Dithers for Odoe, payara, and d lusosso

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
LOL my silver dollars are doing the same thing. I don't know about tinfoils, I would think they'd be even worse with eating all the food when they get larger since they get so much bigger than a standard silver dollar.

Maybe just get rid of half of the 10, cutting the food intake in half? I do think they're worth keeping as dithers, they are so active and look good in groups. Plus they're so tall-bodied that most predators leave them alone even when there's a decent size difference. If you're set on changing it up completely, maybe some mahseer or tarpon?
 
zapantha said:
Ok so now I have 10 silver dollar dithers since I have the odoe, armatus, and now a brycon dentex. However, they eat too much of my expensive hikari jumbo sticks! Would tin foil barbs be better since they feed off the bottom, or would it be a waste because they're not mid swimmers? Or do you guys have other suggestions?
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Let's start with being misinformed about Tinfoils.... They are definitely mid, bottom and top swimmers, they go wherever the food is. They are worse then silver dollars when it comes to eating everything. They grow faster meaning even more food consumed. Mine destroy any floating food from Hikari sticks to the cheapest pond food you can buy.

My silver dollars don't even swim. The ones with the Tigers seem to have to give everything they have just to stay in one place in the tank. The ones I have in with my Masheer and Robert just sit in the corner and watch the rest of the tank do laps. Not the best dithers in my opinion.

My favorite dithers are Masheer. They're easy to plug up with an oversized piece of food. They seem similar to Tigers in the fact they don't really seem to be able to gorge themselves like tinfoils. They heal fast, but are so darn quick that they're usually able to outrun damage. The only drawbacks are they grow slow, and are expensive.

Step back and think about something for a minute.... The fish in with your prized fish are usually eating the same food. I'm guessing that Tinfoils will consume so much fancy expensive food that in the long run you mite be better off getting the more expensive masher and it could possibly end up cheaper in the long run. Look at grown out "dithers"..... Let's say they've served their purpose and you no longer need or want them. What's a full grown silver dollar worth? Foot long tinfoil? Foot long Masheer?

It's this kind of stuff that has pushed me to the idea of Masheer as dithers...... But with them growing so slow it takes a lot of planning to piece together a tank, and you may still need to use SDs or TFs here and there, but I've never been happier with any dither then I am my Masheer.

I like Balas as Dithers too, but seem pretty delicate, and always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, not sure if they're just a "dumber" fish or what, but I know I've lost my fair share.

I tried Lemon finned Barbs. I find them and their big scales MUCH more attractive then TFs, but same problem as TFs, eat so much, grow crazy fast and they get huge. I have a single remaining monster that escaped the rays that got the rest of his shoal. I saw a vendor mentioning topping out at 10"s.... LOL. Forget length, I bet mines easily 10"s tall.... Quite a bit bigger then any TF I've seen.

Good luck with the Dentex. Not sure I'd ever even try one with an Armatus. Most people experience them being relentless terrors. Very aggressive for their size.

Just some random thoughts from someone that's been searching for the right Dithers for years... lol
 
Dude i love masheers but you're right about the price and growth. A group from pupumole would be nice lol but a lil out of my price range, maybe some of those new tor-like fish from wes? The SDs are active in my tank right now but when my odoe eats 3 pellets, the armatus eats 1, and the SDs eat 8-10 it angers me lol. Dentex so far is wimpy and just stays in the corner but I'll keep an eye on him, lusosso bullies him a bit. I definitely will research masheer and growth, I really appreciate the advice!
 
The Neo Masheers usually aren't that bad pricewise..... Usually under $50ea. The Tor are the spendy ones.

Wes's Spinobarbus sp would be a good alternative!! I just don't see the point of feeding a bunch of $5-10 fish such expensive food when they eat so friggin much of it, might as well have something a little different, and we all know Wes is the man when it comes to this type of stuff!

I completely understand where you're coming from on the Dither pigs. I'm starting to hate my TFs. I bought them to house with the Armatus and they have kept up toe to toe in growth rate. From the size of a quarter to about 5-6" in a few months.

Have you tried using something like Pollock to plug up the dollars before feeding pellets? I feed my rays and Robert Massivore. IF I just hucked in a handful of pellets the Masheer swarm them and none even hit the bottom. So I take a tilapia or Pollock fillet and cut up into pieces a little bigger then the Masheer can easily swallow. Usually just cut with scissors over the tank. Once they're all swimming around with stuffed faces THEN I drop in the Massivore. They're too greedy to spit anything out so they just fill up on cheap fillet while Robert and the rays enjoy their pellets.... :)
 
Actually my experience is opposite of yours regarding tin foils and SDs. My red hook Silver dollars eat everything in sight and are hogs. The TFB don't ever eat from the surface and only eats what sinks. So they don't compete with my ATFs. TFBs can eat a lot but mine also cleans up the scraps that the ATFs leave behind so no uneaten food sits on the bottom. Between the two I'd go with TFBs.

Balas are good but IME they end up getting killed by the ATFs sooner or later.
 
sashimimaster said:
Actually my experience is opposite of yours regarding tin foils and SDs. My red hook Silver dollars eat everything in sight and are hogs. The TFB don't ever eat from the surface and only eats what sinks. So they don't compete with my ATFs. TFBs can eat a lot but mine also cleans up the scraps that the ATFs leave behind so no uneaten food sits on the bottom. Between the two I'd go with TFBs.

Balas are good but IME they end up getting killed by the ATFs sooner or later.
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Have you had many TFBs? My experiences with them are always the same. They eat annoyingly too much.

My silver dollars were just like you describe when they were alone in a tank.... In a tank full of bigger faster fish they cower in the corner. In my Tiger tank they have a hard time dealing with the current. I just have plain old ones though, and they're several years old, maybe just too old?

I prefer Irwinnis to clean up scraps...... Love them cat fish.

I have a great idea... Lets all post our own experiences in feeding video form! :) This forum could definitely benefit from something happening here. lol
 
DB junkie said:
Have you had many TFBs? My experiences with them are always the same. They eat annoyingly too much.

My silver dollars were just like you describe when they were alone in a tank.... In a tank full of bigger faster fish they cower in the corner. In my Tiger tank they have a hard time dealing with the current. I just have plain old ones though, and they're several years old, maybe just too old?
I have a great idea... Lets all post our own experiences in feeding video form! :) This forum could definitely benefit from something happening here. lol
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Ummm, yeah. I've had 5 silver TFB and still have 3 albino ones. They're about 6-7" now. They can eat a lot but not off the surface so I prefer them over SD.
 
Agree with Db junkie on the tinfoils. I had 5 that grew quickly to 14" and ate everything from anywhere. Great fish as I much prefer their look and movement to Sds but that's just my opinion. There are smaller attractive barbs such as aurilius which may be a better fit for you.
 
Well the growth issue I do struggle with for other dithers, such as masheers, even though it is a good idea... Hmm I think I will first try the stuff with junk technique as in STUFFEM WITH BURGERS SO THEY DONT EAT THE STEAKS, lol. I think I'll also try to add a tiger SD so I can be happy feeding it some nice food for a nice fish :D.
 
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