South American Dither Fish

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Big Fish in a Small Pond
Apr 19, 2008
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Madison, WI
Still looking ahead at stocking my 36 gallon bow front... which we've settled on having as a south american community, with 1 Angelfish, 1 Ram (German blue probably, thoughts on Bolivian?), 6 peppered corydoras, 4 ottos, and a school of small dither fish (6-7 of them that won't overload my tank considering the others)... which is where I'm at a little bit of a loss.

I've been considering going with 6 Lemon Tetras, 7 Glolight Tetras, or 7 Von Rio Tetras... but I've been getting some conflicting responses/information on whether any of these would be good choices. We'd really like something that'll stand out against our natural colored gravel and small red slate caves, as well as the driftwood and light/moderate (silk) plants I'm planning on buying in the next couple days-after figuring out what kinds I should get to make the dither fish happy. I've already planned on buying some val., amazon sword, and bacopa, and a couple other types of south american fake plants to put around the edges.

I plan on keeping the water around 81*, and have a high pH around 8-8.2... that coupled with the fact that I'm still quite new at all this has me looking for only relatively hardy fish. I am currently and plan on continuing to test and do 50% pwc with thorough gravel vacuuming every weekend... so I should be able to keep relatively good water parameters.

With all that in mind, what are some good dither fish I should consider, or silk plants that I might check out for "authentic" decoration and hiding?

Sidenote... my python should arrive Tuesday! I have no problems lifting or carrying it, but I'm tired of the monotony of hauling a 10 gallon rubbermaid bin of water around- it hasn't been fun doing 2 pwc a day while trying to get rid of the ich I've been blessed with.
 
Have you considered rasboras? I love the harlequins and the brilliant rasboras are just lovely.

Marinemom
 
Marinemom said:
Have you considered rasboras? I love the harlequins and the brilliant rasboras are just lovely.

Marinemom
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I really did want to go with 7 harlequin rasboras since I first learned about the benefit of having dither fish with angels... but I've decided I want to stick with S. American fish. I don't know anything about the brilliant rasbora, but am guessing it too is asian :(
 
What do you mean by dither fish? If you're referring to a school of fish I'd recommend harlequin rasboras. They're a hardy fish and they school nicely. They colour up beautifully after they settle in. This is one fish that looks exactly like the pics you'll find on the internet. They look washed out at the store but in the tank they're gorgeous. I have mine in a community of non aggressive fish.

As for the rams. I've never had luck with store bought german blue rams. They live for awhile and will die for no apparent reason. I may try them again but I'll get them tank bred from someone local. I wouldn't recommend them as a beginner fish and I think they'd do better in an established tank. Bolivians are supposed to be a hardier fish. I've never kept them though.
 
leighasnana said:
What do you mean by dither fish? If you're referring to a school of fish I'd recommend harlequin rasboras. They're a hardy fish and they school nicely. They colour up beautifully after they settle in. This is one fish that looks exactly like the pics you'll find on the internet. They look washed out at the store but in the tank they're gorgeous. I have mine in a community of non aggressive fish.

As for the rams. I've never had luck with store bought german blue rams. They live for awhile and will die for no apparent reason. I may try them again but I'll get them tank bred from someone local. I wouldn't recommend them as a beginner fish and I think they'd do better in an established tank. Bolivians are supposed to be a hardier fish. I've never kept them though.
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By dither fish I meant something peaceful and relatively active, to keep my angelfish feeling more secure and less like hiding all day.

Yeah I do worry a bit about keeping a GBR, but I'm willing to give it a try in no small part because one of my lfs does occasionally get some in that are tank-bred here.
 
I have glowlight tetras and black neon tetras, and they're both great. The glowlights are really pretty.
 
rummynose or black neon tetras
 
What would be the benefits between the lemons or the rummy nose? From what I've seen neither are especially colorful... though I've only seen them overstocked at my lfs here. Either of them more active, or stand out better against a natural background?
 
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