Good Dither Fish

I have a pair of German blue rams and three Cory’s in a twenty gallon tank. I am looking for a dither fish that will work really well for my ram pair. They are on edge and need other open water fish to distract them from their little chasing sessions. Does anyone have any suggestions? My LFS has zebra danio and neon tetra will either work? Will they eat the fry or eggs if my rams breed?

 

Zebra Danios would make a better dither fish. They stay small, school together and are really fast. Zebras are also a lot more durable than Neons.

 

I have a pair of German blue rams and three Cory’s in a twenty gallon tank. I am looking for a dither fish that will work really well for my ram pair. They are on edge and need other open water fish to distract them from their little chasing sessions. Does anyone have any suggestions? My LFS has zebra danio and neon tetra will either work? Will they eat the fry or eggs if my rams breed?

Ember Tetras are the way to go.

 

I was thinking about using them. But I have heard that they are really good at eating fry. The reason I need dither fish is because the rams are fighting and won’t stop to breed if the danios eat the fry it defeats the purpose.

 

Rummynose Tetras. Great dither fish and also look amazing. Very tight schoolers. I keep some in my community tank.

 

Both Rummynose and ember tetras are so beautiful! My LFS is closed now so I will call tomorrow and see if they have either. I don’t think they have them but I can see. I do know they have danios but I’m sure I can travel a little ways to find either ember or Rumynose tetras.

 

I would do cardinals or rummy nose .
The fish needs to be tolerant of 82+ for the rams IMO ..

 

Diamond tetras. There beautiful active and do well in 80-85 degrees.

 

Perfect! I think I will go with either rummynose or diamond tetras depending on what the store has. Thanks for everyone’s ideas and help.

 

Looks like the only dither fish my stores have are zebra danio, red eye tetra, and neon tetra. I was thinking maybe red eye? I would go with zebra danio but since I am trying to raise fry I don’t think they will work. Has anyone heard of red eye tetras as dither fish and would they work?

 

Of the 3 species you mentioned red eyes have the most temperature overlap. They do make good dither fish.

 

Another good aspect about Red Eye Tetras is they are primarily upper level swimmers.

 

Ok I will go with red eye. I am glad they will work as a dither fish to my GBR’s. I will try them before I try to special order anything. If there mid to upper water swimmers will they distract and stop the GBR chasing enough? GBRs are bottom dwelling. Will they interact and distract? Sorry for the questions. I like to know everything I can about a fish before I buy it.

 

Red Eye Tetras are great fish to keep. They won't bother your Rams, and I don't think the Rams will interact with the Red Eyes.
As for Ram aggression, there really is no need for concern unless injuries are occuring. Chasing & squabbling is just what Cichlids do. Make sure to construct an elevated, complex hardscape w/ several hiding spots. That usually helps dilute ( Not eliminate) aggression.

 

Thank you so much I will try redeye tetras. Thanks for everyone’s help.

 

I tried guppies. The Male ram ignored the guppies in most cases and continued his persuit of the female ram.