120 Dither fish

[RD.]

Other than perhaps convicts, I'm not sure what would work best to help control aggression between an RT, and a GT, in a 48x24 footprint tank. Good luck with that. And no, I would not use dithers in this type of application. They won't be dithers, they will be targets, and used as target practice on a daily basis.

 

[Cichlids621]

Other than perhaps convicts, I'm not sure what would work best to help control aggression between an RT, and a GT, in a 48x24 footprint tank. Good luck with that. And no, I would not use dithers in this type of application. They won't be dithers, they will be targets, and used as target practice on a daily basis.

Ok Thankyou this was very helpful

 

[duanes]

Seems the term, dither and target get confused a lot.
I have often used Tilpines in a tank where I've tossed random cichlids that don't get along to distract. They are fast, and generally hardy in situations where a stressful atmosphere sets a tank up for stress induced disease.
Of course they are geographically "incorrect", being African, but even convicts are geo-incorrect with festae and GTs. Barbs are also continentally incorrect
They do create significant bioload, just as convicts, large barbs, or SDs.
I have never liked SDs as dither/targets, because they tend to get easy spooked and end up causing as much turmoil as before, bashing into the glass and making cichlids even more edgy.


The positive side, is in the end, if (and when) they get too big for the tank, you just eat them.

 

[RD.]

LOL @ Duane eating his pet fish, again.

IMO this is a very good point

in situations where a stressful atmosphere sets a tank up for stress induced disease.

That's why targets need to be uber tough, because for many fish the constant stress from the aggression of tank mates over time can lead to illness and disease, something that no aquarist wants to have surface in their tank.

 

[J. H.]

Boesmanni rainbows, Red rainbows, giant danios, Black Skirt tetras, Scissortail rasboras, Some people even use calm mbuna, like labidochromis caeruelous, and many others.
A festae is a real demon, I would personally try mbuna or leporinus, (the nastiest & toughest available), and I would have chosen a Cichlosoma or Amphilophus rather than a GT. A 120 is pretty small for festae, but who knows? Stranger things have been done successfully. (I have no 'big cichlid' experience)
BTW, keeping your tank a little cooler than it should be will do wonders for keeping down aggression, although it might make your fish less colorful/active, and will almost certainly eliminate any chance you might have of anything spawning.

 

[Cichlids621]

Boesmanni rainbows, Red rainbows, giant danios, Black Skirt tetras, Scissortail rasboras, Some people even use calm mbuna, like labidochromis caeruelous, and many others.
A festae is a real demon, I would personally try mbuna or leporinus, (the nastiest & toughest available), and I would have chosen a Cichlosoma or Amphilophus rather than a GT. A 120 is pretty small for festae, but who knows? Stranger things have been done successfully. (I have no 'big cichlid' experience)
BTW, keeping your tank a little cooler than it should be will do wonders for keeping down aggression, although it might make your fish less colorful/active, and will almost certainly eliminate any chance you might have of anything spawning.

Boesmanni rainbows, Red rainbows, giant danios, Black Skirt tetras, Scissortail rasboras, Some people even use calm mbuna, like labidochromis caeruelous, and many others.
A festae is a real demon, I would personally try mbuna or leporinus, (the nastiest & toughest available), and I would have chosen a Cichlosoma or Amphilophus rather than a GT. A 120 is pretty small for festae, but who knows? Stranger things have been done successfully. (I have no 'big cichlid' experience)
BTW, keeping your tank a little cooler than it should be will do wonders for keeping down aggression, although it might make your fish less colorful/active, and will almost certainly eliminate any chance you might have of anything spawning.

Boesmanni rainbows, Red rainbows, giant danios, Black Skirt tetras, Scissortail rasboras, Some people even use calm mbuna, like labidochromis caeruelous, and many others.
A festae is a real demon, I would personally try mbuna or leporinus, (the nastiest & toughest available), and I would have chosen a Cichlosoma or Amphilophus rather than a GT. A 120 is pretty small for festae, but who knows? Stranger things have been done successfully. (I have no 'big cichlid' experience)
BTW, keeping your tank a little cooler than it should be will do wonders for keeping down aggression, although it might make your fish less colorful/active, and will almost certainly eliminate any chance you might have of anything spawning.

Thank you for the help I do believe the 120 will work for the festae considering it's a female

 

[RD.]

Female or not, if she becomes hyper dominant in that set up she has the potential to lay an ass whooping on everything in her path. This is where the luck of the draw in individual behaviours will come into play. And I would not recommend Mbuna, the more aggro species that will be able to withstand the aggression, are also the species most prone to stress induced gastrointestinal issues, such as bloat. (Spironucleus aka Hexamita) All it takes is one fish to be overcome and you will have opened the door to illness & disease in your tank. I have experience with both Africans, and large cichlids. Just sayin .....

 

[Cichlids621]

Female or not, if she becomes hyper dominant in that set up she has the potential to lay an ass whooping on everything in her path. This is where the luck of the draw in individual behaviours will come into play. And I would not recommend Mbuna, the more aggro species that will be able to withstand the aggression, are also the species most prone to stress induced gastrointestinal issues, such as bloat. (Spironucleus aka Hexamita) All it takes is one fish to be overcome and you will have opened the door to illness & disease in your tank. I have experience with both Africans, and large cichlids. Just sayin .....

Ok I guess I will just have to wait and see as of now the green terror is the more dominant one but I understand red terrors get way more aggressive as they get older. Thanks for the advice

 

[Rocksor]

Female festae are really mean. IME, when they want to breed, they will "test" out potential mates, even other species. What I mean by "test" is that will put an arse whooping to see if the males are good enough. I had a 9" F1 female destroy a wild caught 12" oscar, who died a few days later, injury a same size male peacock bass to the point of swimming bladder issues, and shred a same size male GT. The only fish capable of holding their own against her is my female 12" Atabapo pike and a 12" male jag. They both have twice the mass of her, and she knows not to even mess with them. This was all in an 8 foot tank.

 

[duanes]

Not only "pet fish", every year Lake Gatin has a number of Peacock Bass jamborees (they are invasive here, and nearly brought many of the endemic populations dangerously low in the lake) and they make a great fish fry.

But back on the subject, notice the normal size differential between same age male and female festae. Tells you something about how tough little females can hold their own against much large cichlids.