Topic: Maximum Number of Females Together?

[AquaGoldie]

I have 3 female bettas in a 10 gallon tank.  What is the maximim number of females I can have together in a 10 gallon?

[Squeek]

I would have to say 4 girls in a 10 gal would be a good number  3 is even better.

[Jessie226]

3 is good, 4 is ok like nessa said. I wouldn't go anymore than that. Although some people have kept 5, it's not recommended.

[Mugsy]

Why isn't 5 recommended?  I have 5 females in a 10 gallon and everything is fine.

[Jessie226]

Well, going by the rule of 1 inch of fish per gallon, that's over stocking. Females get about 2.5 inches, so that would be four girls.

[Butterfly]

I had 5 in a 10 gallon before, and I found it was much, much better then having 3. With 5 in the sorority, the agressin was much less adn they got along wonderfully, but I'f found with 4 or 3 - 3 especially - that the agression tends to be a lot more, and I've had to separate them every time I've tried a 3-female sorority.

You *can* overstock your tank by a little bit - especially so if you have live plants -  like an extra inch or two. The thing is you just have to keep up with regular water changes. Everything should be fine with 5 girls in a 10 if you do your regular water changes.

[supersixone]

i found aggression was dampened with 4 or 5 as opposed to 3 as well.  it's funny how people say it's ok to keep a male in a 1 gallon bowl, but freak out if you put more than 3 females in a 10 gallon...

[IloveJesus]

And I thought the one inch rule doesn't apply to Bettas because they can breathe air and don't need as much Oxygen in the water as other tropical fish.  Is this true?
I also think that 3 females in a 10 gallon would make the tank look kind of empty too.

[supersixone]

a tank isnt supposed to look jam-packed with fish, although that seems to be a common newbie misconception.  there's nothing wrong with 3 females in a 10 gallon if you're not having any aggression issues.  that's the number i'd start with when building a sorority and then add one or two more only if aggression warranted it

[AquaGoldie]

My 3 are very aggressive.  So I will add 2 more to see if the aggression goes down.  Thanks.