African Butterfly Fish

FishLoverForever

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 14, 2014
34
0
6
USA
HI Everyone. Today I went to my LFS and saw a cool looking fish. It was a African Butterfly. I do have some info on them and that are aggressive towards some other fish. My question is what do you all think would be some good fish to pair with this great looking fish? I have only a 25 Gal tank . Beginner here :)
 

Ninjouzata

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 13, 2013
313
2
18
Georgia, USA
Nothing that will nip at it, and nothing that will fit in it's mouth.
I know that you're asking for specific fish but I don't have any that immediately come to mind right now. ><
 

Pomatomus

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 7, 2009
1,691
162
81
Sarasota, FL
They aren't exactly aggressive, but they can potentially get territorial with other fish that live at the surface (e.g. killis, archerfish, etc...)

I kept mine in a community tank with angelfish, rainbowfish, catfish, gobies, etc...

Just be warned: they are excellent jumpers. I had mine for 2 years before he found the small slit between my lid and the HOB filter. Make sure to cover up any openings!
 

KyleMoher

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 7, 2014
14
0
0
Canada
I second the great jumpers, but disagree with the "Not exactly aggressive". Mine are mean mofo's.

Do not put anything that can fit in their mouth that will swim near the top. They're top dwellers and will devour it. I had 6. One "disappeared", two died during a power outage when I was not home. The other 3 are fine. They're amazing fish. They'll stick near the top, ensure you have a solid lid with few holes. I've a Aquaclear 110 HOB filter on their tank so the spray off that is enough to keep them from jumping out there but with a smaller filter it might be worse.

On the aggressive level - they'll kill anything they can and eat it. They'll eat flaked food too though (Mine eat anything, flake, frozen, live). I bought some Hujuta Gar to go with them - don't do that. Mine were ~3-4", and they just snapped them in the middle and slowly devoured them, despite the fake the Hujuta's were 1-2" larger.

On the other hand, fish I've kept with them and had no problem with are:

Five banded barbs, cherry barbs, tiger barbs, platnium barbs, odessa barbs, panda barbs, clown loaches, yoyo loaches, some unknown loach I got from eggs that were on a plant from my LFS, rainbow shark, ropefish, multitude of different plecos, cory cats, upside down cats, some mystery cat, both black and white skirt tetras, banded leporinus, raphael cats, ghost knives, and leaf fish. Edit: Angels are safe too.

So summed up, pretty much any fish that is middle to bottom dwelling or much larger than them. They don't look it but they're surprising fast fish as well so don't get a top-dwelling fish that you think could outrun it - odds are it can't. Their jaws drop down, so don't take what you see for their mouth as how big their mouth is.

Side note - their nips hurt!
 

Ninjouzata

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 13, 2013
313
2
18
Georgia, USA
So glad to read more on them from someone whose had 'em!
I wondered how their nips would feel. Do they just sit in place a lot or do they swim around once they're comfortable?

My fiance and father always say at the LFS "Why isn't it moving?" "Is it dead?" -.-
 

mikec707

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 9, 2009
591
0
0
santa rosa
www.youtube.com
They are not active swimmer but the will move around the top of the tank. They like floating plants or anything else near the surface they can hide under or behind.
 

FishLoverForever

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 14, 2014
34
0
6
USA
Thank you for the detailed info. I cant wait for the tank to cycle. Again thank you very much. Note to self.. Keep tight cover and keep fingers out!
 
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