Dither advice/ suggestions

[beau1990]

Hey fishy folk I want to have something, not silver dollars(preferably) to go with my odoe pike, carpintis cichlid and bichirs. it's a planted tank and I'd just rather not do silver dollars because I heard they were bad like pacu about eating plants here's the tank in question

 

[tlindsey]

odoe pike

Anything smaller like tetras will be a meal.
Also the Florida Gar will be a problem as well.

 

[beau1990]

Anything smaller like tetras will be a meal.
Also the Florida Gar will be a problem as well.

I'd agree, that was my long nose that my daughter caught he has since passed he has his own thread, the Odoe came along later and is currently trying the only top water guy

 

[beau1990]

So I guess it'll have to be silver dollars then won't it? Is there anything I can do to keep them from shredding the plants? I only ever had silver dollars with fake plants and I got rid of mine before I took the planted tank plunge

 

[duanes]

There are plenty of largish tetras you can use, but first what are your water parameters?
Your carpintus, is a hard water, high pH (8ish) preferring species, so finding extras that fit into that realm are not as easy as the Amazonian tetras that are readily available.
The most common kind of tetra found in tandem with caarpiintus, are Astyanax, and can be large enough and fast enough to work, @ 4"..
But your Odoe pike is a tetra preferring softer water that prefers lower pH around 7.
Here are some hard water Tetras I use as diners with Central American cichlids, in 8.2 pH water
Above are the genus Roeboides (@4") , below Astyanax @ 3"
.
Both are at times available at places like wet spot, and neither have bothered my plants.
.

 

[FJB]

Your planted tank looks beautiful.
Silver dollars can be had in planted tanks, but it takes a bit of effort and patience (time) to "train the dollars", and to choose the plants to be used. Further, there are dollars, and then there are dollars (some species are harder or impossible to "train", whereas others are easier). My experience thus far is limited to Metynnis dollars (4 species).
Just looking at your tank, I would guess the Vals and Swords may not survive the dollars, but the Anubias and Fern could. I have had good results with those plant species and with Cryptocoryne spp., some Hygrophila spp, and a few others.




This tank has only recently been set-up (May 2023). Half of the plants are still plastic, the rest real (3 species). All plants in the other photos are real. The SDs are Metynnis fasciatus (tiger dollars), the dollar species that has given me the hardest time (yet) about keeping them in planted tanks.

 

[Joshuakahan]

Hey fishy folk I want to have something, not silver dollars(preferably) to go with my odoe pike, carpintis cichlid and bichirs. it's a planted tank and I'd just rather not do silver dollars because I heard they were bad like pacu about eating plants here's the tank in question
View attachment 1524430

I had a similar type of set up in a 180,
Odoe, bichirs hujeta, chalceus and a severum and I had a group of red tail barracuda that shoaled together and acted as dithers.

 

[fishhead0103666]

Have you looked into discus tetras, Brachychalcinus orbicularis?

 

[Fishman Dave]

Never kept them personally but maybe larger rainbow fish like boesemani. Your tank looks perfect for them although they may prove too much of a temptation for the growing pike not to give it a try, especially as they are mid to top water.