niknaksky
Member
Any one had problems with the above chasing otos and apistogrammas ?
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Golden Pencilfish
- Thread starter niknaksky
- Start date
niknaksky
Member
I took them out was doing me head in relentlessly chasing my otos even harrasing my female apistos.
I had 14 in a 260 litre with 1 m +2f a. caca and 3 otos 3 cory.
Quite heavily planted.
I have had them before and they have been fine just a few of them had gone mental.
I had 14 in a 260 litre with 1 m +2f a. caca and 3 otos 3 cory.
Quite heavily planted.
I have had them before and they have been fine just a few of them had gone mental.
Hi all,
Nannostomus beckfordii is the "odd man out" amongst the Pencil fish. I tried them as dithers for Apistogramma cacatuoides (in a tank with Otocinclus) and had exactly the same problems. Nannostomus eques is a good dither if you want a Pencil, or I used to use Black Neon Tetras and they are very suitable as well.
cheers Darrel
Nannostomus beckfordii is the "odd man out" amongst the Pencil fish. I tried them as dithers for Apistogramma cacatuoides (in a tank with Otocinclus) and had exactly the same problems. Nannostomus eques is a good dither if you want a Pencil, or I used to use Black Neon Tetras and they are very suitable as well.
cheers Darrel
DavidC
Member
dw1305 said:
sorry what is a dither? i have seen it mentioned a few times
Hi all,
A "dither" is just a small shoaling fish that makes your other fish more comfortable. If you keep Dwarf Cichlids on their own they often become very reclusive, but if the dithers are swimming about the Cichlids know it is safe to come out and that there are no larger predators about.
If you don't intend to breed your fish any shoaling fish will do, but if they breed you need fish that will stay well up in the water column (and have small mouths) away from potentially damaging "fish on fish" encounters. A bottom orientated fish like a Corydoras catfish, or one that will hunt singly across the bottom like a Cardinal or Emperor Tetra are no good as dithers as they will eat the fry and/or end up in a mangled mess if the female corners them.
It depends a little a bit upon the fish species, Rams can't protect their fry, Apistogramma cacatuoides usually manages fry protection without genocide, but a pair of Hemichromis will usually kill all the other fish in the tank when breeding, even if the fish are much larger than they are.
Dithers and target fish are sometimes used inter-changeably, but they do have different meanings, a true target fish is one that will distract the female/male cichlid whilst they female are looking after the fry and stop the female potentially damaging the male. Another cichlid in an adjoining tank will perform this role. Black Neons are both dithers and target fish, as they are robust and quick enough to avoid serious harm, Pencils or Hatchets are very much just dithers, as they don't tend to interact with the Cichlids at all.
cheers Darrel
A "dither" is just a small shoaling fish that makes your other fish more comfortable. If you keep Dwarf Cichlids on their own they often become very reclusive, but if the dithers are swimming about the Cichlids know it is safe to come out and that there are no larger predators about.
If you don't intend to breed your fish any shoaling fish will do, but if they breed you need fish that will stay well up in the water column (and have small mouths) away from potentially damaging "fish on fish" encounters. A bottom orientated fish like a Corydoras catfish, or one that will hunt singly across the bottom like a Cardinal or Emperor Tetra are no good as dithers as they will eat the fry and/or end up in a mangled mess if the female corners them.
It depends a little a bit upon the fish species, Rams can't protect their fry, Apistogramma cacatuoides usually manages fry protection without genocide, but a pair of Hemichromis will usually kill all the other fish in the tank when breeding, even if the fish are much larger than they are.
Dithers and target fish are sometimes used inter-changeably, but they do have different meanings, a true target fish is one that will distract the female/male cichlid whilst they female are looking after the fry and stop the female potentially damaging the male. Another cichlid in an adjoining tank will perform this role. Black Neons are both dithers and target fish, as they are robust and quick enough to avoid serious harm, Pencils or Hatchets are very much just dithers, as they don't tend to interact with the Cichlids at all.
cheers Darrel
DavidC
Member
very informative. I have a pair of Apistogramma macmasteri in with green neons (Paracheirodon Simulans) without knowing anything about dither fish have i inadvertently done well?
Hi all,
cheers Darrel
Job done, definitely a good choice of dither when the cichlids aren't breeding. A. macmasteri is somewhere in between A. cacatuoides and Hemichromis on the the genocide scale, but nearer to A. cacatuoides, the female macmasteri shouldn't have any problem holding the Green Neons at bay, the only problem would be if the Green Neons are a bit slow on the uptake and keep on approaching the fry, in that case she may manage to kill a few. The free swimming fry may already be too big for the Green Neons to eat, so it would be more a case of casual interaction.
cheers Darrel
DavidC
Member
Ok that sounds good. Its a pretty big tank with plenty places to hide so hopefully there will be no deaths.
thanks for your help!
Dave
thanks for your help!
Dave