Good dither fish

[fluffy_sculpins]

Hello all - I have used zebra danios in the past as dither fish and they work well, but I want to try something new for this tank (40 gallon). I was wondering about Harlequin Rasboras as a possibilty and would also welcome any other recommendations.

The situation is that I have 3 Pearl Gouramis (1 M, 2 F) who did fine for the first year I had them, always out and about in the tank looking beautiful. Then one day they were terrorized by workmen in my home while I was at work. Now they hide all the time and because they are hiding all the Rummynoses (15) in the tank now hide also. I am hoping a new school of dither fish will help.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Flakes4Bait]

I think that the harlequin rasboras would work well as a dither fish. They are kinda cool looking too.
I'm surprised that the rummynoses are hiding too, they should almost be a dither themselves.

[abraham3660]

I have a school of brilliant rasboras and they are great. They are fun to watch and they have an awesome color!

[fluffy_sculpins]

Thanks for the advice. I think I will go with the harlequins as I have a good inexpensive source for them. I've always liked them. The brilliants are nice too - they remind me of White Clouds, though, and I have a tank of those.

As for the Rummynoses, yes, I am surprised they are hiding too - though they aren't as much as the pearls are. The rummynoses just stay toward the back of the tank more than half the time.

[rich311k]

How much cover is in the tank? Do they have plants to hide in when they feel threatened? Some floating plants will make the gouramis feel more comfortable.

[Excellence]

When you say dither, you mean fish that dart around?

In that case, rosy barbs -- longtails. They zip around and seem to be friendly in pairs or more. Nice body colour too.

My previous zebra danios just darted around nonstop, which could actually keep other fish in the sides to make room for them.

[Lady Hobbs]

I like rasbora's way better than danio's. There are several kinds. Not sure how workmen in your house terrorized your fish, tho. Sounds like something I've never heard of.

Re-do your tank. They are older now and perhaps like more cover and security.

[fluffy_sculpins]

Thanks for the continued recommendations.

The tank is actually well planted with lots of plants of all heights and lots of driftwood. Two thirds of the surface is covered with water lettuce most of which has 3 to 4 inch long roots (very pretty). I do not have a camera so I cannot post a picture. Sometimes I cannot see the Pearls in there at all because they are so well hidden. But thanks for the good suggestion.

What happened was this: Workmen were in my place and when they saw my tank, they began to rap on the glass. When they discovered that that caused the Pearls to panic and slam themselves against the glass and against the substrate trying to escape, they just kept doing it. They thought it was funny. Sick. This was told to me by one of them who tried to get the others to stop.

I actually had 3 females as well as the one male at the time, but one of the females hurt herself so badly when she hit the glass (I assume) that she could not swim right anymore - she couldn't get upright and was always on her side and struggling. I waited a week hoping she would recover and then couldn't stand to see her continuing to suffer, and I put her down. The other three were missing scales. For weeks afterwards, any large movement in the room, even across the room, caused them to panic again and go slamming around in there. I had to keep guests from walking on that side of the room for awhile. They are better now, but still so timid that it has affected the whole tank and my enjoyment of it.

I think the rasboras will be a nice contrast to the rummies, especially. But rosy barbs or cherry barbs are now possibilities. Are either of them nippy? I know tiger bards can be a problem that way.

Thanks again to all.