Dither fish in Frontosa tank

[Marz]

I have a colony of five, after almost 3 years they're still spending a lot of time in hiding, and when the timer turns on the light in the morning, ohhhh boy it's definitely not a "relaxing" scene to watch, they start panicking and hitting the rocks and the glass. I've heard about how dither fish can calm nervous fish and bring them out into swimming more freely. Any recommendation what would be the right dither fish as tank mates with Frontos?

.. or should I look for an LED light that illuminates and dims gradually?

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Can't say I have much practical experience, but go with something that is larger than the size of their mouths. Should also be mellow as frontosa are not aggressive and could be easily bullied.

 

[Marz]

Hmmm.. I thought there are specific types that they get along with them. I have Peacocks and Haps, but they're definitely not mellow.

 

[Leffler817]

I've seen people keep yellow labs or Neo. Leluepi with Fronts. They make great color contrasts with the Fronts and shouldn't fit into their mouths as adults. Both are commonly available too! Mark MarkK has nice Leluepi available. I've seen people keep those two fish with Fronts, but I do not know how successful the experiment went. Just for clarity.

Perhaps, Congo or some other adult tetra would work?

DON'T waste your money with any Cyprichromis species! Just because they're a top water column dweller, they ARE the right size for a Frontosa's mouth!

 

[Marz]

I googled, was not disappointed: http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/240g/fish/leleupi/

Now, how to get a hold of MarkK ? Thank you Shawn for the great tip.

 

[Wet Sleeves]

What is your Front tank like? Black/ blue backround? Black sand?

 

[Marz]

Black background and this CaribSea sand:

 

[Wet Sleeves]

Have you tried changing the backround to blue? As crazy as it sounds and even though the Front's are a deep water fish, it very well could help the "skittishness" of them. The Dither fish should help as well

 

[Marz]

Makes sense but unfortunately that's not an option, at least not any time soon. Thank you though.

 

[Leffler817]

That’s a nice looking tank there!!

Send Mark a private conversation or PM (as it’s formerly called). He usually has larger Leleupi available.

 

[Marz]

Just did.. thanks.

It is a nice tank, now I want black sand.. the Leleupi's yellow color stands out perfectly.

 

[Tangcollector]

Fronts are definitely gentle giants most of the time. I have had luck with a Pulcher or Brichardi but not a pair. Also a Nkambae but again just one. A cylindricus would work and I agree that Peacocks will work too. Good Luck