I always thought the concept of dither fish was weird because I didn't think that confident fish would make less outgoing fish more active. I added a group of small guppies to my peppermint pike tank (as food) and now he is swimming in the middle of the tank where everyone can see him! I know that dither fish are typically used in breeding cichlids, but the same trick worked in my situation too.
Dither Fish Work!
- Thread starter Crazy Water
- Start date
I have Rosy Red Minnows which are typically used in this purpose. They were super outgoing, almost obnoxious in one tank, then I moved them to another without fish swimming above them and all they do is hide. They were used to Skirt Tetras swimming in the tank, previously. Am I supposed to buy dither fish for dither fish?
I usually let the rosy red minnows swim in the main tank while they are picked off one by one by my leaf fish. When I don't have them in there... they seem to forget how to hunt. Also, my eel is more active with the minnows. He will hide when there aren't minnows.