Three Girl Bettas In A Tank

[garethusa]

okay so i would love to get a bigger tank. the 16 gallon biOrb actually. i was thinking the 9 gallon biUbe but the 16 gallon would mean more swimming surface.

anyway, i have pearl and isabel - two girl bettas. i hope they are both girls that's what the label from petsmart said.

from what i have read, it would be bad to have two girls together because one would dominate the other and possibly kill her but in reading betta books, they would say having three girls would be better because the pecking order wouldn't be as deadly.

i would love to have pearl and isabel in the same tank really without getting another girl betta but then again, 16 gallons doesn't seem like it would be appropriate for 3 bettas!!!!

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so there are two issues here:

1. in the text book readings, is it really a bad idea to put 3 female bettas in one tank?

2. how big of a tank should this be? could i do it with a 16 gallon?

just want to get some feedback.

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my other thought was getting the 16 gallon and using it for a cow fish. i love those too. just one cow fish.

 

[dthoffsett]

You could easily have 5-6 female bettas in a 16gal, just add plenty of plants for cover.

 

[Lynda B]

I have the most peaceful betta sorority on the planet... 8 females in a 15 gallon tank. As long as they all have their own little hidey place to call home, they co-exist beautifully.

That said, when I had them in a 10 gallon, I started off with 3 and there was much more aggression. Once I added more, bingo. Peace ruled.

In your 16 gallon, I'd probably go for a minimum of 5 just to smooth out personalities.

 

[garethusa]

wow i can't imagine feeding more than 3 bettas in one tank.......it would be trickier in a biOrb since it's round and all the food seems to get dispersed by bubbles to one location.

okay, will have to think this one through as i wouldn't want any of the girls to be ganging up on one another.

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lynda, when you feed them, do they all congregate together or do you disperse the food around the tank. do any of them tend to gather around without any problems?

i would love to see your sorority at meal time!

 

[Lynda B]

I can actually hand feed them, one at a time, if I choose to. They know what their pecking order is, and they go in a certain order, whether hand fed or fed as a group.

I just crumble up some flakes. I tell them it's time to eat and 6 of them come up to the top of the tank, 2 wait down below. Again, their pecking order. The way my filter is set up, some food goes around to both sides, so 3 eat on either side up top, then some gets swept down to the 2 below. It's pretty cool how it's all organized. It's always very calm. Even when I feed live bloodworms or brine shrimp.