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I have a 46 gallon bowfront which is going to be planted for a pair of DD Black Angelfish. Curious as to what you think makes a better ditherfish. I was going to go with Harlequinn Rasboras, but I am open to suggestions or comments. I dunno if a full grown angelfish can make a snack out of rasboras, though they seem a lil' big for eatin'.

Dither fish for Angels?

Check out the reputation of Columbian Blue Red Tetras with respect to fin nipping (I haven't heard of them being particularly nippy) as these are easily large enough when grown not to be lunch for the Angels. Moreover, the colour contrast will be a nice one.

Cardinals and Rummy Nosed Tetras are also good choices.

I'd hesitate to put Lemon Tetras in there because while they're not actually 'nippy' as such, they can get boisterous with each other, particularly once the males start 'jousting' to impress the females prior to mating, and the hectic Lemon Tetra chase scenes during spawning might upset the Angels somewhat. If you're looking for a relatively sedate dither fish that's big enough not to be eaten, any Tetra 2 inches SL or above that isn't excluded on the grounds of fin nipping (which means you DO NOT use Serpaes or Red Eyes!) should fit the bill nicely. Bleeding Heart Tetras are DEFINITELY big enough to avoid being eaten at 3 inches fully grown, but that limits your stocking options in a 46 to the Angels, a shoal of Bleeding Hearts, and possibly 6 Bronze Corys. If you want them to grow to a decent size, that's your stocking limit.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

some emperor's sound nice. personally I had 6 serpae's in my 55 with 2 angels with very little trouble, but there were a couple of times my angles fins looked a little nipped but not often.


chris