Dither Fish

[Confish]

im getting some convicts, salvini and jewel and was wondering what dither fish i could get for them p.s dont say danios as i find them boring. i was thinking green tiger barbs , sword tails or bosmani rainbow fish any ideas or advice

 

[KittyKat]

I sure as hell hope you know what you are doing because those are not friendly fish you want to keep there. If you add and of the "dithers" you named, they will become food or get harassed to death. In fact, it's probably best not to have any dithers. If you are worried about them terrorising each other into hiding, just take out the most or the least aggressive species.

 

[bitteraspects]

best bet for dithers in that tank will be a species of SD, or some TFB. either way, i hope you have a big tank.

 

[~T~]

I sure as hell hope you know what you are doing because those are not friendly fish you want to keep there. If you add and of the "dithers" you named, they will become food or get harassed to death. In fact, it's probably best not to have any dithers. If you are worried about them terrorising each other into hiding, just take out the most or the least aggressive species.

Agreed.

 

[Confish]

best bet for dithers in that tank will be a species of SD, or some TFB. either way, i hope you have a big tank.

what is the full length names of SD and TFB sorry? and ye its gonna be a 55 uk G and only having single species of each

 

[markandhisfish]

sd= silver dollar tfb= tinfoil barb both of which should be kept in groups and need big tanks. another point worth mentioning is that the jewel cichlid is african and shouldnt be mixed with new worlds.

 

[Confish]

sd= silver dollar tfb= tinfoil barb both of which should be kept in groups and need big tanks. another point worth mentioning is that the jewel cichlid is african and shouldnt be mixed with new worlds.

yea i know its not new world but i can still work. and i was thinking green tiger barb as dither or does it have to be tinfoil ?

 

[markandhisfish]

ive got tiger barbs as dithers in my tank with severums blue acara and geos they seem to work well altho id be carefull what you put with a salvini those fish are notoriously agro

 

[KittyKat]

Ditto, I am most worried about the salvini and the dithers together.

Confish, do you mean single specimen? It might work.. but personally I would want a larger tank for fish that size. Tinfoil barbs because they are more robust then the tiger and grow bigger then the salvini et al. Again, I would want a larger tank for tinfoils too: there was a tank once which I looked after for a time that had tinfoils in it as dithers for parrots (horrendous fish!). It was about 7x4x3ft (so approximately 10 times bigger in volume then your tank) and even in that the tinfoils were looking stunted.

 

[Confish]

Ditto, I am most worried about the salvini and the dithers together.

Confish, do you mean single specimen? It might work.. but personally I would want a larger tank for fish that size. Tinfoil barbs because they are more robust then the tiger and grow bigger then the salvini et al. Again, I would want a larger tank for tinfoils too: there was a tank once which I looked after for a time that had tinfoils in it as dithers for parrots (horrendous fish!). It was about 7x4x3ft (so approximately 10 times bigger in volume then your tank) and even in that the tinfoils were looking stunted.

ye i meant single specimen and i didnt say i was getting tinfoil barbs someone suggested them, ye they grow up 14 inches obv to big. and are salvini more aggressive than convicts?

 

[Bigjakee]

ive got tiger barbs as dithers in my tank with severums blue acara and geos they seem to work well altho id be carefull what you put with a salvini those fish are notoriously agro

In all fairness they're just a tad less troublesome than any of his proposed tankmates.

He should just do it right and buy an oscar, then he could have all the fish knockin seven bells outta each other. The first 3 aren't compatible and it beggars belief that somebody will go out of their way to pick 3 really agressive species and shove them into a 4 foot tank. It happens enough with beginners by accident but to plan it is bordering on cruelty. Harsh? Maybe...maybe not...

 

[~T~]

sd= silver dollar tfb= tinfoil barb both of which should be kept in groups and need big tanks. another point worth mentioning is that the jewel cichlid is african and shouldnt be mixed with new worlds.

Actually jewels do fine with new worlds even though they are technically african cichlids. They have the same diet and water params. Like kribs in the wild their homes are rivers that range from soft acidic right up to brackish water. It's their vicious nature that tends makes them unsuitable to mixed with other fish.

 

[KittyKat]

ye i meant single specimen and i didnt say i was getting tinfoil barbs someone suggested them, ye they grow up 14 inches obv to big. and are salvini more aggressive than convicts?

I was just pointing out that they are not suitable.

Yes, Salvinis are very aggressive.. quite a lot more aggressive then convicts. Have you considered keeping a pair only a pair of convicts? Two females should also work.

It would be well to heed what Bigjakee said..

 

[Confish]

ye i meant single specimen and i didnt say i was getting tinfoil barbs someone suggested them, ye they grow up 14 inches obv to big. and are salvini more aggressive than convicts?

I was just pointing out that they are not suitable.

Yes, Salvinis are very aggressive.. quite a lot more aggressive then convicts. Have you considered keeping a pair only a pair of convicts? Two females should also work.

It would be well to heed what Bigjakee said..

i have kept convicts for a while now and thats the reason im buying a bigger tank so i can get some more fish. but trying to find tank mates for the convicts so im looking at other aggressive fish.

 

[Bigjakee]

In my experience (limited as it is) before you set a tank up you've got to make up your mind up what you want and what you can have, cause the 2 things aren't generally the same. I'm sure most of us have done it at one stage or another and none of us will EVER have enough tanks to keep all the fish we want, so you've gotta make a choice. Now if that choice is you want big or really agressive fish you've just gotta accept the tank may look half empty...