Did somebody suggest a girls' night out? Keeping multiple bettas is easier than you think. Follow these crucial tips and you are on your way to a successful tank.
1. Only keep female bettas
Bettas are very territorial and temperamental creatures. Males will certainly fight to the deaths and females are only a little different. Unless you are an experienced breeder, keeping any male and female combination will result in death. Females operate in a more hierarchical system. Through pecking and mini skirmishes, the female bettas will establish their own territories and elect a dominant/alpha female.
2. 20 Gallons is the minimum for 5 female bettas
Most guides recommend 10 but here is why I'm going to recommend 20. 20 gallons gives you a lot of flexibility with stocking options. Even with an established pecking order, the girls will still chase each other or occasionally bully or challenge each other. 20 gallons also gives the option for other fish too. When carefully selected, the other stocking options can actually relieve any tension or bullying between females.
3. Be very selective when purchasing from a chain
Chain stores are great, but the bettas they get might not all be in good conditions. I find bettas with protruded bellies like this are generally at more risk for tumors or other maligant illnesses. Another important detail is checking their aggression levels. To do this, I simply place the cups next to each other and watch the bettas reactions carefully.
Overactive flaring and trying to get at the other betta is a bad sign. Flaring at first might be normal but if it is all the betta is focused on for a minute or more, then they might not be a good idea for a sorority tank. Finally be sure use your own judgement on the bettas gender. Their cups may come mislabeled and adding a male in on accident could be catastrophic.
4. Aquascape with shelters and plants to block the direct line of sight
Bettas are less stressed and aggressive when they can hide or not be exposed to open waters. Tall plants or large wood/rocks reduces the chances of them seeing each other consistently and can establish actual barriers. The more natural the better for these gals.
5. Adding more bettas
Whenever adding more bettas try to do a water change or move some decor around in order to change the environment and allow the bettas to re-establish their pecking order with the new additions. It is also recommended to keep groups of at least 5 and to maintain an odd amount of bettas. The larger the tank, the less important this is. I personally added 5 at once to a lightly planted 75 gallon with other community fish. We lost one lady and the other 4 were not negatively impacted by this at all.
Conclusion
Keeping multiple bettas is a very rewarding goal. With all the different fin and color variations its very possible to create a unique style tank. Perhaps all koi bettas or only dumbo ear ladies. What type of betta fish is your favorite? Anyways thanks for reading and good luck on your trials!
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