My Little Girl

[liz2]

who I got the other day is not very happy. no spots or anything but her tail is clamped all the while. have prepared her tank again and put water conditioner in but not sure whether to put any meds in or just aqua salt? what do you think? she might still be stressed although she has no stripes..

 

[jollysue]

Liz, if it were me I would definately fast and pea her. I have several times gotten new Betta that were constipated from the stress, etc. Who knows what?

Just in case I might add Aquari-Sol or Betta Fix. But really I haven't got the level of experience to tell what is wrong from clamped fins. It could always be stress only, but even stress can be a killer

Has she been eating or eager about anything? Still I would most certainly treat her for constipation. I often give pea as the first food with a new Betta.

God bless the little girl. I'm inclined to let her have calm and dimness, but you know what one Betta needs to Betta up is not what another needs. What do you think? You have lots more experience with the little ones than me.

 

[liz2]

Sue..thank you for answering. She is much happier now i have moved her to her permanent home. She has coloured up and her tail is not clamped. She obviously thought her temp. home was her permanent abode

 

[jollysue]

She is lovely. Such a pretty girl! It is just so much instinct sometimes to figure out what is bothering our little friends.

Liz, the Betta Whisperer!

 

[Maxsmom]

Very pretty little girl... congratulations! One of my females was clamped when I first got her home - for about a week. As long as they're eating, and there are no signs of disease - esp velvet... then it's probably just a bit of stress from the move and new surroundings.

 

[liz2]

well she is a right little vampire.....I had prepared a nice big tank for her and my 2 other little girls, hidey holes, weed, nice and warm really pretty...within minutes we had world war 3 and she was the worst culprit. I stood it for as long as I could and now they have all been split again..

 

[Maxsmom]

Awe... that's a shame. I was looking into creating a sorority tank myself. How big is the tank for the 3 girls? You need a min 10 gallon for 3 girls. You provided lots of hiding places, which is a good thing you prepared for. If your tank is smaller than 10 gallons - you'll more than likely have aggression issues regardless. If it's a bigger tank - it's still common for some females not to get along. If you can handle another betta (if your tank is big enough)... you can try adding another - either in place of the aggressive one - or in addition to... and monitor very closely to see if the dynamics change.

 

[jollysue]

I have seen 4 girls advised, but I was taught a minimum of 5 to spread the aggression in a 10 usg. Some, like wuv, advised a high density. More girls means less concentation on any one girl and more concentration on CYA. I have 5 in 25 usg. There were some nipped fins at first and one girl was the most foolish. I added some BettaFix a couple of times for her. The older, bigger pk girls bullied the younger VTs. But it has settled down now. I would like to add some more when I find some I like.

 

[Lynda B]

It really depends on the personality of the individual female. I have a sorority with 8 females and they all get along beautifully. The 2 largest hem and haw at each other every now and then to fight for the queen of the tank title, but it's not much. I let them work it out and I've never seen so much as one ripped fin.

One thing that helps when introducing a new fish to a tank, is to rearrange your decorations. That way, they all start off on the same footing as far as the hierarchy goes. It works!

 

[jollysue]

I got interrupted when I was posting, so I left out part of what I meant to say. I agree, Lynda B, that it always depends on the personality of the individual Betta in everything. Every Betta is an individual and has it's own personality.

I had 4 in a sorority once and they did well.

Nevertheless, 5 will usually make it. There is a larger percentage of sororities that will not do well with only 4. Stay around the forum long enough, and you will see this come up repeatedly: members trying and failing with 4 or less girls. So I will usually wait until I have at least five to start a sorority. I had to treat a girl awhile back. I put everyone out of the tank into single housing until I had the five again. I would like to add a few more girls. When I do, I will take everyone out to separate housing and then rearrange the tank before I add the new girls and then only after a quarantine.

Even so when I set this one up, one girl had new nips on her fins daily. The two pk girls were older had been in a sorority before and told that little girl off frequently as she is a stuborn little one.

 

[Lynda B]

One other trick is to feed very high protein live foods when adding a new girl to the tank. I've never seen a female betta that didn't love bloodworms and brine shrimp. The eat til they're ready to pop and then go to a corner to veg out. By the time they're all rested, they've forgotten there's a new girl in the neighborhood.

 

[jollysue]

Interesting. I will try that with live blackworms when I add the one in hospital back in. Thanks.

Wiggly live bait should keep them busy for awhile. But then they will need a fast day!