sorority tanks- are they always this nippy?

Greendragon1128

Greendragon1128

Medium Fish
#1
Jan 31, 2009
81
0
0
Near LA
#1
After my 47g disaster caused by a pleco dying while I was gone for a week and not getting scooped out before a massive ammonia spike occured, I have re-cycled the tank and today purchased 5 female bettas. My first one, temporarly known as Peach while I think of a better name, first challenged my two female swordtails (currrently hiding in the bottom of the tank). They backed off, and I added the next betta, Purple. Once they saw each other, they started flaring and swimming around each other. Once I added Blue to distract them, Purple and Blue began hitting each other with their tails and nipping each other's fins. Silver is staying out of the way, and Gold retreated after a few flares. I know they had to establish a hierarchy, but it seems like they are far more aggressive than necessary for that. Should I put Blue and Purple back in their cups and return them?
 

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Fishman1995

Superstar Fish
#2
May 11, 2010
1,341
0
0
North Carolina
#2
Id return any that show agression and maybe try a new pair, some bettas just cannot co-exist with ANYTHING let alone another betta. You could give it a few days and see if the agression lowers, then if not id return them.
 

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blue_ram

Large Fish
#5
Jun 21, 2008
516
0
0
Florida
#5
The "concept" behind a Betta sorority is that by having 5 or 6, the aggression will be spread around until they form a hierarchy and that no one fish gets picked on. This is similiar to the recognized way to keep african cichlids.

IMO this is cruel. It is like an underwater Real Housewives show. Cichlids are not solitary fish, Bettas are. Add in the fact that todays female Bettas are bred to always show their breeding colors, a Betta sorority is just a bad idea.

It is my belief that our "job" as fishkeepers and responsibility in this hobby to keep our fish in environments that safely mimic their real world environment. We are not smarter than mother nature or evolution.
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#7
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#7
The better thing to have done was to keep each of the girls in her own cup and set the cups on the table so that the girls can look at each other for awhile before you place them in the tank together. In my opinion, in a tank that large, aggression shouldn't be nearly as bad after the initial nipping. Bettas in sororities can be really unpredictable. I recommend having a heavy planted tank with a lot of empty terra cotta pots or rock caves so that each female can chose her own territory. I suggest you read up on bettas and sororities, as they are very unpredictable, like I said before.
Another thing you want to check on is how tall the tank is. The tank cannot be taller than 18 inches or the fish will have issues with water pressure. Just a tip. You can always lower the water level or raise how much gravel/sand is in the bottom.
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#10
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#10
I've had a couple of sororities and there is always a little fin nipping as they establish dominance, but things usually settle down after a week or so. In fact, with the current four females (and one male who THINKS he's a girl) that I have, I have pretty much no fin nipping at all. The key is to provide TONS of hiding places so the girls can get away from each other and calm down. When I had my 18gal Eclipse 1 system tank, it was hard because there really aren't that many places for the fish to hide in such a small tank. When my 46gal bowfront was housing my sorority, I had rock caves and ship ornaments galore, so they were able to hide. In my 55gal (before it went Chernobyl on me in a similar situation to your 47gal), I had three huge pieces of driftwood, several large rocks and live plants, all which created plenty of hiding places. If you have one female who is more aggressive than the others, she should be taken out, not the weaker one(s). I have never had a female betta die from aggression related issues and I have never had one with constantly nipped fins or other injuries due to aggression. Once I started using bigger tanks for my sororities, the stress lines disappeared pretty much altogether as well.
 

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