# Sorority tank - 9 betta girls in a 15 gallon?



## kuni (May 7, 2010)

9 is a lot - make sure the pillow fights don't result in injuries.


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## Ahura-sama (Dec 7, 2009)

From what I heard female bettas could still fight when they havent established a pecking order. Not to the death I dont think but might lead to it as a result.


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

I think that's alot. Maybe try 6.


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## Laureli (May 7, 2011)

A moderator on another forum specifically for bettas suggested nine for a ten gallon. She said you want to try and fit as many in as you can so you can diffuse the aggression with six being the minimum for a sorority to function. She also said that bettas are different from other fish and as a result you should view the stocking rules as more of guidelines, though carefully circumvented.

I've been receiving a lot of conflicting information on this; one woman told me that more than five would be overstocking because they need more room and that would decrease the aggression. Has anyone actually had experience with this as opposed to mere speculation?

I have backup plans for each one of them if need be, and I've been monitoring them closely in their cups (which are next to each other) for the past few days. Zero flaring as of yet; I think they got used to each other at my LFS. I've set the tank up so that there are many blockades for their line of sight along with plenty of hiding caves.  I'll try and post a picture later.


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## kuni (May 7, 2010)

There's nothing wrong with trying 9 as long as you keep an eye on them. If fish are still getting heavily picked on and have torn/nipped fins, then clearly it's not working.


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## Imaginary1226 (Jul 27, 2010)

Generally a bigger tank with lots of hiding places and at least 6 bettas is the best way to go. A 10 gallon with 9 bettas is way to small, 15 or 20 gallon might work. You can expect some fins to get torn while they establish a pecking order. You should remove any bettas that are very beat up...it tends to turn into fin rot or some other bacterial problem. And yes, I have had female bettas be so aggressive that they kill the other. It depends on the individual fish.


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## dwc13 (Dec 15, 2010)

What is the final number in the innaugural Phi Sigma Eta pledge class?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

All kinds of differing opinions. It shouldn't be a problem, though - I've kept a dozen females in a 15 gal. without problems.
When do you fatten one up real good, to put her on the other side of a divided tank with a male on the other side ?- lol


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## Laureli (May 7, 2011)

I think I'm going to go with nine. I have six so far... but I have them all in quarantine to adjust them up to my water parameters and watch for any disease while they get used to each other. They're all sitting by each other in 1 gallon containers. I think two of them might have some bacteria/fungus growing on their fins. I'm currently treating all of them with a bit of marine salt, in a higher dosage for the two possibly infected ones.


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## Coursair (Apr 16, 2011)

In the past I've sold and seen female Bettas that were raised together. 

From BettaTalk site:
<<<You can keep several females together in a tank BUT ONLY IF they have been acclimated to community living first. There is something lovely about a variety of betta females of different colors, swimming around in a nice tank. I do sell such female package deals and when you order them from me you know they have already been living together and have been properly acclimated to living in a community tank together. Click here for more details. This is the safest way to go. Otherwise, if you just buy individual females and stick them together, you might be in for a nasty surprise! "the female of the specie is deadlier than the male"  (says the song). Although female bettas are a little less aggressive than their male counterparts, they too will fight. They will display at each other and flare and attack and pull each other's hair out LOL. You can take your chances and you may be lucky but if you do, remember to keep a very close eye on your gals as you might have to separate them, jar them, or pull a bully out. Remember the pecking order has to be established, so a little bit of picking at first is normal, but if it doesn't stop soon, or if there is too much fin damage, then you will have to remove any trouble maker. If bettas continually pick on each other, the stress it causes will make them sick. >>>> 

At Petsmart we used to get groups of "Community Female Bettas" that came in one bag and went into a 10g together. 

I tried putting individual females together later and we got dead girls. 

We've just started selling them again at my store (Concord,CA). 

You might try getting young females from a local breeder and raising them together. 

Heavily planted hopefully will help 

GL. If it works I'd love to see pics


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

I agree that was the only that I could get my bettas to stay in their 8 gallon high tech bowl. When I initially tried with standard store bought females they would not stop fighting/picking and 3 of my 7 eveuntally died. However, I did find a package deal at the LFS that had raised the bettas in a well rounded community environment and I have had no issues what so ever since I went that way.


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## Laureli (May 7, 2011)

So far they're all doing fine by each other. My only concern is minimizing the disease(s) they might bring to the larger community when I put them all together since they will be most stressed those first few days. The small portion of salt seems to be helping but slowly....


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## dwc13 (Dec 15, 2010)

Laureli,

Below is a link to the International Betta Congress. The site has a Knowledge Base and FAQ/Q&A section that might be helpful down the road. 

http://www.ibcbettas.org/pages/

Good luck with your Betta house, which I had previously dubbed Phi Sigma Eta (PhiSH) -- no need to send me any royalties. :biggrin:


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## Betta_lover (Jul 9, 2011)

9 is to many. I would go with 6, 7 tops. 
When you add more, there will be some fighting to declare who is dominate again. You never want to overstock a Betta tank. There will be fighting in a tank with to many Betta's. 

I have 6 in a 55 gallon with 8 platies. They get along great, except for when one is in a grumpy mood. Then she just flares and the girls leave her alone until she is ready to come out and join the group.


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