Betta Sororities

What is a Sorority

A Sorority is a group of female bettas who live together in the same tank. It is a controversial practice as a lot of sororities fail, leading to dead fish. This can happen for any number of reasons, but often falls to inexperience, misinformation, incorrect set ups, or the wrong girls. With the rise of tictok and youtube showing increasingly poor fish keeping, I've decided to create my own Betta Sorority Guide to share what works for me.

Why Sororities Fail

The first thing you should learn is why sororities fail. A failed sorority is when a group of female bettas kept together begin getting sick, have ripped fins, or die. There are usually clear signs of a sorority that is not balanced and is doomed to fail, but get ignored by keepers who are inexperienced or don't care enough to step in. Signs can include chasing, hiding, nipped fins, flaring, posturing, loss of color, and other signs of illness.

Here are some of the main reasons why sororities fail :

Overstocked - Too many girls in too small of a space leading to stress and fighting.
Understocked - Not enough girls in too small of a space leading to bullying .
Tank too small - Stress, not enough space for them to claim as their own.
Immature girls - Older girls are typically calmer and will avoid fights. Younger girls will try to challenge the pecking order.
Aggressive girls - Some girls need to be on top of the pecking order, or are too aggressive to safely live with any other fish. If you have two who need to be top dog, one or both will need to be removed
Shy girls - Some girls are too shy to live with other fish. They need to be by themselves or die from stress.
Adding/Removing girls - Once a tank is established, do not remove or add additional girls as this can upset the balance.
Genetics - Some spawns produce highly aggressive bettas who can not live together under any circumstance.
Stress - Stress lowers a fish's immune system and opens them up to illness
Illness - A single sick fish opens the entire tank to illness. This is especially prevalent when setting up a sorority or adding new fish.
New tank / Not established tank - It takes a long time for a tank to establish enough bacteria to hold the entire bioload. A cycled tank can crash if too many fish are added all at once. I would only recommend adding a sorority to a tank that is 3+ months old and already has other fish thriving in there.
Water Company Pipe Flushing - I often lose fish in the fall. This is when the temps change and the water companies flush their pipes. They do this in the spring or fall and it always seems to affect the fish. To combat this I collect rain water and don't do large changes around this time of year.

My Recipe for a Successful Sorority

Tank Size - Minimum of 75 gallons, but 100g+ is preferred.
Tank shape - More floor space is better then taller tanks. For example, a 50 gallon Low Boy is preferred to a 50 gallon tall.
Understocking -I would never go below 4 bettas in a tank. I am sure there are people who had success with less, but in my experience this is the magic minimum number.
A minimum of 8 gallons per girl. So a 50g tank could hold 4-6 girls. A 100g could hold 4-12 girls.
Selecting the appropriate girls. (see below)
Live plants, safe decorations, places to float near the top
Feeding appropriately - Some girls may be better at eating then others and will get obese. This affects their QOL poorly. Be sure to spread food throughout the tank and make sure the shy girls get fed. You can also cup girls during feeding time if they are overweight.
Dither Fish like Guppies and Cory Catfish help to break up sight lines and add interest to the tank.

How to pick girls for a sorority

Cupped Bettas (Petco, Petsmart)

Place the cups next to each other and observe their behavior. Do not get if they flare or seem extremely scared.
Get girls who are aware of the betta in the cup next to them but either ignore or don't seem bothered.

Fish Store Sorority Tank Bettas

Look for non-confrontational girls who are hanging out in the open.
Shy girls who are hiding should be avoided.
Girls with ripped fins should be avoided.
Any betta that is flaring or posturing should be avoided.

Common Misconceptions

Getting sisters does not mean they will all be ok in a sorority.
Getting girls in a sorority tank at a fish store does not mean they will be ok in a sorority.
Getting young girls does not mean they will grow up to be ok in a sorority.
Betta type does not matter when it comes to aggression. All types can be peaceful or aggressive.
Nipped fins of any kind is not acceptable and means a sorority is not balanced.
Posturing or flaring past a few weeks is not acceptable. They are not dancing, they are challenging each other.
Males NEVER belong in a sorority or fraternity tank.

What to do with an aggressive girl

The first option is to remove an aggressive girl who has torn fins. If it has already come to blows then this betta shouldn't be in a sorority. You can rehome or put her in her own tank.

If they haven't torn fins yet and you want to try to keep them together, you can put an aggressive betta in timeout for a few days and try again. Start by cupping the girl and letting her float in the tank. Make sure there is enough distance between the rim of the cup and the water level that she will not jump. Let her sit in time out for a few days. Watch her. Does she try to fight? Does she flare at the girls who come near her cup? If she is peaceful, then wait until dark and release her. Keep the lights off and put a towl around the tank to block out light if needed. Observe and see if she is willing to coexist with the others. Some flaring is ok as she settles back into the pack, but excessive chasing or posturing is not ok, and she should be permanently removed.

Are Sororities Ethical?

To be honest, with all of the failed sororities and people running to betta groups asking for help, I am not sure if they are ethical or not. I know that I can keep and sell successful sororities. I spend a lot of time watching and carefully picking out girls to live together, and test them before sending them to their new homes. However, so many sororities fail due to misinformation, the wrong girls, or lack of experience. I share my experience to educate those who are interested, and hopefully steer them away if they cannot meet these standards.

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