Kiinks Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I'm pretty sure I have posted in the right place... Basically I have a 110L setup, and have, well had three female bettas and two bristlenoses. They've been living together for nearly a year now, but suddenly, completely for no reason one of them started attacking the other two, when she was already the alpha. So I took her out, and came back and the two smaller ones were going at each other like crazy, and one was bitten badly. I had to quarantine one because she grew this massive lump where she was bitten, and after 2 weeks of treatment she was fine. But since then I haven't been able to keep them together at all. And now it's the lower ranking ones that try to attack the alpha, but she doesn't really seem to care. I have all three of them in separate tanks now, one in the large one, and the other two in these smaller 20L ones. I'd like to get them back together again, but I'm not sure if it's possible. They used to get on really well together, and would play 'games' without biting or nipping. I've tried slowly reintroducing them in various orders, and reorganising the tank, but nothing really seems to work. I'm sure this must happen to others, but is there anything I can try to get them to love each other again? What if I put some tetras in the tank to distract them? Could it be a mating thing? It's just strange because there were no major changes to the tank, not even a water change when it happened... Any suggestions or explanations of why this has happened would really be appreciated =] Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 explanation: welcome to fish keeping no reasons - its just what is - best option in the short term is to put dividers in the tank and let them get bored with each other without being able to get at each other... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Maybe there's a betta equivalent of menopause. LOL To be honest betta females never get along for me even when they've been in the same tank since birth. To have females live together for so long is quite foreign to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 At Fishchicks last week someone said the Thai breeders keep females seperately. She does the same with hers. As for myself, my breeders are kept separate but I am now going to put six or so females in my planted community tank just to see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Yeah mine are jarred same age as the boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl13 Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 @ Razzi - that comment is only appropriate if the girls names are Itchy, Bitchy and Sweaty!! NannaJo B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neffy Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Im not sure why she would suddenly turn, but ive found the more females you have the less damage is done because its spread evenly ! Once you removed the larger ones and only had 2 left they needed to re establish the pecking order and perhaps since there is only 2 it doesnt become a ranking system anymore but a GTFO of my territory. Personally i wont keep females in groups less then 5, if you do get more girls introduce them back to the main tank all at once so no one has a chance to place claims they need to defend, they will start the fighting again to establish the order however. Some just wont get on ever, some will always be weaker when i spot these i know to get them out ASAP because they will be killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Yeah, welcome to fish keeping. IMO 3 is not enough, 5 minimum for a sorority. That still doesn't fix the ones with a stick up their butt though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaObsessed Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 I had 9 in my tank and still lost one this week from fighting and she was one that had been in there the longest. I think after pulling out the aggressive one, the ones I lost in the past couple of weeks and one that is badly damaged and looking fungusy there are only 5 left in there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neffy Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 I think sometimes it can be better to remove the weak/picked on ones if the bully gets along with the rest ok, because removing her can sometimes cause more fighting as the rest then try for top spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiinks Posted May 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Well I originally had 3 girls and a male in the tank, but he died of I can't remember what it's called, but turned into a pine cone, and it was upsetting. But yeah, the three of them were fine, I thought I'd give it a go because some people said you can keep girls together, others said no. But it was working absolutely fine for nearly a year. It was just so sudden. I have all their tanks next to each other, and they are flaring their faces off! So I put paper in between because I didn't want them to get too stressed out. Should I let them see each other again? I'd like to get get another 2-3 females, but if they don't get along I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I don't have enough space to set up 5 tanks. I guess I just need to decide if I want to give it a go or not. But I'm also worried if they are young, the older fish might pick on them. What if I put 5-6 guppies in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 They'll be okay with the guppies but might still not tolerate each other. The guppies could provide a distraction though so it's not entirely a bad idea. But here's the thing, that's a pretty big tank you got there for only 3 females, yet they're still attacking each other. Why don't you try uncarding them until they get bored of flaring at each other. I would expect it to subside in a few days. Then maybe try them in the tank again plus guppies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiinks Posted May 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Ok thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll let them see each other and when they seem to get bored I'll bring in a few guppies to distract them and let you guys know what happens =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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