I have had a sorority for 5 months now. One fish died(she wasn’t very healthy when I got her) the rest have gotten along fairly well and I love watching them .
I have 7 female bettas in a 20 gallon. I have no problems. There just happy to be out of that cup. I spend a lot of time looking over the tank. I'm obsessed. They have plants and a huge cave like with hiding places and a live rock and a sponge filter on low. They all have names. Delta, Bubbles, Sky, Lucy, Genesis, Spirit, Luna and for 5 days I babysat my daughters female Betta I named Hot Lips. There is no agression. I dont have chasing they just swim. There such cool fish.
I have a 25 gallon tank with 2 bettas in rn. They get along soooo well I have 3 different caves and also a big rock to hide in. I wanna add more but I'm afraid the tank isn't big enoigh?
@@maymelynn6504 hi. Do you have any other fish beside 2 female betas in your 25 gallon tank? Google how many fish can you have for a 25 gallon tank. Try if you can to only keep betas. Introduce 2 at a time. If you buy 1 the other 2 females will spook her and chase her it will be stressful. So if you decide to buy another beta make sure you buy 2 or 3. Float the fish for 5 minutes or so. And you will be fine.
I had a very large tank with a lot of hiding places and plenty of food, etc. the sorority was not successful. There was a lot of fighting, despite having the same group of females for the life of the sorority. Slowly, the females killed each other despite my attempts to mitigate fighting with whatever tips I could find. Perhaps they could work, but it didn’t work out for my fish :(
While I can appreciate the look of one and can understand why people want to try, I would never do it personally. There’s way to much risk that I wouldn’t want to be involved with, and if something happened I would have trouble forgiving myself.
Me and my girlfriend have a betta sorority. We bought a new female for our collection and she was sick but we were not aware. And 4 of our females got sick. We couldn’t save them in time. It is pretty difficult to maintain a betta sorority but it sure does look very cool! We still have our sorority but now no sick fish are gunna be put it! Also lots of plants and driftwood helps to block vision from each other. We have 4 tanks and all of them have bettas. If your willing to really watch them it’s totally worth it!
I’ve seen many people brand new to the hobby want or try sororities without knowing ANYTHING about them. I think part of the issue is that the term “sorority” sounds so cute. Except it isn’t. These fish aren’t best buddies having fun college adventures together. Personally, I think UA-camrs should be more blunt about how and why they fail, what happens to the poor fish at the bottom of the pecking order, how stress increases the likelihood of disease, how quickly it can all go wrong, etc. There are so many peaceful, colorful, amusing community fish in the world; choose those instead, people, and keep your grumpy assassin fish in their own separate aquariums.
Waters Rising I could hardly love this comment more! You are totally right, many love the idea of sororities, with either no clue or no care for the realities, challenges, and stressors. After six months of research & preparation, I ended up putting my sorority plans on hold, indefinitely. It will be a long while, if ever that I revisit the idea, certainly it would require still more betta specialty experience.
Agreed. As a former amateur who did that very thing, it was just pain and suffering for the poor fish at the bottom of the pecking order. Now I just keep one in their own tank.
I agree for "amateurs " OR "new to the hobby AND/OR didn't do proper research. Myself, been in the hobby for years & have a 120 gallon, HEAVILY planted & decided to dedicate it to "rescue' bettas. It breaks my heart seeing them in tiny cups in the pet store. My 120 is dedicated to rescuing bettas. I have 15 females in my sorority, because of so many plants, MANY hiding spots & all the same size bettas, it has been a success. I DO NOT recommend just tossing in females in a small aquarium & hoping for the best, they would be better off in their private tiny cups! They need to be introduced to a LARGE, HEAVILY PLANTED aquarium at the same time or in groups of 3-5. I'm obsessed with bettas & have many years experience with them. Also want to add, you should have a few 20-30g aquariums setup & cycled incase you end up with an aggressive female, so she can have an aquarium all to herself. Bettas are not a fish to experiment with. They deserve the best & in order to give that to them, you need to know what you're doing. LOVE MY BETTAS! Happy Fish keeping!!! 🐠💕
thank you for this video! im starting a sorority tank in my 20 gallon next week (ive been cycling my tank for a month) and it's my first sorority ever. I did so much research and honestly I'm still pretty nervous about it, so this video helped me feel a little better about it. 5 female bettas and they're all from one breeder, and the five girls have been already sharing a tank since they were babies! also bought a bunch of plants and wood so im really trying to make this work and more fool-proof.
....... thank you so much for this video. I tried keeping two female bettas in a community tank and was adding new fish (I'm new to bettas too). Both ended up dying due to dropsy despite removing them and medicating. I think I'll deal with a singular betta in its own tank from now on.
I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I think it happens to a lot of beginners. If you want two females in the future, you can consider a divided tank with the dividers from lifewithpets. A single female in a nice tank of her own..and maybe some peaceful community fish is also nice ^_^ I'd like to set up a one female community tank oneday.
I have 3 dumbo females together currently with lots of plants and hiding spaces for them. Introduced them slowly to the tank and each other one fish at a time. It took several weeks for the pecking order to get through (still kinda going through it but it's thinned out), but they're getting along now and tails are growing back in after all the nipping and there's been no further issues. Always heard it's better to have at least 3 or more depending on the tank size.
I bought my friend a female sorority- 7 females for a 20 gallon, that was two years ago and they’re still doing wonderful. I seriously wish he would do a video. Lol
Lifetime fish keeper here. Both fresh and salt. Bettas are my favorite! Currently keeping 25 female Bettas in a 75 gallon 4' tank. Bare bottom with 2 large sponge filters from Co-Op. Daily water change of 10 gallons while siphoning off the bottom. Feeding 3xs daily. Frozen Daphnia daily with pellets and flakes as well. Keeping both plakats and dumbos together. Also, large and small fish mixed. No dither fish at all. May add some Corys and Plecos down the road. Lots of silk plants, no live plants. Also plenty of ceramic caves. Fish come from 3 different sources. All from Asia. I would not suggest or attempt doing a sorority in anything less than 20 gallons. I think success comes with large area and some overcrowding. Up to 1.5 fish per gallon. However, you need to stay up on water quality if you do choose to overcrowd. Lights are only turned on during feeding and fish watching. I treat all my tanks the same. Discus, guppies, bettas. Bare bottom tanks with lots of small water changes. I would not think a sorority tank is for the beginner or lazy fish keeper. It is a wonderful setup to have, but you need to pay attention to your tank and it's inhabitants. You owe that to them.
I have 6 betta females and 1 male in 20 inch long tanks with a custom bridge between … they love each other I also have 2 roseline sharks , a red tail shark, 4 Buenos Aires tetras, and 5 dwarf frogs
Wow I'm not sure why this wasn't in my top results when researching sororities! I really value the information you provided here and it has convinced me that maybe I don't want to start a sorority. I think that I am capable but the long term stress that I could be causing to the fish and the high failure rate out weighs the beauty a sorority tank gives. Thank you! New subscriber!
I've been wiffling back and forth over doing a sorority tank. I'm still cycling and getting plants right now. But I may end up with shrimp, kuhli loaches, snails, and possibly Cory's. Perhaps instead of a Betta sorority, I can do one frmale Betta and a bunch of female Endlers and guppies in a 20g tall tank? Thoughts/opinions? The shrimp will likely get their own 10g tank so I don't have a ton of bottom feeders.
Great video and info. My sorority is doing well, thus far it's been going for about 5 months or so. Only one who seems to be a bit bossy, but that's starting to mellow as I introduce more fish in the tank. Now there are 12 in there.
I started one with 3, one died, got 3 more. It was fine for awhile. Then left with only 2 and I didn't want to get more. My blue one is the boss and will chase the koi a little but I have a ton of plants so no physical damage. I definitely won't do another sorority in the future, too stressful for me and my fish.
I feel like people are drawn to sororities because they want to 'save' more bettas they see in cup at pet-chains. We all know we shouldn't buy fish there- but it's really hard to just walk by a dirty cup. Good video.
Our first female betta passed away back in March. My gf spent months prior to her death, researching how to do a sorority tank. When Pink passed away we decided to get 5 new females and do a sorority. My gf is not exactly new to the aquarium hobby so we thought it would be fun. Boy were we wrong!! Within 15 minutes we had to separate them all. They were literally tearing each other to pieces! It can go wrong that fast! We quickly separated them all into their own tanks. Even after months of dedicated researching how to do it properly, it still didn't work out. We have joined some betta groups on Facebook and see many posts of sororities. Many of the fish look unhappy, and unhealthy. Most have ripped fins and looked stressed. After our experience, we will never try a sorority again. All but one survived (Hazel died a few months later of unknown causes, long after separation and healing). The four survivors are happy and thriving in their own space. Madonna lives in a 20 gallon long with a kuhli loach, 10 oto cats and 3 snails. She gets a bit fired up with the oto cats once in a while but overall she is much happier. Elsie has her beautiful garden all to herself with 3 snails. She flares at them when they linger on the glass too long lol. Ellie is in her own 10 gallon oasis with 3 snails and surprisingly Twila is in her happy little place in a 6 gallon with a couple of snails. They're all so happy and show so much personality, which I never seen in sororities. Keeping them separated for the win in my opinion. They're really not social fish in the sense that they like other companion fish. They LOVE social interactions with their humans though. I would much rather spend time with them individually, watching their incredible personalities shine, then all together stressed out all the time
I have a question though: about 50% of bettas are female (in theory) but the majority of people want male bettas. This means an excess of females, likely resulting in them being culled. So buying multiple females would balance out the ratio a little and maybe ''save'' some of the females. However, most people don't have the space/time/money to maintain multiple 5 gallon tanks for multiple female bettas, so a sorority may be seen as the best option. Is this a fair assessment? Or a ridiculous justification? Or just further anthropomorphizing? Basically just a thought experiment/ moral questioning, but I'm interested to hear any thoughts on it.
I've actually decided to get females because of the amount of people rather buying males. I have 2 rigjt bow in the same tank. 25 gallon. They get along very well. I've thought about adding more but don't want any fighting so Idk yet.
I just got a 10 gallon tank, I picked up 3 females I was thinking of picking up 2 more but now I'm not to sure. They aren't fighting today it's looking good.
Yes a 20 gallon for 5 and I've rread and heard from research it's best to have 5 per 20 gallon for a Sorority at the minimum I'm looking into 5 in a 20-29 gallon aquarium and will have back up tanks just incase things don't go well and it will be a heavily planted tank
Bettas are my favourite fish and I enjoy keeping the females. I have a 150l tank with plenty of girls and they get on well over the past year. Lots of hiding spaces and regular checks :) no issues yet xxx
Female Betta Sorority tanks, the pet stores are not helping us. So glad UA-cam exists. What I learned setting up my own... 1) Water has to be WARM, min 78 F 2) Have lots of plants/items in tank to break up site lines 3) Buy Bettas of similar size to reduce nipping 4) Buy a minimum of FIVE, it is harder for a "queen" to dominate the tank if you have 5 or more fish. Less than this and it is too easy for someone to be dominant. 5) Don't try this in a tiny tank, minimum 20 gallons, bigger the better 6) Re-arrange the tank EVERY time you do a water change so that any dominance that starts is "reset"
@@CreativePetKeeping yeah I get it, it's a tricky one to take on. I think your opinion demonstrated honesty and the complexity of the issue. Well handled and hopefully will stimulate some interesting conversations in the comments.
Thank you so much, Kasia, for this well-researched and well-explained video! I spent close to six months researching, planning, and readying for a betta sorority (large enough tank, spare tanks for isolation, hardscape, plenty of plants, lining up a reputable breeder/importer, etc). By that point I decided to put a hold on the project; the risk is too high for my comfort, at least until I have more experience under my belt. I must admit that losing my favourite male to an incurable illness (likely arising from poor genetics & poor care from the source) did also factor into the decision, but more on the emotional than rational level. For now that tank is going to remain a tetra/corydora/nerite tank, and I'll revisit the idea again this summer.
What disease was it? If it was myco/fish TB, it can be cured sometimes. Diana Walstad wrote an awesome paper on it. I modified it a bit. Clarithromycin (which can be hard to source) plus a UV sterilizer. One of my two is still battling fin involvement but the other has healed amazingly. Spine is straightening out. Sores have closed up, and he is gaining weight.
I have a betta sorority currently and have had on in the past. The one I had in the past lasted for years until eventually all the bettas passed. I didn’t add any more bettas because I wanted to do something different with the tank but even when I was down to two bettas they got along. It was amazing. The one I have now is doing great as well. I’m looking to get more females to add. The one I have currently is in a 20 gallon long heavily planted community tank.
Ive kept a huge betta sorority last year and they’ve lived well until they passed away due to different illnesses. I would keep females in a sorority, or as I call it my “Diamond Sorority”, as they were everything to me and they made me really happy.
love this video! Me and my gf didn't have much luck either, we got to the point were we felt we were always babysitting them and looking at them all to make sure everything was okay...
@@CreativePetKeeping kind of like that with betta fish breeding too just seems abit to rough to much fin damage for our liking! with all the pairs we have tried we haven't found one that really accepted each other even if they look almost identical and the opposite so we have just decided to keep our family of 15 and are currently searching for good longterm tanks for them, tossing up between a custom system or individual? what do you think? luckily our 2 angels were a pair, and they are so gentle with each other, they've just laid there 2nd batch so wish us luck with this pair our first batch we had 54 so hoping for more this time! btw great vids we love watching you all sending our love from Sydney, Australia
Just added two females to my 30gallon 6 month community tank only had 2 African dwarf frogs and 6 lamp eye tetras a gold dojo loach and shrimp anything I should look out for?
I bought a sorority from my local fish store and added them to my 40 gal breeder(heavily planted) and they have done fantastic so far! I have two angels as well (which of course I researched if they could be compatible) and they do wonderful, my angels are too worried about eachother to bother my girls lol, plus their about 6 years old and lazy! I haven’t seen a single torn fin and I already can tell who is the top boss lol! Definitely my favorite tank to just sit in front of and watch like better tv 🥰
Kassia deserves so many more subscribers and viewers than she has. I really appreciate her honesty, pragmatism and dedication to trying out the topics she talks about with first hand experience so the rest of us don't have to.
Interesting! I'd love to keep a female sorority, but I feel like this might be too tricky for a novice like me, so I suppose I'll stick to a single betta for now.
Getting 5 tomorrow for a 20 long highly planted, very established community tank. Just finished watching and you said it is better to over crowd. So called the pet shop and ordered one more. So 6 coming tomorrow. I had a male betta in the tank and he jumped ship. Can't believe he did as the tank is surrounded in plants riparium style all but the front and he jumped out on the side of the tank. Placed a screen around 3 sides of the tank to avoid that happening again.
I actually had a successful male female pair in a 20 gallon community tank. They both lived to a ripe old age. I currently have a female sorority with one ‘dominant’ female but she seems to be the peace keeper.
Ive been keeping bettas for a long time, just like you, and my opinion is basically the same. Except, i have 2 running sororities and the one has been going for almost 2 years, and only one death (i think old age possibly, no sign of injury or disease) and the other one has been up a year, no deaths. But in the past, i have had sororities fail big time which i think had to do with me being a new keeper at the time and not doing enough research. But i would never recommend them to anyone, even more advanced keepers. Its just too risky as you stated. But i will keep mine going until they all pass and maybe set up another or maybe not. But great video and very informative!
Hey ladies I need some advice ... I got my first koi female betta 5 months ago I have her in a 5 gal with real plants .. I’ve done a little bit of research on sorority tanks but didn’t do enough apparently I purchased another female Koi just over the weekend and I’ve tried to put them together for three days now and my first betta is poking at my new one so I’ve been separating the older one in a breeding container inside the tank and she still is flaring up at her through the netted tank.. not sure what to do now I am however going to set up my 20 gallon to see if maybe that would help ? Ive been told to have more then 2 bettas , So they don’t pick on each other ? so how many should I have in a 20 gal ? I want this to work but I don’t want my fish to get hurt either & I won’t be purchasing any other bettas until these get along.. and if they don’t then I’ll just have to have separate tanks I just need some advice I’m stuck 😫 Either way I’m prepared to set up another tank...
My five month old beta is larger than my new one but sometimes they will rest together so I’m not really sure if it’s the size of the tank ?that’s what I’m thinking
I have been very successful with them as long as I pay attention to the fish and the dynamic that those perticular fish form. It's more about your judgement on the fish you have. For example, I had one very aggressive female that was impossible to keep in a Betta sorority so I never tried to put it in with the others anymore. Funny enough now I have all of her spawn in a related/ unrelated sorority and while some bitting does occur it generally does work.
I really wish they worked and weren't stressful. With their big personalities, it'd be a lot of fun keeping a bunch together. But they are likely a lot happier in their own tanks. They're very underrated honestly. My three females are adorable. One was the most aggressive of the bunch until I got a giant who is the most absurdly aggressive fish I've ever seen. One was so painfully shy when I got her but she has slowly grown in her confidence and is just cute as a button. The third was actually a re-home via the pet store. She was beaten up badly in a sorority :-(. All three are just as great as my boys.
I have female bettas...I start with about 5, but the bettas have many diseases...and they are hard to cure. Right now I have 3 left in a 30 gallon....with rasboras, cory catfishes, a snail and otos. Will I continue, not sure. Wondering if wild female bettas are easier to care for....since I heard male and female can live together.
One of the reasons the stress of a sorority is so bad is because it not only results in outright aggression, but because it can severely impact the immune system of the fish, leading to vulnerability to disease, even those that are ever-present in the aquarium and healthy fish can fight off.
I just built my 20 gallon Sorority with 5 females. The only one giving me problems rn is the koi but I've only see them chase and bite at but not actually nip each other. I think they'll be fine, but any tips?
I think it has to do with never having been separated. I've tried adding sisters back to a tank with their siblings and had to keep a close eye on the situation. I ended up splitting up the entire group in the end. The other option that MIGHT potentially work out would be having a tank stocked so densely that they truly couldn't focus their aggression on any one fish.
I was thinking the same thing. I guess because they can get away from each other, but some live in small rice paddy fields. I suppose they can hide from the more aggressive ones.
Hello i have 3 koi betta sororities fight now. I want to know if i would add more betta. Do they have to be the same koi species or is it ok to be a different one?
I need some advice ... I got my first koi female betta 5 months ago I have her in a 5 gal with real plants .. I’ve done a little bit of research on sorority tanks but didn’t do enough apparently I purchased
If you want to keep a community tank. I highly recommend guppies, just make sure that most of them are females. U don't need to worry about if they are related or not. And also, the looks of them are similar to bettas, it just that they're smaller and has different patterns.
Thanks for the update. I've kept females together years ago because I didn't know any better, and didn't have any problems, but they were in a 55 gal community tank. I have a 20 gal and was contemplating doing it again, but I'm trying to do things right this time, and after seeing this I think I'll just let my girl stay solo in her tank with her rasboro/cory buddies.
I bought 5 of them from Pet Smart, they were fine 5 days later, we have a filter, we put anti stress, it was all good till one of my fish was sick, she didn’t eat, always stayed at the bottom, then passed away, 4 more fish, then another got sick, and 2 days later, another got sick, they are both still alive, but do you know how to fix this? Please tell me.
Personally I think I lucked out with my betta sorority. I have a 30 gallon tank with 15 fish 9 being female bettas and the other 6 being guppies. No fin biting or fighting sometimes I'll catch a betta chase a guppy for a few seconds and then go back to swimming by itself again
I don’t really want a sorority tank but I do want 2 female bettas together I already have one in my community tank along with 2 otocinclus and 6 neon tetras ( I’m getting more otos and more neons so they can school) I have a 10 gallon if anyone can help I would appreciate it and if you were wondering they are doing fine right now
Cameron Peschel hi , so at first they are going to establish a Hierarchy. Mine are in a very heavily planted large jungle val tank so the val ribbons all through the water column so it blocks their view of each a lot of the time . So mine all sort of chill on the leaves closer to the surface . I think it’s really the only way to keep it successful and lower the stress of the gals. Also have other small nano fish in the tank to further help diffuse hostility they will learn to live in a community tank , I even have Amano shrimp and adult neocaridina shrink as well as Otto’s and mystery snails . It took a few days for them to sort it all out. Also if you can float them all together in separate containers in the tank to desensitize then if they aren’t used to be with other Bettas .
@@thunderthighs4674 good I moved them to summer pond and lost one I think to predators . Moved them back in with 4 but added guppies so things are fine . I don’t want to get a another one because I’m sure it would upset the balance
@@1luckysoul aw wow you have done well. I’m absolutely fascinated by sorority’s. But hear so much negativity about them that it really puts me off starting one.
Anytime that I have kept more than one female Betta together, I've never had a problem. Until now. I bought 5 small Betta's from different store's. One Betta was a little bigger than the others. Not much. But as they grew, Large Marge, as I call her, kept getting bigger and bigger. She's now the biggest Betta that I've ever had, male or female. Everything seemed to be going fine....... Until 3 of the Betta's died dang near right before my eyes. I never once observed any aggression. I first noticed that the other girl's started getting bit, but I couldn't ascertain from which fish. I did notice that large Marge was looking as pristine as ever though. They have plenty of space and plants to hide and relax, but even though I have no actual proof that large Marge killed the others, except for the fact that she has never once had bite's and she is the only one left, I am 99% sure that she took the others out. I've had them together for 6 months. First time having a problem with keeping female Betta's together.
I tried it out once a couple years back. I had a Sister Sorority group, all came from one spawn. They were great for a few months then tables turned, one female got super aggressive with the rear of her sisters and starting bullying all... Sadly the stress was so high they all got sick and passed away or passed from the injuries that one female did. I personally wouldn't want to try it again, and like you, I don't recommend it. It's too risky. And to be there are more risks involved rather than benefits.
Hi ! I'm new to fish and since i'm probably going to take female bettas in a 48L tank with plants and hiding structures, i'm planning on taking only two or three bettas. Is that not good ? Those bettas sororities seem reaaaaaally huge and it's clearly not what i want, but am i able to take two to three female bettas and still make it work ? I mean, they'll have place but maybe they need more fish with them ??
I'm in the middle. I had two girls that got along with each other ok, but then had a third girl that didn't get along with anyone, no matter what I did. Success depends so much on the individual fish. If someone were to ask me if they should, I'd only recommend to a very experienced fish keeper with the means to separate if necessary.
Slightly off topic but... as a child my parents got me a 100 gallon tank. I had a very varied community tank, basically choosing fish I liked the look of (I started at around 9 or 10: angels, various gouramis, rams, male bettas (1 at a time), fancy guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails, danios, neons,. But not a well chosen selection of calm temperaments, or fish enjoying similar conditions. The tank was planted but not heavily so. However, I never had problems with aggression. After a 30-odd year hiatus I've got back into the hobby with a 25 gallon. The tank is well planted. Now I've had problems with supposedly non - aggressive species. My ancistrus attacks my dwarf gourami and previously a male betta. It also gets aggressive with my Corys and ram at mealtimes. Even my rummy nose tetras nipped my poor male bettas tail (now sadly passed). And my ram attacked my female betta so I had to remove her. Ultimately it seems really clear that the issue is one of space. Get the biggest tank you can manage and its likely to make life a lot easier.
I am experienced with betta fish and I decided to start a sorority. My 10 gallon long tank is well established and these 4 dumbo ear females were in the same spawn. I just got them 3 days ago. There is no serious aggression just mild fits, but it is settling down. I did just get them 3 days ago. I watch them very closely and nothing serious.
where did you buy from and what kind of other fish do you have in the tank? I’m looking to set one up very soon (I just got back into the hobby recently but I have a lot of experience and knowledge regarding bettas!) and I’m nervous haha.
I wanted to try a sorority but when bettas get sick and die, I get really sad and depressed. I decided to do peaceful nano fish and one female betta. No bullying, everyone’s happy and healthy!
I have a soriety of 5 female bettas in a 55 gallon with other community fish and there doing awesome. Probably because i have 3 hornwort patches making 4 different open spots near the surface that they can claim as their own and wont be able to see other fish across the tank.
I planned a sorority once... then my seller accidentally sent me a male. After that I decided to just keep everyone seperated. But I'm considering trying again next time I have a suitable tank open up. Probably one of my twenties though people suggest a ten. works Between my females I have now (two) one is definitely above average size and the other below so I doubt it being a fair fight.
LOHX Jeff if you’ll accept my advice, the success of your betta-showcase community tank will depend on 3 factors, temperament (the betta’s mostly, chill? or aggressive? Although some other fish can be nippy, especially if not in a big enough school), tank size (the bigger the better the chance of success, 20+ gals is a good start), and territory (plants &/decor to provide hiding spaces & break line of sight). Overall it’s about competition, for space & resources, so getting tank mates that inhabit a lower zone or come out at night are good starts.
That’s a good idea tho, keeping more than 2 or 3 would stop the more direct bullying. That IS exactly what I do w my S American cichlids. However stores should really keep a beta in each of their larger display tanks vs those obviously small cups they put em in. Bc betas only seem to be aggressive w other betas. I’ve never had an issue w them in tanks w different breeds of fish. If anything they’ve been very shy w other breeds.
Don't do it. I placed 5 youngish 2/3rd adult-size bettas in tank with 2 angels (after carrying the bettas all the way on a plane from Sri Lanka myself). Next morning they were all gone. Eaten by the angels. A misnomer if ever there was one.
from different research and observing videos i have found that sibling sororities tend to work out pretty well, and unrelated ones tend to not work out as well. it depends on the fish really
I have a sorority going on 2-ish years now. I've had to return several females and get them traded for new ones simply because they were too aggressive with my other girls. There's no shame in trading in fish to find a good balance.
Saw A mom and it's daughter at a pet shop and the pet seller recommanded a sorority tank ... I couldn't resist and went to talk with the mom and explained why it wasn't a good idea especially for beginners
i have 3 girls in a 36 gallon tank, i think works for them because just the 3 they can divide into their own areas. Another reason it works for me (everyone is different) that my girls are the same size, also I allow one other fish with them and it's a suckerfish.
Currently I have two tanks, three female betta, I have a pair of females in one tank on their own, and then I have a singel female in a tank with my survivors, a glo fish, a red eye tetra, and a small pleco.
I had one, but one had a fungal issue and it infected my whole tank. I support them so long as you do your research. I was sold a fish that was sick! That’s why mine crashed.
Did you quarantine the fish before adding it to the sorority? It's a step most people skip, but I'm learning the value of it more and more, especially as most animal medications are now banned in Canada (as had already happened in Europe & the UK).
Anne Thornton he sold her to me saying she was healthy, and I had bought them all at the same store at the same time. They all came from the same breeder. I would normally quarantine if I was adding a new fish to a tank with already established fish in it. (I work at an aquarium store) it was unfortunate but it happens. I’m going to try a sorority again at some point, just not now
ive had one sorority unrelated very tragically crash, but I have had better luck with related my one sorority, at sexual maturity, but all ruts (sized 1 month aged 6) even managing to have an unrelated adult female in there with 1 related male all in a 20 gallon. so im with you, it is very hit and miss. I think mine established a heirachy because the male took dominance, but I don't recommend having a male in a unrelated sorority as that is what made mine crash. as long as you have more than 4 females in a related sorority with roughly 5 gallons (for first fish) then +3 per other betta, and you don't do any less than a 10 gallon, I think you could succeed. but always take caution and ALWAYS be prepared to separate.
My babies are almost 4 months old now. I bred them with two different types of bettas. Mom was a galaxy koi and the dad an all white ultra delta. Things are going great looking forward/not looking forward to separating them soon lol. I will probably do a sorority tank with my xray cats and elephant nose dolphins. I'm not sure how well this will work but my hopes are obviously high. They are all very unique outside of the all white ones that are also gorgeous. Hoping it all works out ❤
I’m actually in he process of doing a female betta sorority but now that I’m watching this video I’m just so turned off by it now. I’m constantly watching my girls cause I’m so worried about whether or not someone is gonna get killed or they’re just too stressed out by one another. I may take them back just to get one single male or get dividers
Is my female betta fish pregnant? | Bloated OR Egg bound: ua-cam.com/video/5BF6LUazPrU/v-deo.html
I have had a sorority for 5 months now. One fish died(she wasn’t very healthy when I got her) the rest have gotten along fairly well and I love watching them .
Hi, how did it go in the past couple of years?
I have 7 female bettas in a 20 gallon. I have no problems. There just happy to be out of that cup.
I spend a lot of time looking over the tank. I'm obsessed. They have plants and a huge cave like with hiding places and a live rock and a sponge filter on low. They all have names. Delta, Bubbles, Sky, Lucy, Genesis, Spirit, Luna and for 5 days I babysat my daughters female Betta I named Hot Lips. There is no agression.
I dont have chasing they just swim. There such cool fish.
I have a 25 gallon tank with 2 bettas in rn. They get along soooo well I have 3 different caves and also a big rock to hide in. I wanna add more but I'm afraid the tank isn't big enoigh?
@@maymelynn6504 hi. Do you have any other fish beside 2 female betas in your 25 gallon tank? Google how many fish can you have for a 25 gallon tank.
Try if you can to only keep betas.
Introduce 2 at a time. If you buy 1 the other 2 females will spook her and chase her it will be stressful. So if you decide to buy another beta make sure you buy 2 or 3. Float the fish for 5 minutes or so. And you will be fine.
Great topic! So glad to hear both research and your own experience.
I had a very large tank with a lot of hiding places and plenty of food, etc. the sorority was not successful. There was a lot of fighting, despite having the same group of females for the life of the sorority. Slowly, the females killed each other despite my attempts to mitigate fighting with whatever tips I could find. Perhaps they could work, but it didn’t work out for my fish :(
I’m totally agree with you.
While I can appreciate the look of one and can understand why people want to try, I would never do it personally. There’s way to much risk that I wouldn’t want to be involved with, and if something happened I would have trouble forgiving myself.
I totally agree!
I agree with you. I love betta sororities! I’ve never had an issue with mine and I call myself lucky!
Me and my girlfriend have a betta sorority. We bought a new female for our collection and she was sick but we were not aware. And 4 of our females got sick. We couldn’t save them in time. It is pretty difficult to maintain a betta sorority but it sure does look very cool! We still have our sorority but now no sick fish are gunna be put it! Also lots of plants and driftwood helps to block vision from each other. We have 4 tanks and all of them have bettas. If your willing to really watch them it’s totally worth it!
I’ve seen many people brand new to the hobby want or try sororities without knowing ANYTHING about them. I think part of the issue is that the term “sorority” sounds so cute. Except it isn’t. These fish aren’t best buddies having fun college adventures together. Personally, I think UA-camrs should be more blunt about how and why they fail, what happens to the poor fish at the bottom of the pecking order, how stress increases the likelihood of disease, how quickly it can all go wrong, etc. There are so many peaceful, colorful, amusing community fish in the world; choose those instead, people, and keep your grumpy assassin fish in their own separate aquariums.
Waters Rising I could hardly love this comment more! You are totally right, many love the idea of sororities, with either no clue or no care for the realities, challenges, and stressors. After six months of research & preparation, I ended up putting my sorority plans on hold, indefinitely. It will be a long while, if ever that I revisit the idea, certainly it would require still more betta specialty experience.
Agreed. As a former amateur who did that very thing, it was just pain and suffering for the poor fish at the bottom of the pecking order. Now I just keep one in their own tank.
I agree for "amateurs " OR "new to the hobby AND/OR didn't do proper research. Myself, been in the hobby for years & have a 120 gallon, HEAVILY planted & decided to dedicate it to "rescue' bettas. It breaks my heart seeing them in tiny cups in the pet store. My 120 is dedicated to rescuing bettas. I have 15 females in my sorority, because of so many plants, MANY hiding spots & all the same size bettas, it has been a success. I DO NOT recommend just tossing in females in a small aquarium & hoping for the best, they would be better off in their private tiny cups! They need to be introduced to a LARGE, HEAVILY PLANTED aquarium at the same time or in groups of 3-5. I'm obsessed with bettas & have many years experience with them. Also want to add, you should have a few 20-30g aquariums setup & cycled incase you end up with an aggressive female, so she can have an aquarium all to herself. Bettas are not a fish to experiment with. They deserve the best & in order to give that to them, you need to know what you're doing. LOVE MY BETTAS!
Happy Fish keeping!!! 🐠💕
Thanks now I dont need to watch the vid lmao 👍🏻
Excellent balance video giving both sides of the argument of keeping a Betta sorority 🤓
Thanks!
thank you for this video! im starting a sorority tank in my 20 gallon next week (ive been cycling my tank for a month) and it's my first sorority ever. I did so much research and honestly I'm still pretty nervous about it, so this video helped me feel a little better about it. 5 female bettas and they're all from one breeder, and the five girls have been already sharing a tank since they were babies! also bought a bunch of plants and wood so im really trying to make this work and more fool-proof.
....... thank you so much for this video. I tried keeping two female bettas in a community tank and was adding new fish (I'm new to bettas too). Both ended up dying due to dropsy despite removing them and medicating. I think I'll deal with a singular betta in its own tank from now on.
I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I think it happens to a lot of beginners. If you want two females in the future, you can consider a divided tank with the dividers from lifewithpets. A single female in a nice tank of her own..and maybe some peaceful community fish is also nice ^_^
I'd like to set up a one female community tank oneday.
I have 3 dumbo females together currently with lots of plants and hiding spaces for them. Introduced them slowly to the tank and each other one fish at a time. It took several weeks for the pecking order to get through (still kinda going through it but it's thinned out), but they're getting along now and tails are growing back in after all the nipping and there's been no further issues. Always heard it's better to have at least 3 or more depending on the tank size.
I bought my friend a female sorority- 7 females for a 20 gallon, that was two years ago and they’re still doing wonderful. I seriously wish he would do a video. Lol
Lifetime fish keeper here. Both fresh and salt. Bettas are my favorite! Currently keeping 25 female Bettas in a 75 gallon 4' tank. Bare bottom with 2 large sponge filters from Co-Op. Daily water change of 10 gallons while siphoning off the bottom. Feeding 3xs daily. Frozen Daphnia daily with pellets and flakes as well. Keeping both plakats and dumbos together. Also, large and small fish mixed. No dither fish at all. May add some Corys and Plecos down the road. Lots of silk plants, no live plants. Also plenty of ceramic caves. Fish come from 3 different sources. All from Asia. I would not suggest or attempt doing a sorority in anything less than 20 gallons. I think success comes with large area and some overcrowding. Up to 1.5 fish per gallon. However, you need to stay up on water quality if you do choose to overcrowd. Lights are only turned on during feeding and fish watching. I treat all my tanks the same. Discus, guppies, bettas. Bare bottom tanks with lots of small water changes. I would not think a sorority tank is for the beginner or lazy fish keeper. It is a wonderful setup to have, but you need to pay attention to your tank and it's inhabitants. You owe that to them.
I have 6 betta females and 1 male in 20 inch long tanks with a custom bridge between … they love each other
I also have 2 roseline sharks , a red tail shark, 4 Buenos Aires tetras, and 5 dwarf frogs
Wow I'm not sure why this wasn't in my top results when researching sororities! I really value the information you provided here and it has convinced me that maybe I don't want to start a sorority. I think that I am capable but the long term stress that I could be causing to the fish and the high failure rate out weighs the beauty a sorority tank gives. Thank you! New subscriber!
I've been wiffling back and forth over doing a sorority tank. I'm still cycling and getting plants right now. But I may end up with shrimp, kuhli loaches, snails, and possibly Cory's. Perhaps instead of a Betta sorority, I can do one frmale Betta and a bunch of female Endlers and guppies in a 20g tall tank? Thoughts/opinions?
The shrimp will likely get their own 10g tank so I don't have a ton of bottom feeders.
the community tank with one betta centerpiece is much more likely to be a success.
Great video and info. My sorority is doing well, thus far it's been going for about 5 months or so. Only one who seems to be a bit bossy, but that's starting to mellow as I introduce more fish in the tank. Now there are 12 in there.
What size tank?
I started one with 3, one died, got 3 more. It was fine for awhile. Then left with only 2 and I didn't want to get more. My blue one is the boss and will chase the koi a little but I have a ton of plants so no physical damage. I definitely won't do another sorority in the future, too stressful for me and my fish.
I feel like people are drawn to sororities because they want to 'save' more bettas they see in cup at pet-chains. We all know we shouldn't buy fish there- but it's really hard to just walk by a dirty cup. Good video.
Thats a great point!
Our first female betta passed away back in March. My gf spent months prior to her death, researching how to do a sorority tank. When Pink passed away we decided to get 5 new females and do a sorority. My gf is not exactly new to the aquarium hobby so we thought it would be fun. Boy were we wrong!! Within 15 minutes we had to separate them all. They were literally tearing each other to pieces! It can go wrong that fast! We quickly separated them all into their own tanks. Even after months of dedicated researching how to do it properly, it still didn't work out. We have joined some betta groups on Facebook and see many posts of sororities. Many of the fish look unhappy, and unhealthy. Most have ripped fins and looked stressed. After our experience, we will never try a sorority again. All but one survived (Hazel died a few months later of unknown causes, long after separation and healing). The four survivors are happy and thriving in their own space. Madonna lives in a 20 gallon long with a kuhli loach, 10 oto cats and 3 snails. She gets a bit fired up with the oto cats once in a while but overall she is much happier. Elsie has her beautiful garden all to herself with 3 snails. She flares at them when they linger on the glass too long lol. Ellie is in her own 10 gallon oasis with 3 snails and surprisingly Twila is in her happy little place in a 6 gallon with a couple of snails. They're all so happy and show so much personality, which I never seen in sororities. Keeping them separated for the win in my opinion. They're really not social fish in the sense that they like other companion fish. They LOVE social interactions with their humans though. I would much rather spend time with them individually, watching their incredible personalities shine, then all together stressed out all the time
I have a question though: about 50% of bettas are female (in theory) but the majority of people want male bettas. This means an excess of females, likely resulting in them being culled. So buying multiple females would balance out the ratio a little and maybe ''save'' some of the females. However, most people don't have the space/time/money to maintain multiple 5 gallon tanks for multiple female bettas, so a sorority may be seen as the best option.
Is this a fair assessment? Or a ridiculous justification? Or just further anthropomorphizing?
Basically just a thought experiment/ moral questioning, but I'm interested to hear any thoughts on it.
I've actually decided to get females because of the amount of people rather buying males. I have 2 rigjt bow in the same tank. 25 gallon. They get along very well. I've thought about adding more but don't want any fighting so Idk yet.
I just got a 10 gallon tank, I picked up 3 females I was thinking of picking up 2 more but now I'm not to sure. They aren't fighting today it's looking good.
in my opinion, I think a 10 gallon is too small for 5 female bettas...you might need a 20 gallon
Yes a 20 gallon for 5 and I've rread and heard from research it's best to have 5 per 20 gallon for a Sorority at the minimum I'm looking into 5 in a 20-29 gallon aquarium and will have back up tanks just incase things don't go well and it will be a heavily planted tank
Bettas are my favourite fish and I enjoy keeping the females. I have a 150l tank with plenty of girls and they get on well over the past year. Lots of hiding spaces and regular checks :) no issues yet xxx
Sounds good, I think in big tanks it works more often :)
Got 2 males
Female Betta Sorority tanks, the pet stores are not helping us. So glad UA-cam exists. What I learned setting up my own... 1) Water has to be WARM, min 78 F 2) Have lots of plants/items in tank to break up site lines 3) Buy Bettas of similar size to reduce nipping 4) Buy a minimum of FIVE, it is harder for a "queen" to dominate the tank if you have 5 or more fish. Less than this and it is too easy for someone to be dominant. 5) Don't try this in a tiny tank, minimum 20 gallons, bigger the better 6) Re-arrange the tank EVERY time you do a water change so that any dominance that starts is "reset"
Good discussion video on this subject. Thought your points were well put regarding an issue that divides opinion at times.
Thank you very much. I was nervous to address this polarizing topic ...especially because my option of it flipped and flopped so much over time.
@@CreativePetKeeping yeah I get it, it's a tricky one to take on.
I think your opinion demonstrated honesty and the complexity of the issue.
Well handled and hopefully will stimulate some interesting conversations in the comments.
Thank you so much, Kasia, for this well-researched and well-explained video! I spent close to six months researching, planning, and readying for a betta sorority (large enough tank, spare tanks for isolation, hardscape, plenty of plants, lining up a reputable breeder/importer, etc). By that point I decided to put a hold on the project; the risk is too high for my comfort, at least until I have more experience under my belt. I must admit that losing my favourite male to an incurable illness (likely arising from poor genetics & poor care from the source) did also factor into the decision, but more on the emotional than rational level. For now that tank is going to remain a tetra/corydora/nerite tank, and I'll revisit the idea again this summer.
What disease was it?
If it was myco/fish TB, it can be cured sometimes. Diana Walstad wrote an awesome paper on it. I modified it a bit. Clarithromycin (which can be hard to source) plus a UV sterilizer. One of my two is still battling fin involvement but the other has healed amazingly. Spine is straightening out. Sores have closed up, and he is gaining weight.
Hi. If a male betta add in into a tank where there are 4 females betta. What will happen?
When there's so many options of other fish. There doesn't seem like an upside to a Betta sorority, compared to the downside. Seems selfish, to me.
There just cool fish and when they are kept together they can make any Tank look good. But that's just my opinion 👍
I have a betta sorority currently and have had on in the past. The one I had in the past lasted for years until eventually all the bettas passed. I didn’t add any more bettas because I wanted to do something different with the tank but even when I was down to two bettas they got along. It was amazing. The one I have now is doing great as well. I’m looking to get more females to add. The one I have currently is in a 20 gallon long heavily planted community tank.
Since keeping a sorority tank is like higher risk than should I, as a first time owner not get that as my first thing??
Ive kept a huge betta sorority last year and they’ve lived well until they passed away due to different illnesses. I would keep females in a sorority, or as I call it my “Diamond Sorority”, as they were everything to me and they made me really happy.
love this video! Me and my gf didn't have much luck either, we got to the point were we felt we were always babysitting them and looking at them all to make sure everything was okay...
Thats how I felt at the end too 😞
@@CreativePetKeeping kind of like that with betta fish breeding too just seems abit to rough to much fin damage for our liking! with all the pairs we have tried we haven't found one that really accepted each other even if they look almost identical and the opposite so we have just decided to keep our family of 15 and are currently searching for good longterm tanks for them, tossing up between a custom system or individual? what do you think? luckily our 2 angels were a pair, and they are so gentle with each other, they've just laid there 2nd batch so wish us luck with this pair our first batch we had 54 so hoping for more this time! btw great vids we love watching you all sending our love from Sydney, Australia
Just added two females to my 30gallon 6 month community tank only had 2 African dwarf frogs and 6 lamp eye tetras a gold dojo loach and shrimp anything I should look out for?
I bought a sorority from my local fish store and added them to my 40 gal breeder(heavily planted) and they have done fantastic so far! I have two angels as well (which of course I researched if they could be compatible) and they do wonderful, my angels are too worried about eachother to bother my girls lol, plus their about 6 years old and lazy! I haven’t seen a single torn fin and I already can tell who is the top boss lol! Definitely my favorite tank to just sit in front of and watch like better tv 🥰
Kassia deserves so many more subscribers and viewers than she has. I really appreciate her honesty, pragmatism and dedication to trying out the topics she talks about with first hand experience so the rest of us don't have to.
How many gallons was the tank that you showed at the beggining
Interesting! I'd love to keep a female sorority, but I feel like this might be too tricky for a novice like me, so I suppose I'll stick to a single betta for now.
Getting 5 tomorrow for a 20 long highly planted, very established community tank. Just finished watching and you said it is better to over crowd. So called the pet shop and ordered one more. So 6 coming tomorrow. I had a male betta in the tank and he jumped ship. Can't believe he did as the tank is surrounded in plants riparium style all but the front and he jumped out on the side of the tank. Placed a screen around 3 sides of the tank to avoid that happening again.
I put 9 together and it's working 100% in a 20 gallon tank
I actually had a successful male female pair in a 20 gallon community tank. They both lived to a ripe old age. I currently have a female sorority with one ‘dominant’ female but she seems to be the peace keeper.
I have a 7 gallon tank I believe. My coi female loves it. Could I possibly get another coi female betta as a tank mate
Ive been keeping bettas for a long time, just like you, and my opinion is basically the same. Except, i have 2 running sororities and the one has been going for almost 2 years, and only one death (i think old age possibly, no sign of injury or disease) and the other one has been up a year, no deaths. But in the past, i have had sororities fail big time which i think had to do with me being a new keeper at the time and not doing enough research. But i would never recommend them to anyone, even more advanced keepers. Its just too risky as you stated. But i will keep mine going until they all pass and maybe set up another or maybe not. But great video and very informative!
Hey ladies I need some advice ... I got my first koi female betta 5 months ago I have her in a 5 gal with real plants .. I’ve done a little bit of research on sorority tanks but didn’t do enough apparently I purchased another female Koi just over the weekend and I’ve tried to put them together for three days now and my first betta is poking at my new one so I’ve been separating the older one in a breeding container inside the tank and she still is flaring up at her through the netted tank.. not sure what to do now I am however going to set up my 20 gallon to see if maybe that would help ? Ive been told to have more then 2 bettas , So they don’t pick on each other ? so how many should I have in a 20 gal ? I want this to work but I don’t want my fish to get hurt either & I won’t be purchasing any other bettas until these get along.. and if they don’t then I’ll just have to have separate tanks I just need some advice I’m stuck 😫 Either way I’m prepared to set up another tank...
My five month old beta is larger than my new one but sometimes they will rest together so I’m not really sure if it’s the size of the tank ?that’s what I’m thinking
I have been very successful with them as long as I pay attention to the fish and the dynamic that those perticular fish form.
It's more about your judgement on the fish you have. For example, I had one very aggressive female that was impossible to keep in a Betta sorority so I never tried to put it in with the others anymore.
Funny enough now I have all of her spawn in a related/ unrelated sorority and while some bitting does occur it generally does work.
Thanks for the video. As a novice, this helps greatly!
Jim
I'm glad this was helpful ^_^ ❤
I really wish they worked and weren't stressful. With their big personalities, it'd be a lot of fun keeping a bunch together. But they are likely a lot happier in their own tanks. They're very underrated honestly. My three females are adorable. One was the most aggressive of the bunch until I got a giant who is the most absurdly aggressive fish I've ever seen. One was so painfully shy when I got her but she has slowly grown in her confidence and is just cute as a button. The third was actually a re-home via the pet store. She was beaten up badly in a sorority :-(. All three are just as great as my boys.
I have female bettas...I start with about 5, but the bettas have many diseases...and they are hard to cure. Right now I have 3 left in a 30 gallon....with rasboras, cory catfishes, a snail and otos. Will I continue, not sure. Wondering if wild female bettas are easier to care for....since I heard male and female can live together.
One of the reasons the stress of a sorority is so bad is because it not only results in outright aggression, but because it can severely impact the immune system of the fish, leading to vulnerability to disease, even those that are ever-present in the aquarium and healthy fish can fight off.
I just built my 20 gallon Sorority with 5 females. The only one giving me problems rn is the koi but I've only see them chase and bite at but not actually nip each other. I think they'll be fine, but any tips?
I tried with random females and sisters and the sisters work out way better !
I think it has to do with never having been separated. I've tried adding sisters back to a tank with their siblings and had to keep a close eye on the situation. I ended up splitting up the entire group in the end.
The other option that MIGHT potentially work out would be having a tank stocked so densely that they truly couldn't focus their aggression on any one fish.
Well, how do they survive in their natural habitats then?
I was thinking the same thing. I guess because they can get away from each other, but some live in small rice paddy fields. I suppose they can hide from the more aggressive ones.
Hello i have 3 koi betta sororities fight now. I want to know if i would add more betta. Do they have to be the same koi species or is it ok to be a different one?
I need some advice ... I got my first koi female betta 5 months ago I have her in a 5 gal with real plants .. I’ve done a little bit of research on sorority tanks but didn’t do enough apparently I purchased
Coast Gem USA has sorority fish that have been together since birth? Does this increase chance of success?
If you want to keep a community tank. I highly recommend guppies, just make sure that most of them are females. U don't need to worry about if they are related or not. And also, the looks of them are similar to bettas, it just that they're smaller and has different patterns.
Thanks for the update. I've kept females together years ago because I didn't know any better, and didn't have any problems, but they were in a 55 gal community tank. I have a 20 gal and was contemplating doing it again, but I'm trying to do things right this time, and after seeing this I think I'll just let my girl stay solo in her tank with her rasboro/cory buddies.
I bought 5 of them from Pet Smart, they were fine 5 days later, we have a filter, we put anti stress, it was all good till one of my fish was sick, she didn’t eat, always stayed at the bottom, then passed away, 4 more fish, then another got sick, and 2 days later, another got sick, they are both still alive, but do you know how to fix this? Please tell me.
Personally I think I lucked out with my betta sorority. I have a 30 gallon tank with 15 fish 9 being female bettas and the other 6 being guppies. No fin biting or fighting sometimes I'll catch a betta chase a guppy for a few seconds and then go back to swimming by itself again
I don’t really want a sorority tank but I do want 2 female bettas together I already have one in my community tank along with 2 otocinclus and 6 neon tetras ( I’m getting more otos and more neons so they can school) I have a 10 gallon if anyone can help I would appreciate it and if you were wondering they are doing fine right now
I love mine , 5 in a planted 20g with nano fish as well 7 months in and no problems .
Hi I'm curious if there is some light chasing when you first started and how long it took to stop. About 3/4 the time they are chill though.
Cameron Peschel hi , so at first they are going to establish a Hierarchy. Mine are in a very heavily planted large jungle val tank so the val ribbons all through the water column so it blocks their view of each a lot of the time . So mine all sort of chill on the leaves closer to the surface . I think it’s really the only way to keep it successful and lower the stress of the gals. Also have other small nano fish in the tank to further help diffuse hostility they will learn to live in a community tank , I even have Amano shrimp and adult neocaridina shrink as well as Otto’s and mystery snails . It took a few days for them to sort it all out. Also if you can float them all together in separate containers in the tank to desensitize then if they aren’t used to be with other Bettas .
How are they now?
@@thunderthighs4674 good I moved them to summer pond and lost one I think to predators . Moved them back in with 4 but added guppies so things are fine . I don’t want to get a another one because I’m sure it would upset the balance
@@1luckysoul aw wow you have done well. I’m absolutely fascinated by sorority’s. But hear so much negativity about them that it really puts me off starting one.
Can i mix juvenile and bigger ones?
Anytime that I have kept more than one female Betta together, I've never had a problem.
Until now.
I bought 5 small Betta's from different store's.
One Betta was a little bigger than the others.
Not much.
But as they grew, Large Marge, as I call her, kept getting bigger and bigger.
She's now the biggest Betta that I've ever had, male or female.
Everything seemed to be going fine.......
Until 3 of the Betta's died dang near right before my eyes.
I never once observed any aggression.
I first noticed that the other girl's started getting bit, but I couldn't ascertain from which fish.
I did notice that large Marge was looking as pristine as ever though.
They have plenty of space and plants to hide and relax, but even though I have no actual proof that large Marge killed the others, except for the fact that she has never once had bite's and she is the only one left, I am 99% sure that she took the others out.
I've had them together for 6 months.
First time having a problem with keeping female Betta's together.
I tried it out once a couple years back. I had a Sister Sorority group, all came from one spawn.
They were great for a few months then tables turned, one female got super aggressive with the rear of her sisters and starting bullying all... Sadly the stress was so high they all got sick and passed away or passed from the injuries that one female did.
I personally wouldn't want to try it again, and like you, I don't recommend it. It's too risky. And to be there are more risks involved rather than benefits.
For me it's to much of a risk that I'm not willing to take. Thank you for telling your experience much appreciated
ive been setting up a sorority tank and have 3 so far, i want to get it up to around 5 and i bought one today, got home and it was dead :(
I’m interested in getting a betta sorority, but I am concerned about how it will go. Are there any tips that you could give.
Hi ! I'm new to fish and since i'm probably going to take female bettas in a 48L tank with plants and hiding structures, i'm planning on taking only two or three bettas.
Is that not good ? Those bettas sororities seem reaaaaaally huge and it's clearly not what i want, but am i able to take two to three female bettas and still make it work ? I mean, they'll have place but maybe they need more fish with them ??
I'm in the middle. I had two girls that got along with each other ok, but then had a third girl that didn't get along with anyone, no matter what I did. Success depends so much on the individual fish. If someone were to ask me if they should, I'd only recommend to a very experienced fish keeper with the means to separate if necessary.
Slightly off topic but... as a child my parents got me a 100 gallon tank. I had a very varied community tank, basically choosing fish I liked the look of (I started at around 9 or 10: angels, various gouramis, rams, male bettas (1 at a time), fancy guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails, danios, neons,. But not a well chosen selection of calm temperaments, or fish enjoying similar conditions. The tank was planted but not heavily so. However, I never had problems with aggression. After a 30-odd year hiatus I've got back into the hobby with a 25 gallon. The tank is well planted. Now I've had problems with supposedly non - aggressive species. My ancistrus attacks my dwarf gourami and previously a male betta. It also gets aggressive with my Corys and ram at mealtimes. Even my rummy nose tetras nipped my poor male bettas tail (now sadly passed). And my ram attacked my female betta so I had to remove her. Ultimately it seems really clear that the issue is one of space. Get the biggest tank you can manage and its likely to make life a lot easier.
do you know of any videos dedicated to female body language around other females?
Excellent analysis!
Got a new female in today so I went to change tanks and when I did they started fighting when 30 mins ago they were all getting along :(
How many gallons is in that tank?:)It’s a nice size.
20 gallons
I am experienced with betta fish and I decided to start a sorority. My 10 gallon long tank is well established and these 4 dumbo ear females were in the same spawn. I just got them 3 days ago. There is no serious aggression just mild fits, but it is settling down. I did just get them 3 days ago. I watch them very closely and nothing serious.
where did you buy from and what kind of other fish do you have in the tank? I’m looking to set one up very soon (I just got back into the hobby recently but I have a lot of experience and knowledge regarding bettas!) and I’m nervous haha.
I wanted to try a sorority but when bettas get sick and die, I get really sad and depressed. I decided to do peaceful nano fish and one female betta. No bullying, everyone’s happy and healthy!
I have a soriety of 5 female bettas in a 55 gallon with other community fish and there doing awesome.
Probably because i have 3 hornwort patches making 4 different open spots near the surface that they can claim as their own and wont be able to see other fish across the tank.
I planned a sorority once... then my seller accidentally sent me a male. After that I decided to just keep everyone seperated. But I'm considering trying again next time I have a suitable tank open up. Probably one of my twenties though people suggest a ten. works
Between my females I have now (two) one is definitely above average size and the other below so I doubt it being a fair fight.
Hmm how about beta community tank? What the difficulty rate, high med or low? And what the success rate??
LOHX Jeff if you’ll accept my advice, the success of your betta-showcase community tank will depend on 3 factors, temperament (the betta’s mostly, chill? or aggressive? Although some other fish can be nippy, especially if not in a big enough school), tank size (the bigger the better the chance of success, 20+ gals is a good start), and territory (plants &/decor to provide hiding spaces & break line of sight). Overall it’s about competition, for space & resources, so getting tank mates that inhabit a lower zone or come out at night are good starts.
@@bettatimestories807 thx for the advice hahah i manage to get a betta community in a 10 gallon!
That’s a good idea tho, keeping more than 2 or 3 would stop the more direct bullying. That IS exactly what I do w my S American cichlids. However stores should really keep a beta in each of their larger display tanks vs those obviously small cups they put em in. Bc betas only seem to be aggressive w other betas. I’ve never had an issue w them in tanks w different breeds of fish. If anything they’ve been very shy w other breeds.
Can I do 1 make betta and 5 femalea
You need a 75G+ tank for them, and need dither fish as well like guppies/platies etc
i have 2 very aggressive angel fish, can i keep one of female betta with them? they look very pretty in your tank.....
Don't do it. I placed 5 youngish 2/3rd adult-size bettas in tank with 2 angels (after carrying the bettas all the way on a plane from Sri Lanka myself). Next morning they were all gone. Eaten by the angels. A misnomer if ever there was one.
@@sanjd6882 sometimes angels are mean....
Angel fish and betta fish are a bad combination. Too aggressive together.
from different research and observing videos i have found that sibling sororities tend to work out pretty well, and unrelated ones tend to not work out as well. it depends on the fish really
I’m starting one I’m trying to learn
I bought 2 very young female today. They are in a 3 gallon tank. Is this okay?
No, I'd recommend a 20 gallon tank to give them room to be away from each other. Also add lots of plants and rocks for hiding.
Thanks for covering this - I’ve always been on the fence. 🙂 P. S. - 💙 the googlie eyes on the thumbnail!! 😆
Hehe thanks ^_^ I had lots of fun making that thunbnail
I have a sorority going on 2-ish years now. I've had to return several females and get them traded for new ones simply because they were too aggressive with my other girls. There's no shame in trading in fish to find a good balance.
Well done video! I've thought about doing a sorority, but haven't yet.
Saw A mom and it's daughter at a pet shop and the pet seller recommanded a sorority tank ... I couldn't resist and went to talk with the mom and explained why it wasn't a good idea especially for beginners
i have 3 girls in a 36 gallon tank, i think works for them because just the 3 they can divide into their own areas. Another reason it works for me (everyone is different) that my girls are the same size, also I allow one other fish with them and it's a suckerfish.
Currently I have two tanks, three female betta, I have a pair of females in one tank on their own, and then I have a singel female in a tank with my survivors, a glo fish, a red eye tetra, and a small pleco.
My local pet shop keeps to female together in a tiny little tank and they basically eat each other and it’s sad
can you put two betta
I had one, but one had a fungal issue and it infected my whole tank. I support them so long as you do your research. I was sold a fish that was sick! That’s why mine crashed.
Did you quarantine the fish before adding it to the sorority? It's a step most people skip, but I'm learning the value of it more and more, especially as most animal medications are now banned in Canada (as had already happened in Europe & the UK).
Anne Thornton he sold her to me saying she was healthy, and I had bought them all at the same store at the same time. They all came from the same breeder. I would normally quarantine if I was adding a new fish to a tank with already established fish in it. (I work at an aquarium store) it was unfortunate but it happens. I’m going to try a sorority again at some point, just not now
I only have a 3.5 gallon tank free I just want to try a female betta. I’ve only kept males in the past.
I have a 29g and I have 20 endler guppys in it and 2 female bettas in it
ive had one sorority unrelated very tragically crash, but I have had better luck with related my one sorority, at sexual maturity, but all ruts (sized 1 month aged 6) even managing to have an unrelated adult female in there with 1 related male all in a 20 gallon. so im with you, it is very hit and miss. I think mine established a heirachy because the male took dominance, but I don't recommend having a male in a unrelated sorority as that is what made mine crash. as long as you have more than 4 females in a related sorority with roughly 5 gallons (for first fish) then +3 per other betta, and you don't do any less than a 10 gallon, I think you could succeed. but always take caution and ALWAYS be prepared to separate.
My babies are almost 4 months old now. I bred them with two different types of bettas. Mom was a galaxy koi and the dad an all white ultra delta. Things are going great looking forward/not looking forward to separating them soon lol. I will probably do a sorority tank with my xray cats and elephant nose dolphins. I'm not sure how well this will work but my hopes are obviously high. They are all very unique outside of the all white ones that are also gorgeous. Hoping it all works out ❤
I’m actually in he process of doing a female betta sorority but now that I’m watching this video I’m just so turned off by it now. I’m constantly watching my girls cause I’m so worried about whether or not someone is gonna get killed or they’re just too stressed out by one another. I may take them back just to get one single male or get dividers
How are they now?