# Expanding my sorority!



## Tralyn (Dec 2, 2011)

I just had a post about the divided 10g and now I have a new question. In addition to the 10g, I also have a 15g that has 4 female bettas, 5 platys, and a rainbow shark. Everybody gets along great. Now since my 10g is no longer divided, it only has 1 lonely looking male halfmoon betta. I'm planning on moving the 5 platys from the 15g to stock the 10g. This will leave room in my 15g to add (what else?) more bettas! The female in charge now is twice the size of the other 3 because I've only just got the 3. The big girl was part of a sorority I had last year. Unfortunatly it failed due to ick. She was the lone survivor and was actually on the bottom of the pecking order. Now she's large and in charge. But what seems like a good number to add? 2-3? Or 3-4?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I like to do odd numbers to keep the girls from pairing off for battles. Also the more you have, the more the aggression is evenly dispersed. Plant heavily and re arrange when adding the new girls so everyone will have to re-choose territories. Always keep an eye out for gang bangers, so no one gets singled out.


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## Tralyn (Dec 2, 2011)

Ok, so 3 or maybe 5. I have 5 platys in there, so I might be able to replace 1 for 1. That would be great. Now I just need to find the perfect girls


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

I would go with another 5 females if you are removing the platys. The one thing I noticed that no one has mentioned yet is that your rainbow shark does not belong in a tank that small and will need a much larger tank (55 gal + for one).


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I totally missed the shark.... Yeah, you should remove him to a larger place.


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## Tralyn (Dec 2, 2011)

He is small right now, between 2-3in. If and when he gets too big, my dad has a 55g he can move into. So no worries.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

He needs to move now so he can grow to his full potential. In the 15 he can end up stunted and you never know it.


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## Tralyn (Dec 2, 2011)

Oh! I was unaware about them becoming stunted. I thought they maxed out at 4in and would be fine. Ok, I'll work on moving him within the next couple days. My dad recently mysteriously lost his red-finned shark that he had for a couple years, so he'll be happy to have a new guy. 

A little off topic here, but what is the average price for ghost shrimp and what is considered "cheap"? I'm talking about in LFS, I don't shop fish online.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

If you add shrimp to the sorority they will become food. Usually though they run about 27 cents each. Or they did a few years ago.


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

Glad to hear that you have some where more appropriate for the shark to go to.  In my area ghost shrimp run around 33cents or so each at all the places that carry them. The possibility of them surviving in the sorority is slim since the female bettas will eat and hunt them down for food.


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## Tralyn (Dec 2, 2011)

In my area, (Philly, pa suburbs), they run around 50cents. Except for Walmart, 26cents, but I won't even go there. I would love to give them a piece of my mind, but unfortunatly I'm a competitive price shopper for another retail store and I'm at walmart every week. So I can't afford to get kicked out. And I didn't want the shrimp for my sorority, I was thinking more for 10g with the platys. As for the sorority, I might get a few of the smallest corys I can find.


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## Tralyn (Dec 2, 2011)

So after running around to several pet stores, I found some colorful female bettas, including a royal purple one! I've never seen that color on a female before. I now have a final total of 9 females. I bought a new decoration to increase the amount of hiding spaces and rearranged the tank so it looks new. The shark is also in his new 55g home! Everyone is settling in well but will keep a close eye on them the next couple days. Will be looking into my options for small bottom feeders over the next few weeks. Thanks once again everyone for your help!


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## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

How I envy you guys that have LFS in your local area. I only have the usual chains - Petco and Petsmart. And they are better than most but the aquaria part is about 10% of the store and any time you need to talk to a human being it's a hassle. 

I really don't want to drive 50 to 60 miles on CA freeways (also known as loooong parking lots or dearth defying auto rodeos) several times a week since my reflexes have slowed down.:betta:


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