Dither fish that are safe for Apistogramma fries

[EvolutionZ]

hi guys.. as im aquaring my 1 female and 1 pair of apisto for both my 2ft and 1ft cube tank soon.
would like to ask what small fishes will not eat the apisto fries? i guess you guys don't remove your dither fish when your female guarding the egg right?
so far a bro told me boraras brigrittae wont eat apisto fries..
anymore?

thanks

[raymond]

hi evo,

My guess is that if the dither fish get too close to the female and the group of apisto fries, most likely the female apisto and maybe even the male apisto will make sure they never live to survive another day. haha

[EvolutionZ]

its true though.. but you never know if some fries decided to scatter away from the group and ended up in the dither fish stomach.

[trident]

Evo,
It's better to remove dithers when your apisto breed,
gives you a peace of mind.
I removed all dithers when my caca breed.

[EvolutionZ]

wont the female freak out and eat the eggs when your net go down the water and try to catch the dithers?

[trident]

That's what I thought happened after I removed the dithers and next day the fries disappear.

[illumnae]

i have found boraras, hatchetfish and pencilfish to be fry safe

[CacaManiac]

my thought is that if i were in a tank with some fry... if i get the chance, i wouldnt mind snagging a juicy little fish baby for a snack

[doppelbanddwarf]

I had no problems with removing the dither fish, but if you really want dither fish I think illumnae's options should be quite safe.

However as CaCaManiac pointed out, live food is always appreciated.

[EvolutionZ]

was wondering how do you guys remove the dithers when your female started guarding the eggs?

[doppelbanddwarf]

Eh put a net in and scoop the dithers out? I removed the male and the dithers.

[doppelbanddwarf]

Oops forgot to point out, the female did try to attack the net.

[genes]

CacaManiac is spot on! And I think i have mentioned this in other threads before.

ALL dither fishes eat fries. Especially when they are just free swimming. Be it the small boraras or the surface hatchets, as long as they get the chance or if a fry decided to stray away from the mother without her noticing, they will end up as food.

Remove dithers once you get free swimming fries.

[EvolutionZ]

yea of course i know put a net in and scoop.. but im worried that the female will eat the eggs when the nets go swinging around the tank..

CacaManiac is spot on! And I think i have mentioned this in other threads before.

ALL dither fishes eat fries. Especially when they are just free swimming. Be it the small boraras or the surface hatchets, as long as they get the chance or if a fry decided to stray away from the mother without her noticing, they will end up as food.

Remove dithers once you get free swimming fries.

hmm.. you got a point there... even mount cannot fit, i guess the fish will try to take a bite. maybe we can use food to lure the dithers into the net?

[illumnae]

dithers can be caught with a fast hand a much patience. just wait till they wander near the surface and scoop away. i've seen tetras eat my fry, but so far the options i've mentioned have left the fry well alone, possibly because they can't match up to the female guarding her brood.

[yorky]

Why do you need dithers if you are planning to go into breeding your apistos?
Also IMHO, by introducing dithers or for that matter additional fishes, you are potentially exposing your precios apistos to diseases carried by additional fishes.
Especially wild caught dithers....

[EvolutionZ]

yorky : i always thought that dither fishes are there to spread the aggression of the apisto?

[yorky]

As far as I know, dithers are used to 'lure' the apistos to be less shy/skittish.

[EvolutionZ]

ohh.. but my male agasizzi has been in my 2ft tank for 2weeks with 20 other boraras and its still soooo shy until now...

[yorky]

Put another pair of Apistos in the tank.. your Aga sure come out. hehe.

I used to have dithers just for the fun of it. It didnt' do any difference too.
So these days I don't use dithers at all.