Help me pick some dithers/cleaners!

Chicxulub

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Hey all.

I need help picking a dither fish.

I am after a fish that will not be overly aggressive, NOT nippy, is cheap, gets to six inches or so, and has a nice vibrant coloration, preferably involving red.

The fish would ideally be one who is unassuming and will actively and vigorously clean up the scraps from the shredded pellets that the big fish messily eat. This is their main function. My big fish are very messy eaters and I always have to net probably three to four pellets worth of scraps out of the tank each feeding. Even with a cleaner fish, I'd still net out the food and do proper maintenance and water changes and whatnot, it would just be nice to have someone go behind me and pick the misssed scraps out of the sand. Plus I'd like to have a little more color and maybe movement in the tank.

Here's my top picks so far. I'm even considering getting both:

Option 1- A male Firemouth.

My concern with the FM is that it would be nippy and would mess up Max's tail or Drogo's fins. Can't have that! I've gotten mixed results via google and I'm not sure if they'd actually be nippy or not. They seem to be ideally sized for the task and are strikingly beautiful.

View attachment 895498

Option 2- Red tail black shark.

My only real concern is that the RTBS wouldn't get big enough to avoid ending up inside of my juruense's belly. I don't think I've ever seen one over about 4" and they seem to be fairly slow growers. I'd really like to have one of these though, I think they're one of the most beautiful aquarium fish out there.

MG_8839.jpg


Are there any other good fish that would fit what I'm looking for? I look forward to your input! :)

MG_8839.jpg
 

RampageRR

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Rosy barbs get to 6". Don't think they're nippy in schools, either. Should fit the bill, plus they're red and I think they look decent.


Firemouths aren't too nippy, as long as they aren't spawning. If you're going to do them though, I'd recommend only getting members of the same sex if trying to avoid any issues.

Edit: if you're only planning on a single firemouth, then I don't see any real problem IMO.
 

isde02

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why not keep it characin and get red hook sd's they pick up scraps and bits, don't get too big, they shoal, and they look good. If your gonna give max a target why not give a target with style ;)

00redhook001.jpg
 

cichlidfish

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Adding a fish to clean up scraps never works. At the end of the day you just end up feeding another fish. Also even if the fish do clean up the scraps they end up pooping it out. The defeats the whole purpose of getting the "cleaner" fish in the first place. Just add more filtration or actually do water changes.


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Chicxulub

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Adding a fish to clean up scraps never works. At the end of the day you just end up feeding another fish. Also even if the fish do clean up the scraps they end up pooping it out. The defeats the whole purpose of getting the "cleaner" fish in the first place. Just add more filtration or actually do water changes.


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Sigh....

Didn't really read the OP did you? I clearly stated that I understood that cleaners won't help my water change schedule or reduce filtration. I want another mouth to feed.

I want something to actually eat the huge amount of wasted food that is getting netted out of the tank and going straight into the garbage can. That's it. That's all I want: the huge amount of scrap food that my big predators produce but refuse to eat to be inside of a fish, not my trash can. Throwing out good food is wasteful and I don't care for doing it.
 

Aweshade9

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tetras! they will be too small to be food for the larger fish but will still eat some of the food
 

Aquanero

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What are the main fish to looking to get dithers for, Rob?
 

Rayne

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What about a school of clown loaches or some Geos?
 

Chicxulub

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What are the main fish to looking to get dithers for, Rob?

A black aro, a GATF and a juruense catfish. All between 11 and 15 inches. I'll be adding a blue catfish in a week or two as well and somewhere down the road a goonch if I can ever find one.
 

Chicxulub

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tetras! they will be too small to be food for the larger fish but will still eat some of the food
I want to do this eventually. I think a 100 strong school of tiny surface fish wouldb e gorgeous! I fear the predators are still small enough to pick them off though. I'm probably gonna a wait a while before trying this. You read my mind though! ;)

What about a school of clown loaches or some Geos?
Id like to do CLs, but my jur goes out of her way to eat them. I also can't justify the expense of the larger ones at this time. Somewhere down the road though they're on the wish list. Great fish though, I love watching them play!

I'm not familiar with geos...?
 
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