Dithers for aggressive tank mates...Filament Barbs?

[Wharf]

Right now I have some Congos with 3 BB juvies, 3 leucistic HRP's, and a new Amph Sagittae. Now I started with 12 or 13 Congos, but did a count today and only can count around 10-11. I have looked for dither corpses, but could not find them. I think this is mainly d/t full time excavation from cichlids and getting covered up. The only fish I see going after them are the Leucistic HRP's. These lil guys will swim with them for a bit then take cheap shots at them. It is almost like they play with them and are just being plain aggressive; however, I do love the little sociopaths.

I do not want Tinfoils or skittish SD (not completely against) just because of max size etc. My question is are there any other barbs or dithers that are decent looking that will work? I was thinking Filament Barbs or something similar.

Swordtails did not work well unfortunately, I only have 3 larger females left...and not sure how long they have on the clock. Congos are beautiful, I really like them, but think they are more suited to medium size or more docile Melanura etc.

I kind of threw out the bio-tope specific idea after the swordtails and the fact that I have a Syno Angelicus (refuse to rehome) in the tank I am very partial too which is already from Africa.

 

[Jexnell]

Spanner barbs get to a good size, but also comes with the bio-load

 

[stiker]

Right now I have some Congos with 3 BB juvies, 3 leucistic HRP's, and a new Amph Sagittae. Now I started with 12 or 13 Congos, but did a count today and only can count around 10-11. I have looked for dither corpses, but could not find them. I think this is mainly d/t full time excavation from cichlids and getting covered up. The only fish I see going after them are the Leucistic HRP's. These lil guys will swim with them for a bit then take cheap shots at them. It is almost like they play with them and are just being plain aggressive; however, I do love the little sociopaths.

I do not want Tinfoils or skittish SD (not completely against) just because of max size etc. My question is are there any other barbs or dithers that are decent looking that will work? I was thinking Filament Barbs or something similar.

Swordtails did not work well unfortunately, I only have 3 larger females left...and not sure how long they have on the clock. Congos are beautiful, I really like them, but think they are more suited to medium size or more docile Melanura etc.

I kind of threw out the bio-tope specific idea after the swordtails and the fact that I have a Syno Angelicus (refuse to rehome) in the tank I am very partial too which is already from Africa.

At the end of the day with the fish that you have (large Central American cichlids) and the HRPs which although small when they spawn will be super aggressive (if they do spawn not sure what sexes you have) dither fish are always going to be hit or miss and may last for a while then suddenly disappear.

If you don’t mind silver dollar species there are smaller species like the spotted or stopped varieties which are what I went for, however they will add quite a bit of bio load. I personally was the biggest fan of using either large giant danios or large rainbowfish. Both of these stay near the top of the aquarium (the giant danios more so then the rainbows) and they are super fast so it will be harder for the fish to catch them.
I kept giant danios with M. Festae and the rainbows with many different species such as N. Tetracanthus, P. Multifasciatus (formally P. Friedrichsthalii), A. Labiatus and A. Citrinellus

I have tried filament and spanner barbs in the past but they do get large and produce quite a bioload, as well as being quite boisterous so I found they were into intimidating to smaller fish and caused them to hide.

However, at the end of theday as I said with large and aggressive central and South American cichlids you are going with a risk putting dither species in. If they don’t eat them they may just kill them out of aggression especially considering they will have established territories already in the tank so it would be a good idea to rearrange your aquarium first.

 

[Wharf]

I thought of Spotted SD's, I like the idea of rainbows, but Boesemani Rainbows are probably too small correct? Which type did you keep reds?

BTW I had already separated the female HRP because of aggression, but it was fun to watch such little fish get fierce and territorial.

 

[stiker]

I thought of Spotted SD's, I like the idea of rainbows, but Boesemani Rainbows are probably too small correct? Which type did you keep reds?

BTW I had already separated the female HRP because of aggression, but it was fun to watch such little fish get fierce and territorial.

I agree boesmani are probably too small. I personally used red rainbows (Glossolepis incisus) and they did well.

It is probably best that you separated the female HRP if you plan to keep a community style tank.

How come you are looking to add a dither species? Is it to bring out shy fish? Or just personal preference?

 

[Wharf]

TBH probably do not need them, because all my fish are active and non-skittish. I do kind of want some fish that stay in the top of the water column. I have kept Giant Danios before and will pass on them. SD's can be quite erratic and skittish as well so that is why I hadn't committed to them. I felt like this could have a negative effect on fish that are already outgoing. Maybe my fish were outgoing because of the Congos.

Congos seemed perfect for my needs; however, I felt like they were going to be expensive feeders with my current stock and ended up re-homing them. I started to see some fish missing then a wound on the top of another so thought it was only a matter of time. I would rather let them go to a peaceful community than my tank of impending doom. I could definitely see myself with a more peaceful community with Congos down the road they are really awesome fish.

 

[stiker]

TBH probably do not need them, because all my fish are active and non-skittish. I do kind of want some fish that stay in the top of the water column. I have kept Giant Danios before and will pass on them. SD's can be quite erratic and skittish as well so that is why I hadn't committed to them. I felt like this could have a negative effect on fish that are already outgoing. Maybe my fish were outgoing because of the Congos.

Congos seemed perfect for my needs; however, I felt like they were going to be expensive feeders with my current stock and ended up re-homing them. I started to see some fish missing then a wound on the top of another so thought it was only a matter of time. I would rather let them go to a peaceful community than my tank of impending doom. I could definitely see myself with a more peaceful community with Congos down the road they are really awesome fish.

If you have no reason to add them, then I personally wouldn’t as you are essentially going to be adding expensive feeders or punching bags. The only reason I’d recommend adding would be if that is what you personally would enjoy.

I personally only found silver dollars to be skittish when kept in tanks too small. When I had a group in a 6ft 180G I found them too not be skittish at all

 

[Toiletcar]

What size tank?

I personally wouldn’t keep HRPs with any big amph. Big amph are too aggressive. If it’s a large tank chances to increase.
I’ve found adding dithers is doesn’t help spread aggression or help with breeding. Most of the time cichlids ignore other fish and only focus on other cichlids. Reason is cichlids are more direct competition for food and breeding. This is why some people use convicts as dithers. I add swordtails to my tanks because I like them. They do nothing for spreading aggression.

 

[Wharf]

What size tank?

I personally wouldn’t keep HRPs with any big amph. Big amph are too aggressive. If it’s a large tank chances to increase.
I’ve found adding dithers is doesn’t help spread aggression or help with breeding. Most of the time cichlids ignore other fish and only focus on other cichlids. Reason is cichlids are more direct competition for food and breeding. This is why some people use convicts as dithers. I add swordtails to my tanks because I like them. They do nothing for spreading aggression.

These are the Leucistic HRPs they seem much more boisterous and are the hyper-aggressives of the tank pound for pound tbh. I wanted to use the males as a Convict-like dither. I rightly know this could change at any minute.

I am not trying to spread aggression I just wanted something for the top of the water column. The fact that they often ignore them was why I was asking. I truly am not dead set on adding anything...just probing.

I really like swordtails but they didn't work out. That's why I was considering a much bigger Barb; however, I would have to sacrifice bioload which is a significant trade off I might not be willing to make.

The size of the tank us 180...not too big...I already understand I could most likely end up with a lone Amph or BB regardless that things are cool atm. My original plan was to get a BB pair, but my GF's influence and suffering from poor impulse control myself, spawned the Sagittae.

I will watch things closely and rehoming to appropriate hobbyists & their husbandry is more important to me than $$$ if I do need to take Swift action.