When the end came, it came as a complete surprise.
There were only four bettas in the betta sorority tank at feeding time. There should have been five.
The Queen, Guinevere, was gone.
I peered into the plants, walked around the sides of the tank to get different views, checked the intake pipe of the filter. Nothing. The tank was covered, so she couldn't have jumped out. I decided that she was just hiding, and she would come out soon.
Guinevere was not hiding. She didn't come out the next morning, so I gave the tank a thorough cleaning. Her pitiful little body was wedged behind the driftwood.
I don't know what happened to her.
She hadn't been sick. She wasn't so terribly old. Maybe 2 1/2 years old as a rough estimate. She didn't show any of the signs of the decline of old age. Her vision was still sharp, she ate well, she was still active. And then she was gone.
It was a sad day for me.
It threw the betta sorority tank into chaos.
Bella took over Alpha Betta duties. With a vengeance. She patrolled the tank relentlessly. The other girls hid, for the most part. I gave it a few days, hoping things would calm down.
They didn't.
Poor little Pinky only came out of the Java Moss at feeding time, and then only furtively. She darted out to grab a bite and immediately retreated.
Big Bertha hid behind the filter intake, and brazen Fawn appeared at random to be chased around by Bella.
The betta sorority tank was no longer the happy, lively place it had been. One blue fish swam back and forth. And back and forth. With military precision.
I remember reading that you should have a Plan B for every fish in the betta sorority tank. I didn't. Not really.
I did have one extra tank, a three gallon round tank where I cultivate aquatic plants. I put Bella in there. Whereupon Fawn morphed into the new terror in the betta sorority tank.
Nothing changed.
One blue fish swam back and forth. And back and forth.
With military precision.
This went on for a short while. I didn't want to add another tank to my collection. I already had 6 fish tanks, and I was at absolute capacity as far as tank maintenance went. I have to strike a balance between keeping the water quality excellent, and not working myself to death doing it.
Then we had another tragedy. An elderly male betta who had been in serious decline finally passed on. It was sad, but expected. And now I had a free tank. Once upon a time that tank had been a breeding colony for shrimp.
The elderly male had moved in when his eyesight dimmed so much that I judged he couldn't harm the shrimp. And he didn't. The shrimp colony was alive and well in that heavily planted 5 gallon tank.
I moved Pinky, as she was docile, and it seemed that her vision was failing also. She was delighted. She swam around unmolested, she lounged on top of the Java Moss. It was nice to see her again.
And that left two female bettas in the 10 gallon sorority tank. The tank grew unkempt, as I was loathe to trim back and remove unruly plants. Those plants were hiding places.
And nothing changed. One blue fish swam back and forth. And back and forth. The other hid behind the filter intake.
I added a small school of neon tetras to the tank to confuse Fawn, and that was helpful to a degree. It made feeding time better for Big Bertha.
And the tetras were pretty, flashing around the tank.
Then more sad news. The other elderly male betta died, which freed up another 5 gallon tank, and I moved Fawn in there.
Finally.
I had split up the betta sorority tank. Every female betta was in her own, private tank. It was the biggest relief. The month or two that passed between Guinevere's death and the final demise of the betta sorority tank was a very stressful time for all involved.
Reflecting back, I was probably lucky that things worked out as well as they did for as long as they did. I had a wonderful community of female betta fish that I really enjoyed for two years. Two years is a long time in a betta fish terms. It was an interesting experiment, and I proved to myself that it was possible.
Would I do it again?
Probably not.
I adored the betta sorority tank when it was working.
I absolutely hated the discord that came at the end.
I might have added more female betta fish when the old Queen died and restored a balance. I considered that option. And discarded it. I wasn't willing to bring in even more fish that I would have to deal with if it didn't work out.
And that's where we are now. Multiple tanks containing one female betta fish, and her various companions.
It's a reasonably happy arrangement.
