High Temperature Dithers?

[minxfishy]

I need to add some fish to my Satanoperca Daemon tank to act as dithers, top - mid dwelling. For some reason they are becoming quite skittish, which is unusual but Im hoping something else swimming around will help them overcome this.

The problem Im facing is finding a fish that can withstand the high temperature these fish live in, 30/31c 86/88f. I know cardinals are ok with this temp as many people keep them with Discus, but Im unsure how long they would survive without being seen as snacks, the Daemons are 8-10" but dont have particuarly large mouth, but a 1" cardinal might be too easy to pick off. Plus cardinals arent the hardiest of fish.

Anyone think of something Im missing, most tetra species live around 26-28c, barbs the same, rasboras 24-26, rainbows lower still 23-25c. So something that stays around the 2-3" mark, lives in high temps, Oh and isnt nippy as my Daemons have beautiful dorsal and anal extensions that would be tempting for nippy fish.

 

[markandhisfish]

how about rummynose? a bit bigger than cardinals , also very tight shoaling , so much more unlikely 1 will seperate off and become an easy target , they are pretty quick too , plus imo really very attractive .

 

[jacko32]

common hatchet fish 2.5" marbled hatchet 1.5" platinum hatchet 3.5" personally i think these are the best for dithers

other options i can think of are
brown pencil fish there 2"
celebes rainbows and dwarf rainbows 2.75"
diamond tetras 2.4"
longfin tetra 5"

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How about these Rainbows, happy in 28-38C temps?
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-Pseudomugil-tenellus-LARGE-SIZE-Rainbowfish-/280561421352?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item4152c38c28

 

[minxfishy]

Rummy's I had considered, not sure on the temperature consideration though, what temp can they go to.

Jacko, I seriously dislike hatchets, just ugly IMO. As for the rainbows you suggested, they cannot live in high temperature, but thanks anyway.

How about these Rainbows, happy in 28-38C temps?
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-Pseudomugil-tenellus-LARGE-SIZE-Rainbowfish-/280561421352?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item4152c38c28

Will look into those, but to my knowledge, they (rainbows) cannot sustain living in those high temps, plus they are pretty small and hard to find (least round here).

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'd never heard of Pseudomugil tenellus until I saw they at the Kesgrave Ebay site, but info I've read on the net suggests those high temps are what they live in.

Whether 4-5cm is safe enough with your other fish, is a different kettle of fish!

 

[Wills]

I think Jacko could have hit it on the head with pencil fish - I think its the golden pencil fish that get the biggest, do well in high heat and stay up high in the water to work as true dithers.

Wills

 

[minxfishy]

Just having a quick read on 'home of the rainbowfish' about them, interesting, some of the pseudomugil species are found in higher temperatures during summer, but they dont sustain this temperature as they can be found in winter months as low as 14c, so I dont know if that would need to be replicated in the home aquarium, which obviously I couldnt do, but interesting find, thanks

I think Jacko could have hit it on the head with pencil fish - I think its the golden pencil fish that get the biggest, do well in high heat and stay up high in the water to work as true dithers.

Wills

Missed the pencilfish part, sorry, will look them up, however, Ive never seen any pencilfish around

Edit: Cant find a pencilfish species that lives over 28c, which ok is only a few degrees, know idea where I could find any though

Rummy's should stay around the 26c apparently, although I always thought they could go a bit higher, but being the sensitive souls they are not sure I should risk them.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

This thread had already shocked me at the huge variance in information supplied by websites about fish species and their suitable temp range!

Besides the Pseudomugil tenellus and several others I've not mentioned, I've had some sites suggest that Glossolepis incisus (Red Rainbows) would be fine, including a good Rainbow reference site, as their home lake is not thermally stratified and stays betwen 29 and 32C...
http/members.optushome.com.au/rainbowfishes/Incisus.htm
But then many sites suggest that 24-28C is best!

 

[minxfishy]

Yeah thats always a problem, most sites will vary, although usually they will give a range, personal experience from other fish keepers is more reliable.

Red rainbows I have had experience with, kept with boesemani and lacustris and on the one occassion I had to up the temperature (bout of ich) they didnt fair well at high temps, neither do the boesemani or lacustris. If I had a choice, rainbows would always be my preference as dithers, as they are great fish to keep, unfortunately on this occassion, I dont think they are possible, the larger species not liking high temps, the smaller, just too small

 

[meguro]

while not of the traditional schooling fish sense, the previously mentioned discus and also angelfish can easily take temperatures up to 35C. perhaps a group of 5-6 of one of these might work (no idea how boisterous s. daemon are), otherwise perhaps 3-4 festivums. be careful of sufficient oxygenation @ these temperatures.

floating plants may also help to calm ur fish

 

[minxfishy]

The tank is 72g approximately, so unfortunately with these two 8-10" fish, adding more cichlids isnt a good idea, plus Im hoping to get them to breed (unlikely but worth a shot) so I dont want something that will cause a problem. Daemons themselves are very placid even within a group, so I dont want something to upset them and which could cause them to hide more. Plenty of oxygenation too, no worries there. They have plants too

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'm wondering if any of the Halfbeak family might be suitable, with many of them coming from eastern Asia...

 

[Davo86]

I think a big group of Sterbae or similar corys could work or something like a group of spotted headstanders (Chilodus punctatus) which i believe come from similar environments to Angels and discus so might work? Not sure how easy they are to source though?

 

[jacko32]

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/6X-Pseudomugil-tenellus-LARGE-SIZE-Rainbowfish-/280562255764?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item4152d04794#ht_1540wt_911