Dither Fish

[freshwaterfishfan]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone know of a good livebearer to act as dither fish? I know most livebearers enjoy hard water, but do any thrive in soft. acidic water? I would be interested in any first hand experiences.
Thanks
Steve

 

[MHunt]

I have a few guppies in with my apisto's, also some platy's. Endlers are nice small fish that might not be as active.

You really are better going for a carachin (OK, not the BIG charachin) or one of the smaller barbs.

 

[fishgeek]

my bloody guppy's wouldn't die in any water
i purchased 6 as some of my first fish 5-6 years ago, prehaps there life span is hsorter in soft waters, though mine have been breeding and reproducing up until just recently when they were the first to succumb to a mistaken acid overdose

andrew

 

[Nick S.]

Dithers

I know that they are asian but Zebra Danios seem to take pretty much any conditon you put them in and do well. Most live bearers need more alkaline water.

 

[valice]

But the speed which the danios constantly swims in the water sometimes stresses some of the apistogrammas.

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

For my tanks with West African cichlids I'm using only Westie barbs or tetras as dithers. Works well for me and makes for a pretty "fitting" setup. Anyway, many of these dithers are not too hard to obtain through Aquabid and similar sources.

Cheers,

Janos

 

[spitfire]

Pencils and Tetras

I like to use small characins. Most fish will eat fry if they have the opportunity though. I like t opull eggs before they hatch.

 

[javoski]

I am wondering giving Carnegiella strigata a try in a breeding tank in my living room (I mean, it´s a breeding tank but it has to please my wife, who is an archictect :tongue: )

 

[Mike Wise]

Hatchetfish are great, but if you want some color in the upper reaches of the tank I would suggest one of the domestic color varieties of the Dwarf Gourami. These are colorful, mellow, top swimmers that usually have no problems with breeding apistos as long as they stay away from the fry.

 

[RiC]

I have the Carnegiella strigata and they are great with apistos (two were killed by my female though)
Be careful if you choose this species, they are particularly difficult at the beginning (but once they are established, they are pretty hardy).

 

[STOKER]

I use cherry barbs as a dither fish and find that as they are easy to spawn and that there are usually fry in the tank , that breeding apisto`s are not so inclined to 'loose" intrest in their brood.If a large bit of java moss is used , all the young fry get the message that there is food here and most of the spawn seems to survive.
In fact at times they seem to have to think if any fry are the correct species as the cherry barb fry don`t stay in one spot for long .
Also have a couple of pairs of bronze corys to make the apisto pairs work in rearing , as they have to chase the cats away if they get to close to the eggs/fry. If the cats spawn all the better .