Females Turned Insane

[Styx]

Well, that was the last straw, one more female dead. I’ve put lots and lots of plants in there, a strong current, everything I could think of to discourage them from being so aggressive. But they’ve killed two of their tank mates now, so all my females have been placed into beanie boxes. They’re no longer allowed to live together. I’m just going to stick some guppies and a male betta in where they used to live.

All my females are beat up, they just went nuts last week and it’s persisted. They just attack each other until they kill each other. FEMALES. All of them. So, I said, “Screw it” and separated them all. I’m not having any more females die because of this. It’s ridiculous. I have male bettas nicer than those wenches. So, that’s that. I’m cleaning out my tank tomorrow and plopping different fish in there.

 

[Durbkat]

Sorry to hear. I don't believe you can put guppies with a male betta because they will think the bright colors off a guppys tail is another male and it will kill the guppies. Maybe you should get 3-4 corys and the male betta.

 

[Styx]

I dislike cory cats. And normally, I would agree with you on the guppies, but I have two male bettas that are not bothered by guppies in the slightest. I've had less trouble with them than I've had with my females. The gups and bettas have been together for at least three months now.

 

[Durbkat]

Oh nevermind next time I will keep my mouth shut So how many guppies do you think you will add with the betta? Or you could get one or two ADF'S (african dwarf frogs).

 

[Styx]

LOL, it’s okay. I actually found out by mistake myself. What happened was my friend gave me four guppies and I had no place to keep them that didn’t have a betta in it, so I was like, they can’t live in this little cup anymore, so in they went with a betta, and the betta never ate them!

On the other side was my hyper aggressive CT, Sunder. Well, the divider has huge holes in it, so one of the guppies managed to swim through just as I was leaving for the weekend, so I was like, “Well, stupid guppy, if Sunder eats you, it’s your own fault.” So I left and came back and it was still alive! I was shocked because Sunder is a nut case. So I left the guppy in there and it’s still there and he never chases it or anything. ^^;

So, my friend is giving me more guppies so I'm going to move the one betta in with more guppies and more space. If he can handle it. The space sort of freaks him out a little. But the plants should help him with that agoraphobia.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I have male bettas nicer than those wenches.

Sorry for your losses. I agree though, sometimes the females are worse than the males.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Styx, what size is the tank the ladies were living in? I have 7 living in a 30 with various other friends and they are very happy. Some aren't so keen on each other and I get the occassional flare from the top girls and maybe a chase but never any actual nipping or fighting! Three of them even like to hang out as a group like they're having a girly gossip!
So sorry to hear yours haven't been so fortunate.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Styx]

Hm, I had 6 (2 mixes, and 4 red HMs) of them in a 5, and they were due to move into a 10 when my fry got old enough to be sold (which is just two more months, arg). I was just waiting for that to happen. They were fine for a while, so I'm not sure what set them off.

Maybe I should invest in a thirty gallon. If I still can't get it to work out with females (if I get more) then I can just use it for fry.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Well, that was your problem right there! A five gallon is completely inadequate for more than one female, I'm afriad. In a 10, you can keep 4-6, though six would probably be crowding them and really pushing it due to their agressive little natures.
Sorry your females died, but hopefully it was if nothing else a learning experience, and from now on, any attempted sororities will be in a larger tank.

 

[jollysue]

Yeah, 6 is way too many in a 5 usg. It's even pushing the bio-load. It's overstocked. I had 7 in a 10 gallon. Each had its own cave and plants. There were some spawn sisters. They were ok, but I kept my eye on them until I got the 25 usg up. Now there atr 10 in 25 tall. I had thought I could put more in but it will be a challenge.

They must each be secure in their territory.

 

[Styx]

Well, they're all seperated now anyway. And they're never going to live with other fish again.