catfish and cowards

[catfishchaos]

My three lovely L306 I've talked about before (not that anybody replied lol) have all settled in nicely and are doing great. However it can be hard to tell because I rarely see them at all.. when I do see them in the open as soon as theres movement in the room there are 4 different dust clouds anywhere in the tank. They have lots of wood work to play around on (and in) and between the four pieces (2 mopani 2 Malaysian) there are at least 7 places for them to hide. I plan on adding more Malaysian drift wood to the tank to make more hiding places and add to the fallen log theme I'm going for in my tank. Is there any other way to increase there confidence besides adding more hides?

thanks in advance
James

[nvcichlids]

IMO the wood you are using isn't the best for them. Getting a soft wood like oak is the best. Try feeding them repashy's morning wood, mine love it. and they come out all the time. also add a dither fish to draw them out.

[catfishchaos]

define dither fish? does that mean more plecos cause that would be very good news lol

hmm I understand that the mopani isn't good for them but I thought that the Malaysian drift wood was enjoyed by plecos?

Also heres a pic of the set up



If you look closely you can see an L306 on the amazon sword farthest to the left.

[nvcichlids]

i find it strange that it is on the sword plant and that you say they are good algae eaters. Mine don't touch algae, except for sticks/wafers.

Dither fish are smaller schooling fish that have higher activity level. These fish will draw the attention away from the fish on the bottom, making them feel more comfortable (I think this is how it works?)

Dither fish that would be good for your tank: Tetras

[Bas Pels]

@ ditherfish

Many fish are, in nature, eaten by birds. Bottom dwellers are mostly unable to look for any birds, so they cannot estimate the risk they are taking, but they have anice solution:

If there are any bird around, fishes closer to the surface will disappear. That is, when the surface dwellers are swimming around, the birds are elsewhere, and the bottom dwellers are also safe

In a tank without thes surface dwellers, the bottom dwellers you are interested in will feel exposed, and therefore will need hiding

Another use of ditherfish, which does not apply here, is where agressive fish are around. Using fast dithers which the agressive ones are unable to keep up with, will provide harmless activity for the agressive fish without hurting each other

This is mostly done by cichlid keepers

[catfishchaos]

I have 17 blood fins and 7 lemons O__o maybe I should add those nine penguin tetras I've been debating? Or would marbled hatchets work better as they rare
Y stray from the surface?

Thanks

[catfishchaos]

i find it strange that it is on the sword plant and that you say they are good algae eaters. Mine don't touch algae, except for sticks/wafers.

Dither fish are smaller schooling fish that have higher activity level. These fish will draw the attention away from the fish on the bottom, making them feel more comfortable (I think this is how it works?)

Dither fish that would be good for your tank: Tetras

That's because there freaking clown plecos :'(

[nvcichlids]

even clown plecos (panaque maccus) are wood eaters.

[Scleropages]

You obviously have a nice school of dither fish. I would build up the driftwood piles more. Make them twice as big as they are now. If the Malaysian driftwood is dark and soft, it will be better for your plecos than the mopani pieces you currently have. Then, give the plecos a month or so to settle down in the aquarium.

[Jumpmaster]

@Bas Peas. In cichlid tanks they are also called target fish.

[catfishchaos]

Well they seem to more confident know (probably because theres some zuchinni) but im adding 10 penguin tetras to the scene and they are a top fish so we will see if that helps.

thanks guys, I'll keep you updated

[Richard B]

Just a quick little point...

'Target fish' & 'Dither fish' are not really the same

Dither fish are generally small peaceful shoaling fish added to a tank to make bottom dwelling fish feel more at ease

Target fish are generally fairly robust, fast moving fish added to be the focus of a slower moving fishes attention/aggrssion

[Jumpmaster]

Just a quick little point...

'Target fish' & 'Dither fish' are not really the same

Dither fish are generally small peaceful shoaling fish added to a tank to make bottom dwelling fish feel more at ease

Target fish are generally fairly robust, fast moving fish added to be the focus of a slower moving fishes attention/aggrssion

Correct, in nature when the dither fish are present it is a sign that there are no visible predators around. When they are missing other fish get nervous.

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