them all.


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

Nice! I love all of the colours you have in there (Ladies and plants)!


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

The top picture in the line up I just posted is of Fiery, she is the one giving me the most trouble. Princess isn't as bad but she gives a little bit of a chase after the blue ones too.. Give me a second to find a closer picture of Princess


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

The one in the cup is Princess.. These are the best ones I can find of her.


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

Princess is definitely a princess (she's got cuuuurves), I'm still on the fence about Firey though...


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

She does fine alone in a bowl so I might take her out and see about getting another female instead.


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

Well if you're happy with that solution, why not? That way She can have a happier live, the blues she's harassing can have a happier life and you don't have to stress about someone getting hurt! Good on you! It's tough to make a decision like that  (I LOVE that fuchsia plant, btw)


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

Thanks  I guess I will take her back out and put her back in that bowl and try again with another female.


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

Maybe it's something with reds. My red girl Grif has a distinctly different body shape than my other girls. She's somehow longer and slimmer, but she's still definitely a she.


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I talked to Syriiven and she said she was unsure but she is leaning towards it being a male. I put her in a smaller tank alone with a heater and the other girls are still in the bigger tank. Everyone seems to be doing just fine. Now I just have to find another female who is really a female. 

You think if I take her back to the pet store they will let me get another one instead??


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

I'm sure they will. Just explain that there was very too much aggression from her and that you'd like to exchange her for another. Any pet stare worth their salt will be happy to oblige because it means that you will likely return and you will likely recommend them to people you know. Accepting exchanges is just good business!


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I found out that the policy is 14 days and I have about a week left to return her. I plan to do it tomorrow... I hope I can find a better one though she/he is so cute when cuddling into the plants


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

That's great! I always ask about return policies before purchasing fish/invertebrates just in case there's a problem with behaviour or if they die in the first week or so. I have yet to find a place that's not good (except Petland for their snails: they refuse to guarantee them, so I don't buy any from there).

I hope you can find a girlie with as much personality as her too!


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## EllaEcstasy7 (Feb 27, 2013)

I found one similar to her except she is a ct.. She is aggressive enough and even shows Princess she is the boss. She fits right in so far


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