I think dither fish are a very important part of a cichlid tank so I decided to make a thread about it. Post the dither that you think is best for larger cichlids.
Best Dither Fish
- Thread starter carsonrm01
- Start date
I'm just starting to look at 2 of my tanks as "cichlid" tanks as I've merely adjusted the decor a bit and made the water harder for the fish I've placed in them based mostly on color, temperament and personality. Elvis the flowerhorn is in a 55 long with 2 pictus cats, 2 6" common plecos and a red tail shark who avoid him like the plague but he tolerates them. The other is a 50 tall with 2 baby blood parrots, a baby electric yellow lab and a baby socolofi. All have their own territory buy play and eat together with the serpia tetras and small yoyo loaches. While not "dither fish" as I understand that to mean, if they get eaten, I'm not too upset.
A lot of people will tell you silver dollars. Personally I'm over silver dollars and so Im trying to use geophagus as dithers for my smaller tank. They seem to be working great considering my baby bass will swim and sit in my hand underwater now whereas before theyd only eat if I stepped back from the tank.
I was thinking about silver dollars for elvis' tank but figured he'd catch them easily. Maybe I'll rethink. They would add a bit of flash to the tank and might be able to avoid him if I redo the bamboo. Hmm.....
What dither would you recommend on this website?
| Geophagus | sp. “Red Head Tapajos” |
IMO flowerhorn are happier when kept solo or as a pair. Males will most likely harrass any peaceful fish you try to keep with them besides plecos, and any larger fish will make them feel stressed.
The best dithers for most cichlids are other cichlids with enough jaw strength to defend against lip locking. I tried to keep Oscars and other more peaceful cichlids in an aggressive community and have sadly seen their faces literally ripped off. Silver dollars work better for slower fish like catfish but might work in some cichlid communities.
The best dithers for most cichlids are other cichlids with enough jaw strength to defend against lip locking. I tried to keep Oscars and other more peaceful cichlids in an aggressive community and have sadly seen their faces literally ripped off. Silver dollars work better for slower fish like catfish but might work in some cichlid communities.
This is so funny to see. I just bought 3 of these to go with my baby oscar and severum, and I bought them from The Wet Spot. They are really great looking fish! All the fish are new the past week so I don't have any idea how they will get along but they look great together...
Dither fish are fish (usually smaller non-centerpiece fish) that make the larger fish feel comfortable by swimming around happily. People usually use fish that are not shy and are quick-moving. To me, other cichlids in the tank are usually not dither fish, they would be "target fish: if their purpose is to distract aggression and they are large enough for the main fish to see as a threat.
Personally I decide what the dither fish will be for cichlids based on region. If the cichlids are central american, I go with livebearers like the common molly, swordtail, or platy, even the less common goodeids. If the cichlids are from south america, tetras for smaller tanks and silver dollars for 100g+ tanks. Plenty of other SA oddball characins that could be used in larger tanks as well.
Most African cichlids really don't require dithers, I have yet to meet a shy mbuna when stocked properly with a bunch of it's buddies in a large enough tank. When kept singly or in small numbers of other species, they tend to be shy, but instead of adding other dither fish, I would get more of the same type of mbuna, because they prefer to live in conspecific groups. Perhaps for fish like frontosa, smaller cichlids could be effective dithers.
carsonrm01
tell us about your setup (tank size, stock) and we would be able to recommend a dither. Without that info, recommending anything is just shooting in the wind.
Personally I decide what the dither fish will be for cichlids based on region. If the cichlids are central american, I go with livebearers like the common molly, swordtail, or platy, even the less common goodeids. If the cichlids are from south america, tetras for smaller tanks and silver dollars for 100g+ tanks. Plenty of other SA oddball characins that could be used in larger tanks as well.
Most African cichlids really don't require dithers, I have yet to meet a shy mbuna when stocked properly with a bunch of it's buddies in a large enough tank. When kept singly or in small numbers of other species, they tend to be shy, but instead of adding other dither fish, I would get more of the same type of mbuna, because they prefer to live in conspecific groups. Perhaps for fish like frontosa, smaller cichlids could be effective dithers.
carsonrm01
tell us about your setup (tank size, stock) and we would be able to recommend a dither. Without that info, recommending anything is just shooting in the wind.
Last edited:
