Betta Sorority (6 Month Update) (Comments/Advice/Guidance Welcomed!)

[Dukefish]

I last posted in August after recently doing the forum introducing you all to my first tank ever and my betta sorority: Link

After some advice and research I made some changes and entered the Tank of the Month: Link

It's been several months since I posted so I'd like to give you an update on my ladies!
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Tank Specs:

[Italics are changes since last post]

Tank: Superfish 70 (60 Litres)
Dimensions: 58cm x 30cm x 45cm
Filter: Superfish Aqua Flow 200 (Charcoal based)
Heater: 100 W Temp - 78-80F
Substrate: Roman Gravel
Planting: Fake Plants (90% Silk, 10% Soft Fish safe plastic), Amazon Frogbit

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Fish Stock

5x Female Bettas (Plakats) ( 2 Red, 1 Blue(RIP), 1 Purple, 1 Turquoise, 1 Pink)

4 x Male Endlers Guppies (-1 Guppy)

7x Cardinal Tetras

3x Jade Green Shrimp

Pics:

Changes:

So I added some Amazon Frog-bit to the surface of my tank. My god does it spread fast. I added 3 rings of air inlet tube floating on the surface to provide areas of clear water for the bettas to breathe air should they desire.

I also added some real driftwood to the tank to provide some height cover in my tank, and to introduce the tanninc acid. It also makes the water go darker and more green/yellow which is more natural water environment for bettas so I believe.

I also added some Jade Green Shrimp to help with algae control. So far the 3 I added have been left alone, the bettas had non interested temperaments in them. So I will be added some more of the those shrimps soon.

History/Story

So in short. I lost Bloo during a water change, she jumped out at some point during a water changed and ended up behind the tank and its stand and out of view. I didn't notice her absence until the next morning and she did not survive. I purchased a pink and purple female betta who I have named Candyfloss.

I lost a guppy when i bought a cheap siphon and believe he was lost.

So far I am loving owning this tank and I spend far to much time just watching them go about their business. There is a clear hierarchy, with Candyfloss on top. Then Darlagh (the dominant red since I owned them). The remaining Three, Emerald, Miss Purple and Scarlet all dwell in the crags and shadows in the bottom of the tank, dreaming of being the Princess of the tank!

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Thanks for checking out my fish, let me know what you think and what i can do better to advocate responsible fish keeping!

 

[Huscarl86]

Seems a bit overstocked to me, I would think the fish are a bit stressed all living in a 60L.

Some users here advise against keeping a sorority in any size of tank, as they can appear to work at first, but then go horribly wrong with disease due to stress.

I keep 1 betta in 40 litres, and I just can't see 6 in 60 litres working very well.

 

[Retired Viking]

The frog bite looks good and will help with the water quality. I have a small amount in my 55 gallon tetra tank but it has not done much, I have mostly salvinia floating. @Huscarl86 does have a good point, your tank appears to be over stocked. Doing larger water changes every week can help. Having a betta sorority with other fish can spell trouble over time. I wish you the best of luck with your tank. Thank you for posting the pictures

 

[Huscarl86]

Here's quote from one of the moderators here, on keeping Sorority tanks;

No!!! Don’t do it. Things always end up failing for everyone I know who tried it. I defended the sorority idea with tooth and nail because mine was “fine”’. For about 10 months I had a beautiful sorority of 11 female bettas. Then all hell broke lose! The stress they had all been living with caused Columnaris to break out. My fish were eaten alive with the disease. Lost all of them! It just stresses them literally to death!

@Huscarl86 does have a good point, your tank appears to be over stocked. Doing larger water changes every week can help. Having a betta sorority with other fish can spell trouble over time.

I think I'd be less worried about water quality, and more worried about the stress the fish will be under, all co-existing in that amount of space.

 

[EllRog]

Here's quote from one of the moderators here, on keeping Sorority tanks;





I think I'd be less worried about water quality, and more worried about the stress the fish will be under, all co-existing in that amount of space.

Different people have different experiences with sorority tanks. In some cases, the problems encountered are less of the situation and more of the keeper. I've successfully kept a sorority tank for some time now and there is a rule of thumb to follow. Mainly, plant the life out of the tank and make sure to monitor behaviour, know what to look out for. In my tank, my females generally hang out a fair bit, they swim together and get on well. There's the odd slight chase from time to time, but not in the sense that a fish is being hounded around the tank, just warned away. We have to remember that these fish do have aggressive temperaments and will let each other know when they need space, but as long as it isn't actual fighting and isn't happening often, then there is no harm to a hierarchy being formed. Which leads me on to my next point. Of course, bigger is better, my sorority is over 40G. But we know that keeping Cichlids successfully means over stocking the tank and the same could be said for bettas, within reason. You have to keep atleast 5 bettas to prevent bullying, they need enough space to avoid each other if they choose and you need alot of plants and hiding space, remember they don't zip around the tank like guppies, they generally plod along lazily.

My advice would be to upgarde the size of the tank if and when possible. This will prevent possible issues down the line and improve their quality of living. I've personally not seen any of my bettas create their own territory and aggressively protect it, but you're providing them space to avoid other fish if they chose to and also setting your tank up for my next suggestion; PLANTS! Add as many live plants (preferably) as possible, and I mean stuff loads in there! This will also be an enjoyable next step in the hobby for you to experiment with and the fish will love it. Make sure to monitor their behaviour and the parameters, I'd refrain from adding any more fish to that tank and always have a plan b for if anything happens

 

[FishGuest5123]

Different people have different experiences with sorority tanks. In some cases, the problems encountered are less of the situation and more of the keeper. I've successfully kept a sorority tank for some time now and there is a rule of thumb to follow. Mainly, plant the life out of the tank and make sure to monitor behaviour, know what to look out for. In my tank, my females generally hang out a fair bit, they swim together and get on well. There's the odd slight chase from time to time, but not in the sense that a fish is being hounded around the tank, just warned away. We have to remember that these fish do have aggressive temperaments and will let each other know when they need space, but as long as it isn't actual fighting and isn't happening often, then there is no harm to a hierarchy being formed. Which leads me on to my next point. Of course, bigger is better, my sorority is over 40G. But we know that keeping Cichlids successfully means over stocking the tank and the same could be said for bettas, within reason. You have to keep atleast 5 bettas to prevent bullying, they need enough space to avoid each other if they choose and you need alot of plants and hiding space, remember they don't zip around the tank like guppies, they generally plod along lazily.

My advice would be to upgarde the size of the tank if and when possible. This will prevent possible issues down the line and improve their quality of living. I've personally not seen any of my bettas create their own territory and aggressively protect it, but you're providing them space to avoid other fish if they chose to and also setting your tank up for my next suggestion; PLANTS! Add as many live plants (preferably) as possible, and I mean stuff loads in there! This will also be an enjoyable next step in the hobby for you to experiment with and the fish will love it. Make sure to monitor their behaviour and the parameters, I'd refrain from adding any more fish to that tank and always have a plan b for if anything happens

I had my tank heavily planted and a cave for each fish. How long have you had your sorority?

 

[mcordelia]

I think there's also the interesting argument that these fish do not live in 40-gallon puddles by themselves in the wild, in order to breed and multiply as a species they do have to come into contact with each other, and our challenge as fishkeepers is to be able to simulate whatever it is in nature that keeps the fish from getting at each others' throats. I'm sure there's a lot of interesting literature out there as far as what causes a sorority tank to crash, whether it's the scape (does it need to be rescaped every now and then?) whether it's the water parameters (are there natural shifts in the environment that bring about more aggressive behavior?), whether it's the hormones/pheromones released by the fish (what is the right water change schedule?), whether it's the nature of the fish (do they migrate from place to place over the course of the year? is that something we need to be able to simulate to ensure their survival?), the list is probably endless.

I'm not offering any advice here since I know nothing about the topic, but just wanted to comment that it's a really interesting area of fishkeeping.

also @Dukefish I could not believe that that was not a "real" planted tank (apart from the frogbit)! What you have done with the scape with fake plants is impressive!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Just give it time, my friend. I have helped a lot of members but never saw one work in the end. Yes, you do have to move caves and plants around periodically. Keep plenty of plants to break up the view lines. In nature, the fish are moving as puddles fill or die when they dry out. They are not continually together with the same fish. I truly do wish you the very best of luck. If you still have the sorority with same fish in a year, please let me know. I’d love to hear of one success story. PS- Almost my entire tank as silk plants. I’ll try to find some pics.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Here are pics of my sorority. 11 females in a 20G long.