Dither Fish?
- Thread starter mike the zealot
- Start date
Dither is a Germin term, the exact definition of which I've no clue.
But in referance to Dither fish, these are fish placed in a tank to bring out shy larger fish. It is best explained in an example.
Frequently, young oscars are actually shy fish that if kept alone in a tank will hide in corners or behind decor. Of course nobody wants a fish that they can't ever see. If we could read the oscar's mind, its thoughts might go something like this:
"Oh my, I'm all alone, oh no, big predator gonna find me. I don't see any other fish around, that means predator and I ain't gonna be dinner."
So you throw in a few Buneos Aries tetras, giant danio, or congo tetras, maybe a medium sized tinfoil barb, or bala shark, fish that are swift enough to get away from an oscar should he get hungry, but not so large as to be intimidating to the oscar. These are your dither fish. They are in essence a prey species and security blanket. If prey species feel secure enough to go darting around the open, the young oscar may feel more secure and also come out of hiding.
I've seen the concept work, and have used it a few times myself, especially with SA cichlids that may be the only ones in their tank. They're usually shy, won't feed when someone is standing in front of them, and hide frequently. Throw in a trio of Buneos Aires tetras, and the oscar gets braver and will eat better when he sees the BA's feeding.
~~Colesea
But in referance to Dither fish, these are fish placed in a tank to bring out shy larger fish. It is best explained in an example.
Frequently, young oscars are actually shy fish that if kept alone in a tank will hide in corners or behind decor. Of course nobody wants a fish that they can't ever see. If we could read the oscar's mind, its thoughts might go something like this:
"Oh my, I'm all alone, oh no, big predator gonna find me. I don't see any other fish around, that means predator and I ain't gonna be dinner."
So you throw in a few Buneos Aries tetras, giant danio, or congo tetras, maybe a medium sized tinfoil barb, or bala shark, fish that are swift enough to get away from an oscar should he get hungry, but not so large as to be intimidating to the oscar. These are your dither fish. They are in essence a prey species and security blanket. If prey species feel secure enough to go darting around the open, the young oscar may feel more secure and also come out of hiding.
I've seen the concept work, and have used it a few times myself, especially with SA cichlids that may be the only ones in their tank. They're usually shy, won't feed when someone is standing in front of them, and hide frequently. Throw in a trio of Buneos Aires tetras, and the oscar gets braver and will eat better when he sees the BA's feeding.
~~Colesea
I believe that is the right concept.. but I have found dithers to be more succesful, especially with SA dwarfs, when they were smaller. In my apisto tank, I have been using some harlequin rasboras, but I have heard of cardinal tetra, diamond tetras, and other smallish tetras being used. The point is not to get a fast swimmer (like danios) that might make the shy fish nervous. They are there to laze about as if all is clear, so the shy fish feels secure and will come out. It worked great for me. My female A. cacatuoides hid all the time. And then i got 5 rasboras, and now she's always out in the front. Keeps the male from bashing her into the gravel and eating her fins too. Hope that clarifies it some more.
ahhh =) thx guys
As I've read and learned more since my birth as an aquarist (about 2 months ago?) , I'm getting a better Idea of what I'm after in the future, and I'm sort of mapping, then remapping my "dream tank" stock list and setup. As of today my current idea is:
55 or 75 gallon planted
2 Discus
2 German Blue Ram
2 Cockatoo Apistos
2 Borelli Apistos
1 Red Tail (or) Red Fin Shark
1 Bristlenose Pleco
20 Cardinal Tetras
Does this seem like a healthy community? My only worry might be that it's too cramped for a 55, and/or that I don't have enough "cleanup fish power"
As I've read and learned more since my birth as an aquarist (about 2 months ago?) , I'm getting a better Idea of what I'm after in the future, and I'm sort of mapping, then remapping my "dream tank" stock list and setup. As of today my current idea is:
55 or 75 gallon planted
2 Discus
2 German Blue Ram
2 Cockatoo Apistos
2 Borelli Apistos
1 Red Tail (or) Red Fin Shark
1 Bristlenose Pleco
20 Cardinal Tetras
Does this seem like a healthy community? My only worry might be that it's too cramped for a 55, and/or that I don't have enough "cleanup fish power"
Aren't Dither fish also used with aggressive fish? That is they keep them from being aggressive to other fish in your tank that will fight back, or that can't fight back as hard, or whatever. Giant danios, a good example, are fast swimmers, and aren't too small so they can escape. Don't they also keep a breeding pair, mostly cichlids, interested in protecting their breeding territory instead of say, killing each other. Something like that anyway. They kinda spread aggression out I guess. They kinda act as a well, dither from the fish they really want to beat up.
Mike, I would say your community mix is good, except for the discus. The apistos need a huge territory, as do the rams, and the tank is long enough so you could effectively set up 3 breeding pairs. But once the spawning begins, A. cacatuoides (the cockatoos) will attack anything that gets near, even the discus. I imagine (from what I have read of discus) that this would stress them out. I hear discus really aren't community fish, and although they can be kept with such small tetras like rummy noses and cardinals, they are best as a species tank. If you really want to find out, you could always write in to Jack Wattley in Tropical Fish Hobbyist to ask if the mix would be alright. I'd say the apistos and the rams, tetras and redtailed shark would be alright with lots of cover and hiding places - but the bristlenose (because it's a bottom dweller, where rams/apistos have their territories, and plus its big so it would limit that bottom area) and discus I would hesistate to put in. HTH.