Argentea on a rampage. Dither suggestions?

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H

HrHagel

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 7, 2009
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So yesterday when i walked in the livingroom, i couldn't see any fish in the tank, except the Argentea. Soon i discovered why. All of the fish had wedged themselves in whatever caves and cracks they could find, and several had nipped fins, and some scale damage.

So, i rearranged the tank, but he seems even more ticked off now, and as soon as any fish comes out from hiding, he chases them relentlessly untill they hide again.
He isn't trying to kill them, cause he is no longer launching in to bite, but to intimidate the other fish.

This ofcourse causes alot of stress on my other fish, and is quite painful to watch, since all my tanks are full atm, so i cannot relocate it.

Now, what i will be doing is buy several more pieces of driftwood, and some rocks, and basically clutter the tank in a way so there's sightbreakers everywhere, and "design" caves that are of a size where the Argentea cannot enter, but all the other fish can.

At this point i should explain, that my Argentea is in the 11-13" range, and the second biggest fish is a 7" Midas. Other than those two there is a 3-4" Cyanoguttatum, and a 2" Flowerhorn.
There is also a 9" Cr. Saxatilis in there, but she doesn't get touched, due to her form. She can easely hide and get away. The 2" Flowerhorn also remains untouched, and isn't a target for the Argentea.

Okay well, after this wall of text, the only thing i really need from you guys, is suggestions on appropriate dithers.
Silver dollars aren't an option, as they aren't available in my country.
Obviously, the dithers has to be very tough, and grow to a decent size.
Any and all dither type fish you can think of, please suggest them.

Preferably something that is unique, and nice to look at.
Cost is not an issue (Availablity might be)

Thanks for taking the time to read through my post, and thanks in advance for any and all suggestions you may have for dithers.

-Tom
 
No advice here, just confirming your problem. My old 12" male wouldn't allow any fish above 6" in with him. Not even a female. Fish 6" and under were ignored, fish over 6" were relentlessly chased to exhaustion. Ended up having to divide him off with holes for the other fish to escape from.
 
Distichodus sexfasciatus or lusosso make a tough dither fish and grow to sufficient size. May be rough on the smaller fish in the tank.
 
It sounds like the best thing to do is put him in his own tank. As I was reading your post I was thinking this guy isn't going to play nice with others. After reading Modest_Man's post I'm pretty sure unless you go 300+ Gals he needs to go into solatary. The upside I guess, if there is one, is an Argentea is probibly one of the best looking species you could have in a dedacated show tank IMO anyway.
 
I have in all my tanks a big arowana ( when not more than one )

I find that they are real peacemakers, even not noticing that they do it.

You can have a couple of CA's picking up a fight ( I have Jags, Midas, RD«s JD, FH, Cubans- you name it ) and through their midst flows that monster, immediately distracting them.....
 
Hey thanks everyone for all the comments and attention.

The Distichodus family is a very interesting suggestions, and it is a big plus that they do not breed in aquariums, so i wouldn't be adding even more agression.

The sexfasciatus getting 30"+ is way too big, but there are several other species in the family that would be very suitable!

I will be researching where i can import these fish for sure.

Miguel, funny you mention the arowana, as i had actually thought of it too. My concerns were by arowanas typically swimming in the very top layer of the tank, that it would get nipped by the Argentea. But i guess with a large enough specimen that the Argentea would stear away from it.

Aquanero, and modest_man, i suppose it would definatly be for the best to keep him solitary. But i really want to exhaust all other options first, as this tank being the centerpiece of the livingroom, i would really prefer an impressive display of males together, and a lot of movement and lfie.
But obviously, i will resort to this option should other options fail, as my fishes wellbeing being the #1 priority.

Sean, that is actually not a bad suggestion, as long as all the convicts would be males, so no breeding would be going on. And also the fact that males typically grows much larger.
The only problem i can see with this, is the availability of young adult- adult cons, as i fear it would be much too late, if i had to wait a year or so for them to grow to the approriate size.

Thanks again everyone, and feel free to keep suggestions coming :)
 
What size tank is it? I would suggest pulling out all deco, then again he still might bomb on the others and they would have anywhere to go. OR put a divider in givin him just enough room for himself.. basically a time out, givin other fish time to relax and settle back in possibly givin them enough confidence to hold ground once the beast is released or at least buyin you some time to maybe come up with a better idea. good luck either way:) also maybe drop temp to mid 70's to cool them off a lil;)
 
Freshwaterpredators;4815602; said:
What size tank is it? I would suggest pulling out all deco, then again he still might bomb on the others and they would have anywhere to go. OR put a divider in givin him just enough room for himself.. basically a time out, givin other fish time to relax and settle back in possibly givin them enough confidence to hold ground once the beast is released or at least buyin you some time to maybe come up with a better idea. good luck either way:) also maybe drop temp to mid 70's to cool them off a lil;)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions :)

At first i thought it was translated into 350g (doh) But it's closer to 180g.

(a mile is like 1,8 meters, and i had it mixed up. So thought a gallon was 1,8litres)
 
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