Dither Fish

[jjshreve]

Help! Husband is deployed and I need input!

40G Breeder

1 Desjardini Tang (tiny)
1 Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
1 Royal Gramma
1 Springeri Dottyback

Everyone hides! I need some dither fish and am getting absolutely no help from any books or fish stores. I really want to stay away from Chromises...any ideas?

Previously I had a Yellow Tang, a Foxface, Springeri Dottyback, a pair of black percs, Spotted Hawk, Sixline Wrasse, Coral Beauty, Lawnmower Blenny, and a Firefish. But then we moved from VA to WA and we're starting over. My clowns got too territorial so they've got their own tank now.

 

[oskew411]

ok it's a 40 gallon? before I saw that I was thinking anthias. dispars are excellent. love them. but now that you say it's a 40 gallon... really limits your choices in the sense of schools... let's see what other humans say. if not, ask the fish. they should know =]

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Are you sure things are OK in there? Often times fish will go into hiding when something is wrong with their environment. I would test all aspects of the tank.

Something else to consider is that Royal Gramma and Dottybacks arent really open water swimming fish- hiding 3-4 of the time is pretty normal. I would also wonder if the dottyback might be harassing the fairy wrasse- in such a small space it wouldnt surprise me. That could lead to your wrasse hiding too.

Youve got enough fish in that tank that you shouldnt need a dither (and honestly, in a tank that small its going to be very difficult to find a suitable dither fish anyhow). I would suspect something is going on in the aquarium thats causing them all to hide..

 

[Bax]

I'd loose the dottyback, it is most likely the harasser of the other fish, keeping everyone in hiding. As mentioned already both the dottyback & gramma are pretty secretive. But some dottybacks are just mean particularly to similar body shapes. An orchid Dottyback might be a better choice

 

[jjshreve]

Everything is testing great. And I do water changes on a regular basis.

The wrasse was in the tank before the dottyback and no one is chases anyone.

I'll just give them more time. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[dvmsn]

I would also lose the dottyback. If you do, firefish are great dither fish. Just watch for jumping.

 

[Chibils]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12622172#post12622172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dvmsn
I would also lose the dottyback. If you do, firefish are great dither fish. Just watch for jumping.

+1, but only if you lose the dottyback. Firefish are incredibly shy.

 

[jjshreve]

I think maybe all I had to do was ask about other fish because today as I am sitting here looking at the tank, they are all out and about!! Damn crazy fish. Thanks for all your help!

:rollface:

 

[boomsticks]

And don't keep a snowflake morays with either grammas or any sort of Firefish! They apparently have a taste for small, fast, supposedly fish that can "outswim" eels....yeah right.