New Rescues HELP HELP HELP

[riogal_11]

Well just got back from wal-mart, I've recently set up a 10 gallon female community, and there were so far only 2 occupants. I've been waiting to find the right females to rescue and today was the day. I went to wal-mart and the cups were for the most part really clean, I did however find two girls clear in the back who had nasty cups. They were the only 2 females they had. The girls seem to be in alright shape, not too active though. oh yeah there were 3 girls there, but I got there a little late as one was dead in the botom of her cup! I guess we can't save em all, but it's still sad..... So I bought the other 2 along with some clay pots and more silk plants. I will have pics up of them and the new 10 in a couple hours for you all to see~~

 

[Mariah]

Yes post pics!

 

[BettaMomma]

FABULOUS!

Not sure if this is already on your radar, but as a "Been there, *wish I'da* done that" type of thing... you'll probably want to take out your existing girls and rearrange your tank before you put the new ones in there or there will be tiffs. There will be some minor tiffs anyway, as they work out who will be the boss hag, but it shouldn't be too bad..

How fun! I love my female community tank - it's my favorite

 

[riogal_11]

You beat me to the comp bettamomma, I had one new girl that has attacked the other new one, This wasn't just a little tiff, this seemed like one male attacking a female! I don't know what to do!! I'm freaking out, as I have nowhere to keep her really, only thing available is a little less than a gallon~ My first thought was that maybe she was actually a he, just wasn't old enough to tell yet, So should I take everyone out, rearrange then put back in? I took one girl out and the other started attacking my old one, so I realized that I didn't take the one that was initiating the fights, so I switched em back up and now there is no problem, just a little chasing and nipping here and there. I Just no place to keep the little witch!! Help Help Help!! I'll have pics up in a few. Is there a possibility that it might be a boy?

 

[riogal_11]

Please someone help|! I don't know what to do!!
Here are some pics of my new female community minus the little meanie!

 

[BettaMomma]

First things first - get everyone out and separated.

do you have even any solo cups, or anything you can put them in?

A glass from your kitchen will even work, assuming you have rinsed it in very hot water so there are NO soaps or chemicals in it at all. It does not matter how small it is, they will be okay for the time being.

Go do that right away, then I will type more as you separate them.

 

[riogal_11]

yea i keep all original cups they came in b/c i have to haul them to and from school when summer break comes!! I'm headed to seperate now!

 

[BettaMomma]

Okay, perfect.
What you will need to do, unfortunately is mix everything up in that tank. move the plants and the hidey spots...
They become really territorial and therefore have established "areas" in the tank that are theirs. When you mix up the decor in there, you take that away and they have to once again figure out what area is theirs to own...

Next you'll want to reintroduce them back in, starting w/the least aggressive (from what you can tell anyway) and put them in one right after the other. At first, there will be aggression and you'll see flaring and face slaps with the tail, and there will be some nipping going on, but if it gets to the point where you see any major injuries - like eye nipping, or major parts missing, pull the problem child out.

Otherwise let them work it out - it can take up to a couple of days before they decide who is boss, but they should behave after that.

Let me know how it's going!

 

[riogal_11]

Ok I changed everything around and added everyone back, they have had complete attitude changes!! They are all just kinda exploring and swimming around merrily!! It's too good to be true! What have these imposters done with my little witches!!! Thank you loads bettamomma! If not for you I'd still be going around the house panicking and not fixing the problem!!

 

[BettaMomma]

HA! How fabulous!
Don't be surprised, though, if they turn into hags again for a short time.
Someone has to be deemed the tank queen and therefore they might have to work thru that a little bit... They might still do that, but that's normal.