Possible Betta Sorority?

[TheLavenderBadger]

Hello, my fellow fish nerds! I currently own a male betta (and have joint custody of another ) and I absolutely love them.
My father, @WhistlingBadger, has a 30 long that is currently a paludarium, but it is a possibility in the distant future that he might upgrade his setup into a 55 gallon, thus leaving the 30 free. (evil laughter...)
My question is, I would kinda like to try breeding betta splendens, so would a betta sorority work in a 30 gallon? How many betta ladies could I keep in it safely?
Breeding them is a whole other thing, but even if I don't, I think a sorority would be amazing. This is still a very distant possibility, and technically Dad hasn't said I could use the 30 gallon but hope springs eternal.
Thoughts?

 

[Fishies4Ever]

I think a beta sorority would probably work in a 30 gallon. I have never had a sorority myself because I haven’t wanted to take the risk. You probably could have about 3-5 or maybe more females in with the one male. Just make sure you are watching them very closely to see if there is any aggression. Always have some extra tanks on hand just in case as well. Are you planning on putting both the males in the sorority or just the one?

 

[Essjay]

A sorority is females only - the word sorority means a group of females. I would not put a male in with a group of females, especially not in a tank as small (to the fish) as 30 gallons.




There are people who have successfully kept a betta sorority and there are people who have had a sorority end badly. The reasons range from having purchased a short finned male sold as a female, to having an extra aggressive female, to all the females being so stressed that they catch something and die.

 

[TheLavenderBadger]

I think a beta sorority would probably work in a 30 gallon. I have never had a sorority myself because I haven’t wanted to take the risk. You probably could have about 3-5 or maybe more females in with the one male. Just make sure you are watching them very closely to see if there is any aggression. Always have some extra tanks on hand just in case as well. Are you planning on putting both the males in the sorority or just the one?

I would only keep females in the sorority.

 

[TheLavenderBadger]

A sorority is females only - the word sorority means a group of females. I would not put a male in with a group of females, especially not in a tank as small (to the fish) as 30 gallons.




There are people who have successfully kept a betta sorority and there are people who have had a sorority end badly. The reasons range from having purchased a short finned male sold as a female, to having an extra aggressive female, to all the females being so stressed that they catch something and die.

Yeah, there seems to be a lot of varied opinions on the topic. I'm totally ok if it isn't a good idea, just thought it might be something to try. And I would definitely not put a male in with the females, the tank is way too small for that

 

[JuiceBox52]

IMO if you were going to try breeding, it would be better to have a separate small tank with the single female and use the 30 to rear the fry

 

[JuiceBox52]

Also, (not to rain on your parade) have you thought about how you will house the fry once they get to the age where they can no longer be kept with the other fry and must be kept individually?

 

[TheLavenderBadger]

Also, (not to rain on your parade) have you thought about how you will house the fry once they get to the age where they can no longer be kept with the other fry and must be kept individually?

Good point! I was thinking I would just take them to the pet store, though I'm not familiar with how old the fry are when they reach that point.

 

[Essjay]

The male fry are the problem - once they start fighting each other they have to be separated. This usually happens when they are way smaller than an LFS would accept. You see photos of betta breeders with dozens of jars each containing a juvenile male betta, waiting till they get old enough/big enough to move on. That's usually anywhere between 6 months and 12 months depending how quickly they grow and the tails reach their full potential.
Some LFS may be willing to take them younger, it's something that needs to be researched before breeding any bettas.

 

[TheLavenderBadger]

Interesting! Thanks for everybody's help. My LFS isn't picky, I suspect they would take them pretty young- however, even breeding the bettas is a far, far away dream that will probably wait until I'm older/have more tanks to use. My original intent was just to see if a betta sorority was possible in a 30 gallon, regardless of trying to breed them with my males, because I love bettas and I think a sorority would be something interesting to try.
In the guide to betta care on this forum, it says sororities are much more likely to succeed if the bettas are conditioned properly. Does anyone know what conditioning properly entails?
Sorry for all the questions!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Another option for the 30g would be a different species of betta. I bet a small group of imbellis would work out well in a 30g. Or a breeding trio of pearl gouramis. Or a herd of sparkling gouramies...

 

[Essjay]

In the guide to betta care on this forum, it says sororities are much more likely to succeed if the bettas are conditioned properly. Does anyone know what conditioning properly entails?

The care sheet actually says "Female bettas can only be kept with other female bettas if a variety of conditions are met." The paragraph goes on to cover these conditions
Female bettas can only be kept with other female bettas if a variety of conditions are met.

Female bettas can only be kept with other female bettas if a variety of conditions are met. Bettas, including female bettas, are solitary, territorial fish, which are more at home in individual tanks. If housed together, females must be kept in groups of four or more in an appropriately sized tank (ten gallons or larger) that has a lot of plants (silk or live) and a lot of hiding places. Keeping more than four female bettas together helps diffuse the aggression. A sorority set-up is not natural for the bettas, though convenient for the keepers, and they must be monitored closely. Some female bettas are just too aggressive to be kept in a sorority, even if the suggested guidelines are followed. It is important to keep an eye on such a set-up to make sure the bettas are safe and happy. It is recommended that only experienced betta keepers attempt a sorority.

But introducing a male and female for breeding does require both fish to be conditioned which usually means feeding them up on good quality food.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Sorry I totally blanked on the fact that a sorority is just females. There are defiantly a ton of different possibilities and people have a bunch of different opinions but it really is up to you to have the sorority. A good idea might be to start with one female and get her adjusted and slowly start to add females. You could try putting the new one in a breeder net or box and see if they show any signs of aggression. Pet stores commonly sell betas that are too young to be sexed and just make their best guess so I would defiantly find a reliable breeder or store if you haven’t already to eliminate the chance of getting a male accidentally. It would defiantly be a kind of trial and error project for sure just to find some good betas that get along. I know in your post you said you wanted beta splendids but another idea would be to get the shorter tailed one. Not sure what kind they are but then maybe they wouldn’t have the risk of biting at each others tails, some other fish do to them and damage their pretty tails.

 

[Essjay]

It is usually recommended to add all the female bettas at the same time. Adding them one at a time usually results in a lot of aggression as this disrupts the pecking order which has to be sorted out all over again. Sometimes removing all the existing females then rearranging the entire tank decor before putting the old and new females back in at the same time works, but often does not.




Most female bettas have short tails; some may have longer tails but nothing like as long as most commercially available male bettas.