Dither fish… terrible job / life

[Magnum Man]

I often see the words, “makes a great dither fish”, what makes something a great dither fish??? A fish that likes to be chased around, and threatened with a thrashing all the time??? A fish that has no worth???

Well I’m mad at myself, as I have a group of Silver Dollars, that I chose as tank mates for someone who doesn’t want any tank mates ( a rapidly growing Bichir ) this half grown Bichir, actually ate an 8-10 inch common pleco ( I’d have never guessed that was even possible, looking at it's big head ) well eventually that Bichir is going solitary…

Last night I moved a 4 - 5 inch Tiger Silver Dollar ( Metynnis fasciatus ) out of it’s life as a dither fish… turns out it’s a perfect tank mate for my medium Cichlid tank… it looks happy to occupy the top 1/3 of the tank, like I was looking for… and it’s way too nice a fish to become Bichir food… and looks to be getting along nicely with the rest of it’s new tank mates… and should continue to color up, as it gets used to it’s new neighbors

In fact, after the Electric Blues determined the "Tiger" wasn't a threat, I got to witness some spawning dance this morning... that certainly was put on hold, with the Wild Caught Yellow Acara in the tank...

 

[GaryE]

"Dither fish" is a rotten concept. You are prioritizing Cichlids over the shoaling fish you pick. In a tall tank, everyone is safe, but in a smaller or shallower tank, fish get killed. You always know dwarf Cichlids have spawned when you find a dead tetra that looked fine the day before...

This morning, I moved some pencils out of a Nanochromis splendens tank, because the male was getting too aggressive with them. So the pair have the tank to themselves now.

I prefer to say "target fish". For newcomers, they have 2 roles. It's a harmless fish that swims above a nervous fish, which convinces the nervous one to come out and show itself. I think the principle is "if those dummies can swim above me and not get eaten by birds, I'm good". In that set up, there's no harm done.

For breeding cichlids, since fry defence is so important, they need a threat to chase off. In a large enough tank, the target or dither fish can swim off barely bothered. If the tank is too small, they are in danger, and to me, that's unethical as a set up.

 

[Back in the fold]

I’ve never liked that term or the idea behind it . What are dither fish anyway ? Cannon fodder ? Allow me to introduce you to an idea that always works . Species only aquariums .

 

[GaryE]

Yes, but...

I have a couple of fish here that are never aggressive to tankmates, but that would live their lives unseen. If I put a fish from a similar habitat that likes the surface in with them, they come out. I like species tanks, and very few of my aquariums have communities in them. If they do, I try to make certain that none shares their ecological niche, unless I have midwater shoaling tetras, who don't seem to care.

Some fishtanks look empty - just like fishless planted tanks. For those, I don't mind 'sightings'. I don't have to see the fish all the time, and in a few, I don't know how many I have. In species only tanks, you often get young growing up and expanding the group. A lot of fish don't hunt their own young, but are relentless in pursuit of the young of other species.

Some fish work with dwarf Cichlids. I have fair numbers of Chromaphyosemion poliaki, a killie I keep and breed in a single species paludarium/bog tank. I've discovered that with most African rainforest dwarf Cichlids, they fulfill the dither role perfectly. They never get killed or even get a nipped fin. They'll challenge the Cichlids, but stay away from fry. The Cichlids tolerate them, and they tolerate the Cichlids. They're small and peaceful, but they take no disrespect.

So while I discovered their talents by accident, talented they are. They seem to reduce fighting among the Cichlids, who spend that energy watching them. In the wild, they occur with dwarf Cichlids, and somewhere in their wiring, they seem to know each others' rules. But my Aphyosemions, rarely found with Cichlids even if they are from the same region, are not to be put with a pair.

 

[gwand]

My Alestopetersius caudalis (Yellow tail Congo tetra) are best bros with my anomalochromis thomasi. The two species hang together with no squabbling. The pair of Pelvicachromis pulcher Ndonga are not reassured by this camradery and are hold up in their coconut caves all day.

 

[Back in the fold]

Yes, but...

I have a couple of fish here that are never aggressive to tankmates, but that would live their lives unseen. If I put a fish from a similar habitat that likes the surface in with them, they come out. I like species tanks, and very few of my aquariums have communities in them. If they do, I try to make certain that none shares their ecological niche, unless I have midwater shoaling tetras, who don't seem to care.

Some fishtanks look empty - just like fishless planted tanks. For those, I don't mind 'sightings'. I don't have to see the fish all the time, and in a few, I don't know how many I have. In species only tanks, you often get young growing up and expanding the group. A lot of fish don't hunt their own young, but are relentless in pursuit of the young of other species.

Some fish work with dwarf Cichlids. I have fair numbers of Chromaphyosemion poliaki, a killie I keep and breed in a single species paludarium/bog tank. I've discovered that with most African rainforest dwarf Cichlids, they fulfill the dither role perfectly. They never get killed or even get a nipped fin. They'll challenge the Cichlids, but stay away from fry. The Cichlids tolerate them, and they tolerate the Cichlids. They're small and peaceful, but they take no disrespect.

So while I discovered their talents by accident, talented they are. They seem to reduce fighting among the Cichlids, who spend that energy watching them. In the wild, they occur with dwarf Cichlids, and somewhere in their wiring, they seem to know each others' rules. But my Aphyosemions, rarely found with Cichlids even if they are from the same region, are not to be put with a pair.

Okay . . . . I never thought about any of that . I get it now . I still like only one kind of fish and lately I’m even gravitating towards only ONE fish per aquarium . A single specimen . I have three such aquariums . Two ten gallons with a single Betta each and one twenty with a single Angelfish . The other twenty has four Aplocheilus lineatus Golden Wonder Killifish and eventually there will be only one . I’m happy but I understand that not everyone would be happy with such a deal . The diversity of our great hobby is what makes it fun too .

 

[Magnum Man]

I used to do "species" tanks, 25 years ago... but then, most were big or aggressive... dither fish became lunch... so most ended up, at the time, in 10 gallon tank racks, with one fish in each... some bigger like my Pacu & Silver Arowana, got bigger tanks ( although the Arowana, shared a 55 gallon with an extra large Tiger Shovel Nose Catfish, that worked, because they occupied opposite zones in the tank )... the Pacu ended up with a custom 220 gallon tank, by itself, at the end... so, my challenge, since I got back into the hobby, is putting together working community tanks... probably driven, because I never had them, when I had tanks before...

 

[GaryE]

80% of my tanks are single species specials. I have a 120 and a 40 with mixed SA tetras, Sturisoma and Corys, a 40 with mixed African Anabantoids, a 40 with odds and ends fish, and another 40 with mixed tiny African stream dwellers - barbs, tetras and lampeyes. My Chromidotilapia nana are with some African characins, but they don't attack them in the least. That's 2 dwarf Cichlids and 8 tetras in a 75. I have another 75 that will become a heated SA Characin tank in time, when the dwarf Cichlid in there have grown up. I'll switch a 40 for the 75.

All the others are pairs or small groups in tank sizes from 30 gallons to 10.