Hey everyone. I just got a new monster. 1.5 inch butti.. I was planning on keeping him solo which I guess is the best thing to do to avoid fish murder. I was curious though if anyone has had success with african featherfin catfish? I guess anything really to help clean the tank.. Also, in my research I have seen alot of mixed answers as far as tankmates for buttis... the most common answers beside solo are Mbunas or large sa/ca cichlids.. I know it also depends on the personality of my butti which is hard to measure at his size but i did notice the first time i saw him in the store he had an area to himself where he was chasing away mbunas larger than him.. 2nd day he claimed a shell to himself. so he looks to be on the aggressive side already. If i did add mbunas, should i add larger ones into a tank before adding him? or smaller ones he feels arent competition?
Buttikoferi cleaning "buddies" ?
- Thread starter spazmattik
- Start date
Depends on size of the tank..the more space then you can try and has better chance of success. Wouldn't bother though for long term purposes if the tank is under 6'.
They do great in mixed tanks - in my experience, past and present. Dominant males can get rough, so be prepared to separate.
I never got lucky with them when mixing them with catfish.
Mixing was tough.
The trick in my experience is butti's will leave a fish alone if it is NOT a threat(a challenge). They are okay if kept with smaller fish like dithers such as mbunas.
I have had butti's murder plecos and other slow moving fish. The plecos were flat as a pancake, the pressure in their bites are impressive.
Good Luck, butti's are by far my favorite fish. They are full of personality, just don't trust them....they have an evil side to them.
Mixing was tough.
The trick in my experience is butti's will leave a fish alone if it is NOT a threat(a challenge). They are okay if kept with smaller fish like dithers such as mbunas.
I have had butti's murder plecos and other slow moving fish. The plecos were flat as a pancake, the pressure in their bites are impressive.
Good Luck, butti's are by far my favorite fish. They are full of personality, just don't trust them....they have an evil side to them.
Thanks guys. I found a synodontis Vallentiano that is a little longer than the butti for 10 bucks and decided to try it. (avoided the plecos all together after your story and others) immediately after putting him in the butti was somewhat relentless toward him and i thought after watching a few minutes i was going to have to pull him back out. They calmed down though for the most part and almost seemed like they were playing back and forth a little bit. (or juvi fighting?? lol) he survived overnight and the butti only goes after him now when he tries to go into the 2 little rock cutouts that the butti has already claimed. So... so far so good.
Have any of you had real aggression issues with juvis? I though juvis were suppose to be more docile till they hit that 4-5 inch marker. Reason i am asking is because i finally found a place that could get me a grammode cichlid and it should be in tomorrow. I am wondering if i can keep him with the butti just for a month (depending on the size i pick up..) or if i have to rehome my beta into a critter keeper for a month.. (till i move and they all get their own tanks) I guess my real question is, are buttis more aggressive than standard juvis?
Have any of you had real aggression issues with juvis? I though juvis were suppose to be more docile till they hit that 4-5 inch marker. Reason i am asking is because i finally found a place that could get me a grammode cichlid and it should be in tomorrow. I am wondering if i can keep him with the butti just for a month (depending on the size i pick up..) or if i have to rehome my beta into a critter keeper for a month.. (till i move and they all get their own tanks) I guess my real question is, are buttis more aggressive than standard juvis?
Just a update... the grammode did not work... within about 14 seconds of being introduced (even though they are juveniles, and i rearranged and added decorations) the butti wanted to find out who was toughest. So i pulled the grammode, no biggie. They are going to be species only tanks anyway. so i think my butti already has a very serious attitude at 1.5 inches.. and they are suppose to get worse?? lol
On another note, he tolerates the catfish still unless it is feeding time.
On another note, he tolerates the catfish still unless it is feeding time.
I have a Butti that is about 6-7" right now and he shares his tank with 6 yellow labs, 1 jewel, and 5 serpae tetras lol. Noone is suffering any damage and they have been together for months. I can't guarantee this will work long term, but I moved him out of the big tank where he was abusing a similar sized texas and beginning to try my larger oscar. I believe that if they don't feel a fish is a threat they dont look to fight. its amazing watching him swim around the tank though. Its like a shark on the discovery channel, everything in his path moves, schools separate, fish dive for cover, and he couldn't be paying them any less attention lol. Great fish