tank mates for a butti

[cornbread_5]

I think my mother is finally going to let me set up my 180 gal. tank . In my overstocked 55 gal , i have a 6 inch butti , 5 inch red devil or midas , a pleco, and a 4 inch pike cichlid . my question is will they be alright in the 180 gal and can i add more tankmates and does anybody know any tough cat fishes that will hold there own in an aggressive tank.

 

[Polypterus Senegalus]

red tail cats. asian red tail cats. tiger shovel nose. they will all outgrow the tank but they should do fine for a while. butti is gonna be a problem. meaaannnn fish! beware!

 

[cornbread_5]

i know it means and love it , i want something thats not going to out grow a 180 gal

 

[oii]

I would'nt get anything else but those fish should work in there for awhile. Just make sure you have atleast a 60g set up on the side incase something does go wrong. I've heard that buttis aren't always mean either, I have a small one thats really nice but he hasn't matured yet. I'm assuming if they are all growing up together you'll have a better chance of keeping them togtether when they are full grown. You might be able to pull off maybe 1-2 more smaller fish, like jd's or something. Just make sure you don't keep anything thats going to breed, once 2 fish breed they'll destroy the rest of their tank mates.

 

[Rockbass6]

Maybe a good sized knife fish.. with some hiding places you should be ok for a few years!

 

[sicxspeed]

Yes, you can add a few more equal temperment, equal size fish in there. You only have three fish so far, another 4 would be alright in a 180, plus a bottom dweller or two.....Count out the TSN, RTC and ARTC for size, plus once they get to large, your fish will be fish food.....Stick with something that reaches around 14-18 inches in length, maybe less. Butti's get huge though and they are mean, but the red devil and depending on what type of pike you have, should be fine.

You can try some Parachromis species.....Motaguense, Managuense......wouldnt really recommend Dovii because of temperment, maybe another Pike would work, again, depending on what you have now, just make sure there is enough hiding spaces......A lugubris species would look nice in there, like a cobra or cincta.

 

[cornbread_5]

The one thing i have none about buttis or at least the ones that i have kept is that will not eat feeders. They do not even bother feeders. They last dozen feeders , i have bought there is one still in there and they only reason that the other ones are gone is because my pike picked them off. My red devil doesn;t even eat feeders either. So from what i have not noticed is that buttis do not bother feeder is because they do not pose a threat. i have also read the buttis are ominovores but mostly like veggies. So real small fish should be alright with them and real not be bothered. i mean real small , i would not try jewel or dwarf cichlids. i would try something like neon tertas or something of that nature. I think that what make a nice tank because tertas are a beautiful fish

 

[rickson]

too small for the butti he will fight with the rd untill one of the is dead.
frome my own experience.

 

[sicxspeed]

Buttis do not eat feeders often because they naturally are not predators....neither is your Red Devil. In the 180 gallon tank, you red devil and Butti would have a very hard time catching feeders because that is not what they are meant to do. They are opportunistic Obnivors and the Butties need vegis in there diet to remain healthy, so does the Red Devil.

The Pike on the other hand is a born and bred predator and will actively hunt and/or ambush prey. They are carnivores of the first order and any vegi matter in there system is from the stomach of their prey.

Umm about saying real small fish will be fine with Butti's. That's not really true, they are very territorial and will kill smaller, weaker tank mates.

 

[misplacedsooner]

my 15 incher is aggressive as hell but lazy, if he cant catch it in the first hour or so he gives up. i have honduran red points in with him, jusy make sure to have hideing places.