dither fish for a dempsey

beetlebz

I have a juvie dempsey, and ill be adding a Firemouth and maybe even a Severum or something similar. at any rate, ive always had good luck with keeping SA's with both danios and tiger barbs, but im wondering if you guys think either will be fast enough not to get eaten by the dempsey.

if neither of those, are there any fast movers that school, that would be able to survive the dempsey?

almost forgot, its a 110g

bettababy

I could suggest another fish species that may survive a dempsey in that sized tank for a period of time, but when that dempsey is full grown and mature, those other fish are still likely to disappear. I also would not mix this other species with the Firemouth or severums... so I hesitate to name it. (buenos aires tetras)

I will give this more thought, if I come up with another species name for you I will come back and post again. Its late now, so I may think of others after I've had some sleep.

1077

Giant danios and Tiger barbs are indeed quick but are sometimes lulled into false sense of security in a situation such as you describe (ie) Dempsey. The Dempsey ,if it wants to ,,is capable of moving quite quickly and could as adult,simply snap these fish up of an evening while they are resting near the surface.But of all the species I can think of, the ones mentioned would have the best chance of escaping.
I would add no less than a bakers dozen of the danios or barbs and would expect to lose a few if and when the dempsey reaches adult size. Would also not plan on trying to catch these fish from 110 gal tank. Would in my view be like trying to nail jelley to the wall.

Pasfur

Near adult size Silver Dollars, buy the dozen, or perhaps full size Clown Barbs.

1077

Oh yes! I have seen silver dollars (adult) and Tin foil barbs in 200 gallon tanks with numerous Cichlids. Clown barbs would be a consideration as well. I keep a dozen Blue Red columbian tetras in an 80 gal with an Electric Blue Dempsey but from my observations thus far,, the Electric Blue Dempsey (or at least the one I have),, is not nearly as grouchy as some of the Blue Green or (regular) Dempsey's have kept. The columbian Tetras may not get large enough not to be viewed as food for the Adult Dempsey. Firemouth and Severum should pose no threat to any of the fish mentioned if dithers are near adult size.8)

beetlebz

oooo i hadnt considered either of those pasfur, nor tinfoil barbs. thats some good thinking, though i dont have much room for them to grow out. im wondering if i can order some that are adult size. hrmm.

oh and i had tiger barbs and giant danios both in the 110g with severums, youre right. they were a NIGHTMARE to catch lol i gave up :)

bettababy

I would hesitate with the tinfoil barbs and silver dollars due to size. Adults are quite large... there would be no space in 110 gallons to put a dozen of either of those fish. Even the smaller species of silver dollars average about 6 - 8 inches around when adult. That would require a much larger tank.

1077

Bettababy, is spot on. A dozen of either the Tinfoil barbs,or the Silver dollars would be a bit much for 110 gal. Perhaps a half dozen might work. If the Dempsey is still under four inches, adult dithers might not be needed. Really, were it me, I would possibly go with a large group of the tiger barbs. Perhaps the green and albino variety, as well as the more traditional orange and black striped.
It may or may not work out in the long run depending on the particular cichlids, but such is the case with cichlids and choices for dither fish.

bettababy

A 1/2 dozen tinfoil barbs? Adult tinfoil barbs average 14 inches each.
A 1/2 dozen silver dollars? Adult silver dollars, depending on which species, average 6 - 12 inches each.

In a 110 gallon tank, that still isn't going to work.

beetlebz

i might go ahead and try barbs, id just feel bad if I led a dozen tiger barbs to their death! otoh, if i buy them from petco, i can sleep at night knowing that any that die, went quick, instead of wasting away dying of ich in petcos tiny tanks because noone will buy fish from petco lately lol

its all in how you look at it? or something like that :)