What is Dither fish?
'''Dither fish''' are [[aquarium]] fish used by [[cichlid]] owners to make some [[species]] of [[cichlids]] less afraid.<ref>Barlow G.W. 1968. Dither--a way to reduce undesirable fright behavior in ethological studies. ''Z. Tierpsychol''. '''25''':315-318.</ref> Dither fish usually swim around the top of a fish tank. This [[animal behaviour|behavior]] makes afraid fish less afraid. Fish that are not afraid hide less. The scared fish think (correctly) that no [[Predation|predators]] are in the tank. The technique is based on the ability of cichlids in an aquarium to use the behaviour of other fish species as a sign that the place they are in is safe.<ref>Loiselle P.V. 1979. On dither fish. ''Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine'' November:30-34, 76-79 (also [http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=42 online]).</ref> Good dither fish are usually [[schooling]] species, such as some ''[[Danio]]'' species, [[Barb (fish)|barbs]] and some [[tetra]] species. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Ethology]] [[Category:Aquarium fish]]