genie

I have read on another website that you can have a female betta tank-- with caution and a backup plan. I have a 33 gallon empty tank that is cycling.
I don't want to do anything that would put my babies in danger, so does anyone have any experience??
I can see myself with 100 tanks if I don't get this betta bug under control!

Phloxface

See my reply to your thread "I have no self control!! " I had an all female tank and it lasted only 5 days. I separated them or they would have killed each other. Rose also had a bad experience with her all female tank. Bettas are solitary fish and really are happiest alone. They bond with humans but do not get lonely for another fish as some people think. It is natural for them to be alone. I know how you feel. I would love to get a 30 gallon tank and fill it with Bettas, male and female, but this will never happen. The only way to have multiple Bettas is to have multiple tanks.

griffin

i think what you said shoudl be fine. key parts being "with caution and a backup plan" :P

lots of plants or decorations should also help too, esp if you don't get too many bettas

i think we're all on a similar boat with getting the betta bug under control! i don't even go to the petstore anymore! no more space! :P

griffin

oops - posted at same time - seems like some bad experiences, but you are also dealing with a large tank (i don't know how large their tanks were - they could probably tell you though) - you can sometimes bend the rules with more volume, but still be very cautious

Phloxface

All I can say is it very rarely works out. Even with large tanks Bettas do not get along and it is unnatural for them to live together. As I said, they get more aggressive as they age so sooner ar later you'd be stuck buying a lot more tanks to separate them and if they happen to get into a big fight while you are gone you could end up with dead babies. Mine started fighting while I was home so I was able to get them apart in time but had I been at work I would have lost probably 2-3 of them by the time I got home. I had 5 six week old females in a 10 gallon well planted tank but really it wouldn't have mattered if it was a 50 gallon tank. Bettas are territorial and aggressive. They challenge each other and don't know when to back off. Other tropical fish will sometime stay away from a Betta once they are lunged at a couple times but Bettas don't back down so easy and they get killed this way. I personally would NEVER recommend to anyone to try an all female Betta tank. I think Rose would agree. If you still want to it is your right but be warned, you will either end up feeling bad about the dead/injured fish or end up with a LOT more extra tanks than you ever wanted or can handle. This is how I ended up with so many tanks...

You see people on youtube posting videos of all female Betta tanks. I guarantee you these videos were shot during the first few days of the tank being set up. They always "seem" to get along really well at first. This is the calm before the storm. This is because they haven't established territory yet and haven't figured out yet which is the Alpha female. Several of them will eventually fight for the position of "Alpha" and only one may survive. Some fish simply won't accept losing and will continue to fight until they either become Alpha or die.
I'm betting the people who posted the vidoes of female tanks are too embarrassed to come back and say it didn't work out and all my fish died or I had to separate them. I wish they would come back and give their experience so others don't think it is so easy.
There are people who have made it work and managed to end up with 3 females who can live together but not without losing several others in the process. IMO it's not worth sacrificing the lives of other poor females to get a couple who can live together.

genie

Thanks for the input. I think it sounds too risky, so I will be getting a few divided tanks.

COBettaCouple

Definitely the way to go.. my first reaction to someone wanting to do a female betta tank is "don't do it!" .. you can't plant it heavy enough or put in enough hiding spots for it to work 99% of the time. our tank was stuffed with plants, caves, etc and they never tried to hide really once war broke out. dividing a tank is much better.

cherryrose

chickadee

I had 5 beautiful little females. They needed to establish the Alpha Female and they do this by denying access to the food to the weakest female until she dies. So Misty died even though I removed her to a q tank because she was so traumatized that she refused to eat even when she was all alone and no one was beating up on her. The same things followed with the others until only Emma was left. So with my Best of intentions I buy 3 cories to keep her company and she killed all of them. Then 2 Otos followed the bettas and cories and I finally got it through my thick head that I had a killer female and she was a fish who would not accept any living thing about her.

She lived the rest of her days alone in her own tank. I do believe that if I had never started that female tank I would still have all my females and they would never have become so aggressive.

Rose

genie

It is so sad... If only they could play nice it would be quite beautiful and active. I have decided against the all female tank. Just out of curiosity rose, how big was your tank?

shollia

On many other forums, I see alot of people who successfully keep a sorority tank.
Of course it all does depend on the females you get. You could get an overly aggressive one that does need to be seperated, or you could get lucky and get yourself a group of girls that live happily together.

I plan on trying one down the road sometime when I get some money.
I want to get a 20 gallon long, fill it as much as I can with live plants and caves and such to supply the fish with plenty of hiding spaces when they need them. Fishless cycle it, and then add in the females. I'll also have some spare tanks on hand as well if a female becomes too aggressive or if I see one not eating.

If you still want to try it, just need to make sure you have plenty of hiding spots for the females, and get no less than 6 so hopefully aggression is spread throughout them all.

genie

or, I could wait and let you try first! LOL just kiddin. I think I am a little too attached to Lila to take the chance. If something broke out while i was at work, I would hate myself.

Phloxface

Any of those people who "claim" to have been successful rarely come back and report that as their females got older they started fighting uncontrollably. There is no way to determine a female's aggression just watching her interact with a human. Guaranteed ALL the people who have "sorority" tanks have lost some fish. What you need to ask yourself is, is having a sorority tank so important to you that you are willing to allow a few innocent fish to die just to end up with a few who may get along for a few months and then even THEY start fighting? I'm not trying to tell anyone what they can or can't do, but just because a few people online tell you that they've done it, doesn't mean it worked out for them in the long run. It is unnatural for female Bettas to live together. They don't do it in the wild and they can't be expected to go against their nature. All the hiding spots in the world won't help. They SEEK each other out to fight.

chickadee

I agree absolutely. It is their nature to cull the weakest and keep doing it until the strongest survives. Only the people who have actually tried it have witnessed the heartbreak of seeing the absolute ferocity of them being horrendous to each other. I cannot imagine that the males could be worse. You would not want to see it. It is subtle and horrible and the lovely tender little fish are so terrorized that they do not improve even when the others are not around. I will never forget seeing my baby so traumatized and anyone so willing to lose fish that they would willingly put their loved fish through that just as an experiment does not deserve to have them. That may sound harsh but you have no idea how hard that experience was for me. My tank was very heavily planted and had many structures and when they decided to go after the weaker member it was at mealtimes. It made not one whit of difference that they could hide, they could not eat and they that made all the difference and they were so traumatized that even after they were removed they had the message that it was NOT okay for them to eat so they would not even eat for me and they had a long and horrible death. It would seriously have been easier on them if I had euthanized them I think.

Rose

COBettaCouple

i agree totally with Rose.. please don't try a tank with multiple females. i had the tank planted so thick and with so many caves, etc that it was hard to see the gravel but once the carnage began there was no safety for them, even when they tried to hide. After all if the one being chased could fit into a spot, so could the attacker. The 1st day all seemed cool.. hey, the fish guy at petco was right - they're getting along.. then mortal combat, major stress lines on the females, torn fins, and NOTHING could stop it.. even removing an aggressor would only turn her into a victim when putting her back in the tank.. and by the end of the 2nd day, 3 of the 4 were back in cups to go back to the store and the 4th (the worst damaged one) was in the tank by herself so we could nurse her back to health and give her to a friend because at that point, i never wanted to see a female betta again because we were so frustrated and stressed. It was NOT fun for them or us. Angel won my heart tho & we're good with female bettas but would never even try 2 in a 46g tank.

shollia

I really don't like the fact that you question the things I've seen on other forums. It's not been only a few people, it's not just been newbie betta owners. I've seen many very experienced betta owners with very successful sorority tanks.
I'm just trying to give this person a different perspective instead of just "No don't try it". There ARE people out there who do keep successful sororities, but yes, there are others such as a few people here who unfortunatly haven't due to too much aggression.
And I specially don't like the fact that just b/c I happen to disagree with some of you and want to try it out myself one day (still on the fence) would have the nerve to say I don't care about my fish and shouldn't even own them. It's very rude and totally uncalled for.


Anyways.... GL with whatever you decide to eventually do.

Phloxface

One of the best things about this forum is the fact that we DO question what is found in other places online. There is SO much bad information out there. We learn from our own and others mistakes.
Our perspective comes from EXPERIENCE, not from what we've read online. We, unlike many of the people who've posted in other forums (probably on the first days of setting up the sorority tank) are honest enough to admit that we failed terribly and hope others learn from our mistakes. No one said you shouldn't own fish. Sorry if you feel offended but after seeing what happens to an all female tank I will NEVER just sit back and not give my opinion. I happen to feel very strongly about this and if I can prevent even one poor female from dying I will try.

Last friday my local Petsmart store got in a large number of Bettas so they put 6 tiny five week old females into a large tank together with lots of plants and hiding places. I went in today and all were gone. I asked about them and was told they ALL died due to fighting. This is the 4th time I have personally seen this happen at this store. Everytime all the females die. I've complained but they still stubbornly insist that female Bettas can live together. :

COBettaCouple

Nobody has said you don't care about your fish OR that you shouldn't own them. i'm not sure where you got that idea? From reading your posts, i'd say you care for your fish and take care of them.

Our attempt at a sorority tank failed due to betta instincts, not overly aggressive bettas. We actually got some very sweet betta girls. The blue female that we gave to our neighbor, for instance, is so good natured and sweet that she not only puts up with but even swims with her cory cats (who got added to her tank months AFTER she did) and sleeps beside them at night but with other female bettas she was extremely territorial and constantly attacking and chasing the other females.

If you want to try it, i'd recommend finding someone who can show you a successful sorority tank that has had the same females for at least a year with no fatalities and ask them every detail possible, including if the females were all from the same hatching of eggs.

Fishface

I'd just like to say that I have a 20gal community tank, quite heavily planted with driftwood, hiding places, and rocks. I have two female bettas in it, and they've been in there fore two weeks without a hitch. there WAS flaring and nipping the first few days, and i still keep an eye on them. they are bot the same size, and i make sure they both get fed.


just thought id represent.


ashley