Dither Fish: Whats your opinions?
- Thread starter OscarHook
- Start date
they can be good for plecos that hide alot. i got some blood fin glassfish and some really boring serpae tetra. ill be honest i couldn't wait for them to "dissappear" (the serpaes that is). cories can be good help in getting plecos out and about too. the more hiding places there are for the fish, the more likely they feel secure aswell.
I've used tiger barbs, rosy barbs and platys mostly for dithers with juvie cichlids. in fact one time I bought new juvie cichlids to keep with juvie cichlids I already had so the new cichlids were dithers. 
I had 3 wild zire blue frons and they were in a 135gal and all they did was hide and they would barely eat so after 1 year of this the male killed one of the females so I figgured that it was just a matter of time before he killed the other female so I moved them into my 300gal with my colony of 25 Placidochromis phenochilus and now they never hide and are good eaters.
I'm a believer
I'm a believer
i think the best thing to get a pl*Co out is another pl*Co. they both like to go to the same place to find algea.
Ive heard that anything thats really shiny would work fine.
Ive heard that anything thats really shiny would work fine.
The better dithers are fishes with different shapes/ swimming levels, IMO. I've seen a dozen plecos keep hidden in the same tank, until three silver dollar were added. Their movements, their flashy appereance and their appetites made the plecos stay out more and more time. Sometimes you could see all them out in the daytime. Among the best dithers are the barbs (most of them), pacus, bala sharks, opaline gouramis, most tetras and most rainbowfishes. Usually, bottom dwellers are NOT good dithers.
The "dither factor" is something you should really take in count when keeping more timid/ shy/ frightened fish. When a fish see other fishes in the open, it means there are no predators. If it looks around and is alone, or can see only fishes with its same habits, it can mean that there ARE preds, and it haven't seen yet. So it flees to hide. A dumb-type flashy fish like a bala shark or a pacu keeps moving all the time, and this tells the others that there's no danger and they can stay in the open.
Oh, almost forgot... A well-adapted dither, that is a good eater, can TEACH the mewbies what type of food they can find in your tank. And the dithers in "feeding frenzy" stimulate the newbies to eat the same food. So, the dithers 1- add movement to your tank, 2- make your fishes feel comfortable and stay in the open, 3- teach them what to eat and 4- stimulate their appetites. Sounds good, isn't it? Almost like magic, but it's NOT magic. Just a little trick...
Best regards.
Daniel.
The "dither factor" is something you should really take in count when keeping more timid/ shy/ frightened fish. When a fish see other fishes in the open, it means there are no predators. If it looks around and is alone, or can see only fishes with its same habits, it can mean that there ARE preds, and it haven't seen yet. So it flees to hide. A dumb-type flashy fish like a bala shark or a pacu keeps moving all the time, and this tells the others that there's no danger and they can stay in the open.
Oh, almost forgot... A well-adapted dither, that is a good eater, can TEACH the mewbies what type of food they can find in your tank. And the dithers in "feeding frenzy" stimulate the newbies to eat the same food. So, the dithers 1- add movement to your tank, 2- make your fishes feel comfortable and stay in the open, 3- teach them what to eat and 4- stimulate their appetites. Sounds good, isn't it? Almost like magic, but it's NOT magic. Just a little trick...
Best regards.
Daniel.
One exception to the caveat of bottomfish not making good dithers is a group of clown loaches, they are active and pushy enough to stir up motion in fish that stay hidden.