Question on dither fish

[1979camaro]

Well,

as I have gone about researching my stocking options I am trying to track down a more exciting/unique dither fish than the traditional school of blue green chromis...this is not to say i am opposed to going that route necessarily but i am mostly looking for other options

on my list of potentials are:

Blue Chromis (Chromis cyanea)
Black-axil Chromis (Chromis atripectoralis)
Filamented Flasher Wrasse (Parachelinus filamentosus)
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse (Parachelinus carpenteri)

my concern with the wrasses is that they will commit fishy suicide (I run an open top)

I like the Black-axil Chromis for its relatively small size and coloration...I find the Blue Chromis to be quite attractive as well, but at around 5 inches each adding a group of 5 will limit my future stocking dramatically...as of now I would be leaning to the black-axil but i am having difficulty tracking them down locally or online. also, i am curious about some of the dottybacks; do they have potential as dither fish? they do a lot of moving and shaking i know but i have not been able to find out much info on their value as dither fish...i am leaning towards thinking they are a bit too aggressive to be of much use for drawing others out but im not sure

any help would be great

i am finding that it is much more difficult, in some ways, to stock a 55g than 20g just because there are 10 times as many options

Kevin

 

[S.Reef]

Well, the wrasses will hide a lot. They also are big jumpers and will land on the floor (the number one species of fish at my aquarium store).

I have not seen the Black-axil Chromis on wholesalers and distributors list. With this being said it may be hard to locate a few of these guys. On the other hand Blue Chromis are quite common. I also like these guys as oppose to the Blue Green because they ship a little bigger and are a little hardier then the other.


Dottybacks are mean and would make your fish nervous and stressed out. Yes, I also find it hard to stock big tanks because of all the possible scenarios.

 

[1979camaro]

how do you think having a school of, say, five blue chromis' would affect my future stocking levels...also, considering that a maroon clownfish will be joining the fray, do you believe there will be issue with the two species of damselfish being incompatable?

 

[S.Reef]

I don't think there would be much of a conflict. Maybe once and a while if your feeding them, the Maroon may show some agreesion.

 

[1979camaro]

cool...thanks sam...good information to have as i work on planning this all out

 

[wayne]

I don't often see 5 inch chromis. Assume 3 inch max for those. Most people don't feed their tanks often enough for planktivores like this to hit max size.
Do you want a dither or a shoaling fish?

 

[1979camaro]

well...i was looking mostly just for a dither fish...i have no particular preference as to whether or not it shoals, and in fact a solitary dither fish might be more what i am interested in...honestly, im having a lot of difficulty tracking down a lot of info on good dither fish other than the chromis' and the wrasses...rumor has it when the chromis get comfy they dont shoal so much anyway...

 

[wayne]

I've obviously missed a lot of this - what fish do you need a dither for? You don't need a shoal, just one or two is all you need to dither

 

[S.Reef]

Well...I think 1979Camaro was kinda had his eyes on the Chromis. So it would make sense to have a school as well.

 

[1979camaro]

well, mainly i was looking at dither fish for a couple of dwarf angels...namely the eibli angel and the flame angel, as it is rumored that many will just hide all day without a dither i was looking into some options as far as that goes...my plan is to, down the road a couple months, get the angel first and see how it behaves before i get the dither fish...though i am a bit taken by the blue chromis' so i might want them just for their own niceness

 

[S.Reef]

The Flame is not as timid as people think. Mine is always swimming in the open. Provided with adequate cover you won't have any problems with it hiding.

 

[1979camaro]

well...the aquascape is full of caves and overhangs and such )in an attempt on my part to provide a lot of cover). as far as the eibli, which i am kind of leaning too, it seems that it is as much a crapshoot with corals as are any of the other dwarves...would you agree with this statement?

 

[S.Reef]

I would agree.

 

[wayne]

You won't need a dither, and yes I would agree that it's hit and miss. My bicolor is out all the time, and larks around with a 6 line wrasse.

 

[1979camaro]

then perhaps it will be no dither for me!

i will definitely wait until the dwarf gets in there and see what happens...

thanks guys...i really appreciate the info

 

[S.Reef]

Anytime.