Hello Betta People!
So, last night I was at Wal-Mart and saw, as usual, the horribly kept live fish area. I was there looking for a cheap, and I mean cheap!, 10 gallon tank hood for my QT because my cat has almost fallen face-first into it several times. At this point that wasn't such a huge deal since it only housed some plants I hadn't had the motivation to perform a salt and peroxide dip on yet. But while shopping for my cheapie hood, I just HAD to walk by the live fish, and in the process all of those horrible betta tubs. Now, I already have one female and one male betta (seperated, of course). But when I saw all of those lone females sitting there in their own filth, I knew I had to save them. I made the decision then and there to buy as many as I could. That ended up being five! I knew that I was taking a chance that not all of these females would be able to live together, but I figured either way they would be out of that store and those stupid tubs.
So, now I have a ten gallon semi-planted sorority tank. As of this morning, everyone seems to be getting along. I have one larger blue VT that seems to have declared herself The Queen. She seems to be doing a lot of flaring and has pushed a few of the smaller girls around, but otherwise there hasn't be any nipping. Everyone recieved a malachite-green/formalin dip upon arrival, and the tank is being treated with Jungle Parasite and Fugus Cure as a preventative measure, as well as a medically heavy dose of aquarium salt.
My real want is for anyone who has ever had an all female betta tank to comment. What should I be on the look out for besides fin nipping and the like? What are your experiences? Any help or comments would be great.
Thanks!
Mary

It is normal at first for them to pick at eachother just to decide who is more dominant, etc. but make sure that they aren't like totally beating up on eachother. Post some pics!

Right now none of my ladies are photo ready. Wal-Mart bettas come with problems (mouth fungus!) but as soon as they are all better pictures will come!

First off,please make 100%sure they are all female.I dont care if the cups say so,i have bought three males marked a females,and saw seven more at the same time.
If you didnt know,this is how to differenciate the two:
male sold as a female:

Another male sold as a female;

This is a few drawings i did just to point out the differences,also how to tell the fin type of females:
This is a male HMPK.A regular PK is what the first pictures are.

Female Veil,similiar to the PK males.

HM female

and a PK female.


Now once you are sure they are all females,then its very easy.First off theres always a chance for them to break out into a fight.For this reason,you must pay attention to the heirarchy of the females.You said the big blue one was domineering the others.This is good as long as no challengers approach.Fighting and nipping is ok,but if you see lip locking and pummeling them to the ground or the sides,then seperate asap.When you clean,add the least dominate one first then move up.Add more plants,silk if you dont have live.Basically just remember,its fun while it lasts,and can last anywhere from a few days to the lifespan of the fish.Good luck,and share pics soon!

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Majerah, your drawing are lovely and informative. And don't worry I always look for the ovipositor on any bettas I am thinking of buying. Lucky for me all my girls are really girls. Also, my tank is HEAVILY planted, so they have lots and lots of hiding spots.
Right now though, I am thinking that I might have more problems on my hands then I thought. Out of the five I bought, three seem to be on their way out. They either sit on the bottom of the tank or hide vertically in the plants. Only two are really active; swimming around and inspecting the tank. I do not know what to do to prevent any deaths. I mean, I knew at time of purchase that I would probably end up losing at least one because they came from such horrible conditions and the shock of transport from grime to gleam can be enough to put them over the edge. But I would really like to have them all survive. Can anyone suggest something to get them more active?
Also, I have noticed that each of them has set up her own territory. Two of the more submissive fish (both teal blue) have found the space between the Japanese moss ball and the Hygrophila Corymbosa compact an ideal territory. The larger, most dominate (blue-ish red) likes the top leaves of the Cryptocoryne undulate. The second most dominate female (she’s purple) enjoys the space around the heater. And the middle fish (she’s pink) likes the rocks around the base of the Cryptocoryne undulate and the Anubias nana.

Nice drawings! I hope that your bettas won't die, but that is good that they have established territories. Maybe they are just settling in. Like you said, the change from those evil cups to a regular tank can be a little crazy.

Up-date:
So far everything is going very well. No one has died and everyones colors are turning out to be very pretty. I did put in a clean-up crew of Ghost shrimp and a Mystery snail. I plan on adding several more plants since a couple of the original ones have either died or I transplanted them into my other tanks. I am not very good at taking photos of the tank but I will post some cell phone photos in a bit.
Hope everyones holidays are going well!
-CaPisces

You guys are too kind on the art critique....


Glad to hear everyones settled in and getting along better.Cant wait to see the pics.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Alright, so this pitcure sucks since you can't see most of the fish but at least you guys can get an idea of what the tank looks like. This picture isn't as up-to-date as I would like since I have added a few more plants, some Ghost shrimp, and a Mystery snail, but it will work for now.

Up-date:
So, I think one of my ladies might need to come out of the tank. She is currently maintaining a pretty permanent position at the top of the tank. She isn't hurt or anything but doesn't seem to want to head to the bottom of the tank where the four other fish are. There is some minor "pecking" that is occurring but that could be because they are cranky from a two day fast I had to put the tank on due to some over feeding issues that occurred (I.E. the boyfriend trying to feed them when I already had). We will see if things get better once their regular feeding schedule resumes.

Up-Date:
Just lost one of my gals to what I think was Flavobacterium columnare (columnaris). Had her in the QT and just couldn't get the infection to clear up. I have a second lady, Bertha, in there now (do not fear I did disinfect the tank before adding her in there). At first, it seemed that she just had some fin rot of her tail, but I noticed a little bit of white near her lip so she is being treated with some metronidazole via Jungle Lab's Parasite Clear just incase. Wish me luck!
Also, with some of my tax return I plan on upgrading the tank!
Possible up-grades are:
Making the tank a 15 or 20 gallon tank
Adding more plants
Adding a better filter
Adding four or five Amano shrimp
Possibly adding two more ladies since the ranks have been reduced and the pecking order is now all screwed up. Hopefully my newly sick fish will make it and I will only have to add one fish.

I am really hoping that Bertha doesn't die. If she does have columnaris she will be in the QT for at least a few weeks. I can tell she hates it and wants her plants back.

Sorry you have lost one.Columnaris is nasty.You can always place a live plant in the quarantine tank,to help her stress stay low.It will help her feel more secure.Just get one dedicated to the QT,and after the QT period give it a bleach bath,to keep the infections from spreading to others.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Up-date:
The heater I had in the tank decided to crack and nearly explode today. Luckily, I was home and heard the hissing of the water hitting the heating element. I shut it off as quick as I could and pulled it out. Had to take the heater out of my 20 gallon goldfish tank and put it in with the bettas while I went to class. Will be taking the heater back after since it was only two months old.
Majerah, I was thinking about that actually. She seems to be responding very well to the medication, so I am hoping she won't be in there for long. I have a bunch of fake plants I am thinking about putting in there since they can be cleaned easily. Not as good as live but until tax return money comes in that is all that I have.

Wish me luck since we all know bad things come in threes!
1) Fish died
2) Heater leaked and nearly exploded.
I really hope the third thing isn't as bad as the first...

Up-date:
So, I think the third bad thing has arrived, it looks like Bertha, the second fish I have that started to look sick now looks like she might have dropsy and is no longer responding to the medication I have been giving her. She is pretty pine-coned and has the same white patches that the other fish had on her back before she died. Bertha seems very active and alert but she is very bloated. I really hope she doesn't die. :(

On a side note, the four girls I have left in the main tank all looks very healthy! I think I caught the infection before it spread.

Also, Mejarha what temp do you keep your tanks at? I had mine at about 72 F then turned it up to about 76 F. Have you found a temp that seems to work best for your fish?

Awww, Im sorry, do you think you can add some salt to help the bloating??

__________________
Tank: 29g:guppies, balloon mollies, swordtail, 2 mollies
Hex: opaline gourami
10g 1F. betta

I keep my bettas at 86.They seem to thrive quite well,and have no cases of Ich,since the temp is that high.

Do you have any blackwater extract,or access to Indian Almond leaves,Oak leaves or peat?If so maybe adding enough to darken the water to a nice amber color,and salt,and temp increase may help the dropsey girl.Some will pull through it,and some wont,theres no real treatment,as its a symptom of so many different things and not a disease in and of itself.All you can do is keep her comfy and hope for the best.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Bless your heart ! I fell like that all the time, going to the these two big well knowing pet Store. They are over price for Half moon and King betta, and many more betta. Every betta dieing and unhappy all the time. People are not buying them due to their high price.

Majerah, because I think that she had columnaris I am hesitant to increase the temperature since columnaris thrives at higher temperatures. I don't have any peat, IAL, or oak leaves but I am sure I could find some blackwater extract. Do you think it will help? She did come from a tank with a lot of tannins due to a newer piece of drift wood.
I am starting to debate on whether or not I should put her down. I do not want her to suffer needlessly, but at the same time what if I just haven't tried the right thing and if I did, she would recover. Have you guys ever had to make this sort of decision?

On a lighter note though, I did get my tax return. I bought a new 20 gallon standard, a AquaClear filter, more substrate, a glass top, and a new T5HO light. The light has lunar lights and standard 24" bulbs, one blue and one white. I set the tank up a few nights ago. I took all the substrate from my 10 gallon out and put it in the new tank, moved the old filter over while the new one is cycling, and put in all the plants. Right now its still a little cloudy, but it looks pretty good. I am hoping that the plants will start filling in now that they have more light. I add some root tabs as well, so that should help.
So far, my remaining ladies seem to be loving their new home, however, they are a little pissy that I changed everything around and their territories must be established again.
Hopefully, no one else gets sick and everything with the new tank goes well.
Wish me luck!

P.S. Was thinking about getting some Corydoras for the bottom of the tank, since the girls seems to like the middle and top of the water (always acting like they are poor, starving fishes) What are your thoughts on my idea?

Putting them in a bigger tank was a great idea! I have a 30 gallon sorority, and I couldn't imagine even having them in something as small as a 10 gallon. When females are in tight quarters they are more likely to argue and get in eachothers way, all of the fighting and flaring (whether it causes visible damage or not) Can really stress out the girls and make them much more susceptible to illness, which may be why you've had some health issues, stress causes the immune system to weaken.

How many girls do you have now in the 20 gallon? I would never recommend having less then 6 or 7 (I have 11) The more girls there are the more spread out the aggression will become, and the less likely it will be for one individual female to be constantly targeted and stressed.

I think cories would be fine, I have some cories in my sorority and the girls dont pay a bit of attention to them.

Up-date: I am sorry to report that Bertha died yesterday of complications due to columnaris. It looks like she had a sore above her eye that opened the way for the infection to spread to her brain. :(
Other than that, I have nothing much to report.
Flare, I have two new girls waiting to clear what I call Fishey Customs a.k.a. They're in a QT. That would bring me to 6 girls in total. I'm going to check out my LFS for some Cory Cats.
Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I do appreciate it. I better end this since I'm sitting in class writing this.