Best tank mates for a female beta

[itiwhetu]

Very interesting. Don’t know much about it. Breezed through library ebook on bettas. When guy discussed betta sororities I thought it was his own descriptive phrase & not common usage. Then saw same in another book. Both writers said it can be done but can also end badly, for experienced ppl only. Agreed sorority should be at least 5 and they will set up a hierarchy with an alpha female. I saw photos of some very colorful girls.
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I have never heard of the term sorority being used for fish until recently on here. In my experience female Betta's will live happily together most of the time. Males on the other hand need to be separated. Just make sure your tank is heavily planted and each fish has plenty of room. Most fish aggression issues occur when we cram fish into tiny spaces.

 

[FishHobby99]

I have never heard of the term sorority being used for fish until recently on here. In my experience female Betta's will live happily together most of the time. Males on the other hand need to be separated. Just make sure your tank is heavily planted and each fish has plenty of room. Most fish aggression issues occur when we cram fish into tiny spaces.

My Betta Boy happily lives alone in his 10 g tank. Has some nice plants

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

When I bred Betta's, I would separate the males out into their own compartments in what I would call a Betta Bank. But the females I would leave together, very rarely would I have problems with the female fish.

Disclaimer: I haven't kept a betta fish yet, so not claiming any personal expertise! Just happened to watch a youtube video where they imported several hundred (absolutely stunning) bettas, and talked with the supplier, explaining their breeding set up and how they packed and shipped so many bettas.

The males were packed individually, while the females were in crates, with something like a hundred females together in each crate. The importer stressed how important it was not to mix and change the females into different boxes. He said each box had females that had been raised together since they were fry. That they were fine together as they were raised together, but that if you removed one of the females from crate A and put her into crate B, there would be a problem, and very likely aggression, from that female, and/or the females in crate B, who would almost certainly attack the outsider.

The bit that caught my attention (this was playing in the background while I did tank maintenance, so I admit I wasn't paying super close attention) was that he also said not to remove any fish from crate A, then replace them in crate A after more that a few minutes. 13 minutes, to be precise. (I have no idea how he arrived at the number, and I will try to find that video again to check it and link).

He handled a female to show her to the youtuber, and said you could remove one/some to view or examine them for a couple of minutes, put them back in, and it would be fine. But not to reintroduce them to the same group if they'd been separated for any longer than 13 minutes, because then the fish that had been away from the group became the outsider, and aggression happens.

My guess is that as you say, breeders don't usually have problems keeping the females together since that's how female betta are, especially before they've reached maturity. But since they're usually right at that cusp between sub-adult and adult- territorial- ready to breed mature adult fish, that their territorial instincts are beginning to kick in. So while in the wild, they're likely still in the same pool as their siblings, at the stage where they're gradually each leaving to find their own territory (males) or to find a mate (females), they're going to respond badly to outsiders. They are a solitary species, after all. Of course they're going to aggress when encountering another betta.

Betta sororities are a trend now. I personally don't want to try it. It isn't how they would live as mature adult females in the wild, and goes against their natural instincts. That's bound to cause unnecessary stress with the battle for a pecking order and the fish having no escape from the pressure of having to live in a way that isn't natural to them, with fights and deaths often happening. They say experienced hobbyists only because they need such careful monitoring, and because the pecking order is always going to be subject to changing on a dime; with potentially disastrous results.

 

[itiwhetu]

Disclaimer: I haven't kept a betta fish yet, so not claiming any personal expertise! Just happened to watch a youtube video where they imported several hundred (absolutely stunning) bettas, and talked with the supplier, explaining their breeding set up and how they packed and shipped so many bettas.

The males were packed individually, while the females were in crates, with something like a hundred females together in each crate. The importer stressed how important it was not to mix and change the females into different boxes. He said each box had females that had been raised together since they were fry. That they were fine together as they were raised together, but that if you removed one of the females from crate A and put her into crate B, there would be a problem, and very likely aggression, from that female, and/or the females in crate B, who would almost certainly attack the outsider.

The bit that caught my attention (this was playing in the background while I did tank maintenance, so I admit I wasn't paying super close attention) was that he also said not to remove any fish from crate A, then replace them in crate A after more that a few minutes. 13 minutes, to be precise. (I have no idea how he arrived at the number, and I will try to find that video again to check it and link).

He handled a female to show her to the youtuber, and said you could remove one/some to view or examine them for a couple of minutes, put them back in, and it would be fine. But not to reintroduce them to the same group if they'd been separated for any longer than 13 minutes, because then the fish that had been away from the group became the outsider, and aggression happens.

My guess is that as you say, breeders don't usually have problems keeping the females together since that's how female betta are, especially before they've reached maturity. But since they're usually right at that cusp between sub-adult and adult- territorial- ready to breed mature adult fish, that their territorial instincts are beginning to kick in. So while in the wild, they're likely still in the same pool as their siblings, at the stage where they're gradually each leaving to find their own territory (males) or to find a mate (females), they're going to respond badly to outsiders. They are a solitary species, after all. Of course they're going to aggress when encountering another betta.

Betta sororities are a trend now. I personally don't want to try it. It isn't how they would live as mature adult females in the wild, and goes against their natural instincts. That's bound to cause unnecessary stress with the battle for a pecking order and the fish having no escape from the pressure of having to live in a way that isn't natural to them, with fights and deaths often happening. They say experienced hobbyists only because they need such careful monitoring, and because the pecking order is always going to be subject to changing on a dime; with potentially disastrous results.

That is really interesting and explains why I never had trouble with my females. Of course when I sold them they went and lived on their own or were used for breeding, never thought of it like that.

 

[itiwhetu]

I have to say I always recommend keeping Bettas of any sex alone, unless you want to breed them. And if you want to breed them be prepared to have a casualty along the way.

 

[FishHobby99]

Disclaimer: I haven't kept a betta fish yet, so not claiming any personal expertise! Just happened to watch a youtube video where they imported several hundred (absolutely stunning) bettas, and talked with the supplier, explaining their breeding set up and how they packed and shipped so many bettas.

The males were packed individually, while the females were in crates, with something like a hundred females together in each crate. The importer stressed how important it was not to mix and change the females into different boxes. He said each box had females that had been raised together since they were fry. That they were fine together as they were raised together, but that if you removed one of the females from crate A and put her into crate B, there would be a problem, and very likely aggression, from that female, and/or the females in crate B, who would almost certainly attack the outsider.

The bit that caught my attention (this was playing in the background while I did tank maintenance, so I admit I wasn't paying super close attention) was that he also said not to remove any fish from crate A, then replace them in crate A after more that a few minutes. 13 minutes, to be precise. (I have no idea how he arrived at the number, and I will try to find that video again to check it and link).

He handled a female to show her to the youtuber, and said you could remove one/some to view or examine them for a couple of minutes, put them back in, and it would be fine. But not to reintroduce them to the same group if they'd been separated for any longer than 13 minutes, because then the fish that had been away from the group became the outsider, and aggression happens.

My guess is that as you say, breeders don't usually have problems keeping the females together since that's how female betta are, especially before they've reached maturity. But since they're usually right at that cusp between sub-adult and adult- territorial- ready to breed mature adult fish, that their territorial instincts are beginning to kick in. So while in the wild, they're likely still in the same pool as their siblings, at the stage where they're gradually each leaving to find their own territory (males) or to find a mate (females), they're going to respond badly to outsiders. They are a solitary species, after all. Of course they're going to aggress when encountering another betta.

Betta sororities are a trend now. I personally don't want to try it. It isn't how they would live as mature adult females in the wild, and goes against their natural instincts. That's bound to cause unnecessary stress with the battle for a pecking order and the fish having no escape from the pressure of having to live in a way that isn't natural to them, with fights and deaths often happening. They say experienced hobbyists only because they need such careful monitoring, and because the pecking order is always going to be subject to changing on a dime; with potentially disastrous results.

All makes perfect sense to me!

 

[JazzyV]

Often, this is a controversial keep with not many ‘successful keeps’ vs ‘unsuccessful keeps’ that outnumbers them. That it’s rarely spoken about by successful keepers.

The dedication and hard work involved is only a mere fraction of what it takes to go from fishes just living together to fishes that thrives and evolves into a society. Even so, each society is different in content. Some are more fragile than others, so that’s why it’s important to a keeper to be experience enough to recognize what they are looking at and skillfully address it. Outwitting and not underestimating a betta will take you further.

If you are lucky enough to have a friend with a successful habitat…I highly recommend spending time and watching it if they allow it. The behavior of bettas in a well built out society is a speechless watch. The rewards are immense for the keeper. IMO, it’s a rare, once in a lifetime for some keepers. Each group is different just like each betta has different personalities.

 

[sgropp311]

Often, this is a controversial keep with not many ‘successful keeps’ vs ‘unsuccessful keeps’ that outnumbers them. That it’s rarely spoken about by successful keepers.

The dedication and hard work involved is only a mere fraction of what it takes to go from fishes just living together to fishes that thrives and evolves into a society. Even so, each society is different in content. Some are more fragile than others, so that’s why it’s important to a keeper to be experience enough to recognize what they are looking at and skillfully address it. Outwitting and not underestimating a betta will take you further.

If you are lucky enough to have a friend with a successful habitat…I highly recommend spending time and watching it if they allow it. The behavior of bettas in a well built out society is a speechless watch. The rewards are immense for the keeper. IMO, it’s a rare, once in a lifetime for some keepers. Each group is different just like each betta has different personalities.

This is so important to remember. I've never kept a betta in a tank alone. All have either been in a sorority or community tank. But some bettas just aren't suited for that. If I got a betta that was just dead set on murdering all of his tank mates he would be alone. But it very much depends on your set up, your experience and how well you can read your fish's body language, and the individual fish in that tank, and their personalities.