Lets hide with the bigger fish!

[Riftlaw88]

I set up a tank with an Apistogramma cockatoo dwarf cichlid. I wanted dither-fish for him and thought I would try these cute little CPDs. I got eight of them two weeks ago. The tank has a few small plants and a large piece of driftwood. I wanted their swimming to encourage the apisto to come out of hiding more often; instead, the CPDs hide behind the driftwood in the same spot the apisto does lol. He doesn’t mind them, but I want them to be his dither-fish, not his hiding buddies.

Do CPDs normally hide a lot? I hardly see them unless I peek over the driftwood which only gives me a top-down view.
Is there a way to encourage them to swim around the tank more?

[BallAquatics]

Hi Riftlaw88, welcome to the forum!

It sounds like you need some dither-fish for your dither-fish. CPD’s are normally very timid. Sometimes, if you provide them with enough cover they will feel safer and become a bit bolder…. sometimes.

Dennis

[isaisbreetai]

I find the more plants there are the more they move around. That being said I wouldn’t say that mine are very bold, they still flee if something gets close to the tank unless there is food in the tank

[Riftlaw88]

Thanks for the welcome. I was surprised to find this forum focused on these little fish.

I will add more plants to the tank, but I want to try something more. I can either slightly increase their school, or add a small school of something else in the tank. What would you do in my place if you had this problem?

I almost never see them. They didn’t seem so timid in the store. I researched their natural environment and requirements before buying them, but I forgot to look up their behavior. I figured Danio = bold and active, but I guess not. I put a school of timid fish in with a timid fish *big sigh*.

[BallAquatics]

@Riftlaw88 wrote:

What would you do in my place if you had this problem?

Well that’s a tough one.

If tank size permits, I’d probably add 8 other small danios. D. tinwini or D. nigrofasciatus would both be good choices. They are both small at around 1.5 inches, they are both out going by nature but not to the point of being rowdy like many other danios.

Danio nigrofasciatus (Dwarf Spotted Danio / Cheetah Danio)

Danio tinwini (Gold Ring Danio / Bago Danio / Burma Danio)

Dennis

[Riftlaw88]

Those are some neat looking danios. I don’t see those at any of the LFSs here in southern California. I have some things to think about I guess. Thanks for the info

[mostlydave]

I recently added some new CPDs (Thanks Dennis!!) to a 20 long with 2 big pieces of driftwood and some java moss, its been about a week and they are very timid as described above. Will these fish breed in a smaller breeding setup, or should I try to get them acting a little bolder first?

[BallAquatics]

@mostlydave wrote:

I recently added some new CPDs (Thanks Dennis!!) to a 20 long with 2 big pieces of driftwood and some java moss, its been about a week and they are very timid as described above. Will these fish breed in a smaller breeding setup, or should I try to get them acting a little bolder first?

Hi Dave,

If they are in spawning condition they will spawn in any size tank. Also, just because they are timid, don’t think they won’t spawn. Most of my breeders hide in the moss when I working with the tank… unless it’s feeding time!

In my opinion, they feel more at easy in a smaller environment. Of course if you put 50 or 60 in a 20 gallon long they will be far more out-going than 10 fish in the same size tank. They find strength in numbers.

Dennis

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