I got some of rapps' "rio guatape" Umbee which I believe are gorrilus blues a while back. I have four of them (3.5" to 5.5") in a 135 with a 6" Rio mag that I just recently added. I did have them with some midevil growouts until they passed the umbees in size and began increasing aggression and beating the Umbee off the food. That's when I pulled the midevils and added the Rio mag. My question is should I leave the 5 Umbee alone in the tank or add more dithers? Maybe some convicts or something else that isn't likely to be too aggressive? My ultimate goal is to get a pair out of the group. Would prefer for the gorillus to pair off but if the Rio mag pairs with one of them I would be happy too. I do think that's how they get the ultimate blues. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Dithers for Umbee growouts?
- Thread starter Beardogcichlids
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- dither fish grow out umbee
How big is the tank they're going in eventually? Tinfoil barbs get really big-the gold ones provide a decent contrast for blues and they don't breed like aquatic cockroaches. I wouldn't bother in a 135 with the dithers though. Just 1 full sized 20+ inch fish is going to look cramped...
From the 135 I plan on moving them to a 180 which although not permanent, should suffice for at least a couple more years. I know that they will eventually be needing a bigger home than that, but I'm pretty sure I'll be fine in the interim. Always looking to get more and bigger tanks and needing one to properly house my fish once they grow is as good of a reason as any to convince my better half its necessary. Would the barbs pick off all the fry if I get any breeding?
What barbs? What breeding? In a tank twice the size of your 180 you can start worrying about breeding HUGE cichlids. In a small tank real estate will be premium and worth fighting to the death over. (after they kill the barbs that get 16 inches) Dithers won't work if they don't have room to flee....I tried the whole -"but baby they need a bigger tank" scheme it didn't work for me and I had to sell my way too big fish on Craigslist. I had about a year to warm her up to the idea. Get the big tank soon- why risk the health of bucket list fish you bought from Rapps? They'll start getting nasty towards each other soon.
Why is it that you want to add dithers? Are the umbees hiding? Or perhaps to distract from inter-umbee aggression? I'd say you could certainly get away with some convict dithers in a 135 or 180 with them until the umbee's are big (and maybe even when they are - convicts are surprisingly badass) but if the umbee's are comfortable in the tank and you don't have fish getting singled out, I wouldn't bother
I was more concerned about spreading out the inter-umbee aggression until I could get a pair. I've also seen some pretty successful people keep dithers in with their breeding pairs to actually help promote spawning. Their thought behind it is that the pair bond grows stronger if they have a common enemy. The umbees, although somewhat shy, are still out enough to be enjoyable to watch.as of now nobody in particular is getting singled out, but I did lose what I believed were two males about 3 months ago so I'm a little nervous about losing more and maybe ending up with only a single specimen that turns blonde instead of blue. Thanks for your input. I've been considering adding some cons, but if the dynamic of the tank doesn't shift then I will let it be. The Rio mag seems to be the boss of the tank right now. It's a little more aggro than the gorillus, but doesn't seem interested in being mean, just the boss.
dithers or target fish when Umbee's are small are not really needed unless you have some nasty infighting going on now.. dont go the convict route they end up breeding like rabbits and they can be rather nasty defending a clutch . Even my Dovii tank was overun by convicts in time. I preferred filling the tank with terra cotta strawberry pots while growing out aggressive tank busters ..
Dithers are usually a term used for fish that remain in the open to allow shy fish to feel more comfortable. I think what you are describing is target fish, and since the best target fish are conspecifics, the other young umbees should work for the purpose of obtaining a strongly bonded pair. Pairing cichlids is not always pretty and losing a few of the ones you start with is common. Even with other cichlids present, your umbees would probably still seek each other out for the bulk of theiron aggression.
Thanks for the help. I've been keeping a close eye on the aggression and it hasn't seemed to get worse. I have noticed that the smallest gorrillus (which I think is male) has been hiding a lot more after the introduction of the Rio mag (which I also think is male). Fins seem no more nipped than when I removed the midevils and added the Rio mag so I'm not too worried. There are plenty of hiding spots so I do believe I will stand pat with the stocking for now. Glad to see what other's have been successful with to help guide my decisions. This is a whole different game than the African cichlids I've breed in the past. It's also a little more costly and time consuming as well so I want to get it right the first time.
