Herbivorious dithers?
- Thread starter Sinister-Kisses
- Start date
My choice for tank mates would be geographically correct Astyanax, or other Mexican tetras ( Those the argentea share habitat with).
One of the other ways I found, that seems to temper their tendency for hyper aggression, is to supply enough current along the length of the tank to simulate the riverine environment where they live, and those type tetras are also comfortable in that environment.
In nature argentea and the tetras, have devoloped reserves of energy to cope with that rheophyillic constant current, and share the same rocky habitat.
And beggars can't be choosers in this food desert, so being an omnivore and accepting whatever float by, would need be used.
And any excess energy not used in coping, seems to be often directed as aggression in large enough tanks.
These rocky habitats are home to lots of shrimp and snails, and the cichlids that live in them, take full advantage of what's available.
And that prominent argentea mouth, is perfectly adapted for pulling snails, and shrimp from the rubble, but also adapted for whatever falls in the stream from thick overhanging vegetation, even if there is little in the form of aquatic plants.
I suppose these tetras are not the most attractive, but in reality, if the argentea are a primary focus of the tank, would you want some flashy orange subjects to steal the cichlids thunder?
One of the other ways I found, that seems to temper their tendency for hyper aggression, is to supply enough current along the length of the tank to simulate the riverine environment where they live, and those type tetras are also comfortable in that environment.
In nature argentea and the tetras, have devoloped reserves of energy to cope with that rheophyillic constant current, and share the same rocky habitat.
And beggars can't be choosers in this food desert, so being an omnivore and accepting whatever float by, would need be used.
And any excess energy not used in coping, seems to be often directed as aggression in large enough tanks.
These rocky habitats are home to lots of shrimp and snails, and the cichlids that live in them, take full advantage of what's available.
And that prominent argentea mouth, is perfectly adapted for pulling snails, and shrimp from the rubble, but also adapted for whatever falls in the stream from thick overhanging vegetation, even if there is little in the form of aquatic plants.
I suppose these tetras are not the most attractive, but in reality, if the argentea are a primary focus of the tank, would you want some flashy orange subjects to steal the cichlids thunder?
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For crying out loud, is every second thread going to turn into one of these omnivore/herbivore free-for-alls now? 
I have found that some of the Goodeid livebearers make great roommates and dithers for larger cichlids. Xenotoca doadrioi/eisenii or Ameca splendens do very well on largely vegetarian diets, and are plenty aggressive enough to hold their own with bigger more boisterous fish. They stay smaller, 2 or 3 inches, which actually makes them less attractive targets for larger cichlids who can be aggressive with fish closer to their own size and shape. Obviously, they can't be kept with large carnivorous fish that will view them as a food source. They also don't love high temps, do best in the lower 70's or high 60's.
Another species you might consider is Buenos Aires Tetras; also a cooler-water dweller, a nice active schooler that seens to appreciate a lot of greenery in its diet.
Again...these are not pure herbivores, if such really exist. But giving them mostly greens with a small admixture of animal protein likely matches their natural diets pretty closely, and I suspect the same is true of the Viejas? There seem to be a good selection of commercial foods geared to this type of diet. And if you keep any tanks with Duckweed or Hair Algae, well, that's a wonderful food source that continues to renew itself whether you like or not...so you might as well take advantage.
I have found that some of the Goodeid livebearers make great roommates and dithers for larger cichlids. Xenotoca doadrioi/eisenii or Ameca splendens do very well on largely vegetarian diets, and are plenty aggressive enough to hold their own with bigger more boisterous fish. They stay smaller, 2 or 3 inches, which actually makes them less attractive targets for larger cichlids who can be aggressive with fish closer to their own size and shape. Obviously, they can't be kept with large carnivorous fish that will view them as a food source. They also don't love high temps, do best in the lower 70's or high 60's.
Another species you might consider is Buenos Aires Tetras; also a cooler-water dweller, a nice active schooler that seens to appreciate a lot of greenery in its diet.
Again...these are not pure herbivores, if such really exist. But giving them mostly greens with a small admixture of animal protein likely matches their natural diets pretty closely, and I suspect the same is true of the Viejas? There seem to be a good selection of commercial foods geared to this type of diet. And if you keep any tanks with Duckweed or Hair Algae, well, that's a wonderful food source that continues to renew itself whether you like or not...so you might as well take advantage.
Yes. Hard yes. My bedroom is lime green and hot pink - I LIKE COLOUR in all aspects of my life
Argentea are gorgeous. No amount of flashy fish around them is going to detract the argentea from my focus, trust me 
I appreciate the feedback though.Lol yes, sorry, I deliberately poked about that *OTHER* thread, I know jjohnwm knows what I'm talking about. I make sure to know about my fish's required nutritional needs and meet them with the best quality, varied diet I can. Kismet (my argentea in question) and the 2 little juveniles I recently purchased as well are NOT eating in any way a purely herbivorous diet (I agree, likely no such animal really). But they do get a heavy on the greens diet, so just want to make sure anything I put in there with them will be happy and healthy with the same. I'm not about to throw convicts in there as dithers, for example
I have used Jewel cichlids as dithers. They would be ok on the same diet.
I don't think they'd be as likely to survive the wrath of an argentea...thinking a school of something FAST moving and that inhabits more of the top portion of the tank.
I’ll second Buenos Aires - they’ll eat anything, but definitely have some herbivorous tendencies (as I wonder where all the plants in their tank went). They’re just as fast to go after meaty foods.
