ber - 2010-09-24 I have only a 10 gal tank for now cause all my fish are still really little, and I plan to get a big tank soon so they all have their own areas... but I have an african butterflyfish, 2 red tailed sharks, 2 mini sucker fish, one reg sucker, my cute lil guppy, and my fave, my jack dempsey.. it's funny to watch them because, my lil jack hangs out with the bigger of the two red tailed shark, the guppy hangs out and follows the smaller red tailed shark, and the rest just kinda do their own thing..but the weirdest thing cause my red tail and my jack never leave each others side..they swim side by side, and act like the big bosses together? Weird right? It's funny cause they are so little! Is that normal for the two species?
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sub - 2011-08-13 Check your red tail for lost scales, jacks are very territorial it my look like it's following each other but they're nipping off scales from each other I have a jack and he does the same and I almost lost my sunshine peacock.
Scott Emberly - 2012-02-13 your jack will probly kill everything in your tank when he gets a bit olderhe will probly just swallow them whole if he dont tear them apart first
Alex Burleson - 2012-02-13 I regret to inform you, that as this aquarium, and its inhabitants mature, and grow, you will experience quite a few problems.
1. You will need an aquarium the size of 55+ gallons to accommodate all of the fish's growing needs. 2. Your Guppy, as the other fish grow, will be attacked, or perhaps eaten by one of the fish in the aquarium. 3. The 'sucker fish' could also be attacked by either the Butterfly Fish, or the Jack Dempsey.
As for fish 'hanging out' beside each other, this is normal behavior.
Good luck with your aquarium, and fish!
Pattie - 2012-03-31 I had a Jack Dempsey for years. He was my Favorite. You should move him into a very aggressive tank because he is or will become very aggressive. He will eat everything he can catch. He will get very large also. If you want to keep the butterfly, and the sharks move him. All so the if the suckers are Chinese Algae eaters. They are cool to but when they get big they to get aggressive and will suck the sides of the other fish and kill them. Do lots of reading on the fish you want to put together before you do. You could loose some nice fish. The sharks and guppies are in danger of becoming a meal of the others.
Jeremy Roche - 2012-03-31 Odder matches have happened. The first time the Jack gets hungry you may see the 'cute lil guppy' end up as food. Jack's do get very aggressive as they age. That is good that you are planning on upgrading your tank! Go with a 55 gallon tank or larger.
john - 2011-12-14 Hi, I want to set up my 20 gallon fish tank with 3 senegal bichirs and 2 of these guys. What would be a good price for one and just to let you all know a 20 gallon is the biggest tank I can have. The bichirs aren't an option thanks to my brother.
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ashley - 2012-03-23 20 gallons might be fine for two butterflies, but the bichirs are going to need something A LOT bigger than the tank you have once they reach their full size. The senegal bichir can grow to at least 16 inches in length if cared for properly. I only have one, but I'm transferring him to a 40 gallon breeder tank soon.
Jeremy Roche - 2012-03-23 Butterfly fish aren't always the easiest fish to keep. Should have a well cycled tank and good water exchange.
Nick - 2011-12-28 Can one butterfly fish live in a thirty gallon also what are suitable tank mates are pictus okay? Also plz tell me the setup like: 1 abf 3 pictus
Anonymous - 2011-06-01 I have a butterfly fish that I recently got. And I was wondering why it wasn't eating much of the flake food. Now I know why, thanks.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-06-01 I am glad. I take it you found out what they like to eat from the article in Animal World. Welcome and stay in touch.
S Noor - 2010-05-11 Hello, I have a 48" long community tank for the Butterflyfish. It shares the tank with 13 black neons, 2 black marbled angelfish (breeding pair), 3 dwarf otto's, 1 dwarf german ram, 1 golden algae eater, 1 siamese shark ( pangasius or something like that), 1 dwarf indian puffer, 1 black ghost knife fish and loads of shrimps including 3 large rock shrimps. And they are all a big happy family.
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Tim - 2010-12-06 Your butterflys can"fly"your tank is a fair length, given the fact the butterfly fish can launch out of water to catch bugs, a longer would be a bunch better, keep the top covered, once they take off the height could reach about two feet, with a good run and maybe a eight foot glide, that is a long tank, i had mine in a fifty two inch long, two ft wide, over 150 gal, lost a couple before i got smart.
Chad - 2010-08-01 Would an African butterfly eat Cardinal or neon tetras?
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Jessica - 2010-08-09 My husband and I have our 55 gal. and one butterfly fish to share the great tank with 8 neons and several tropical fish. However, the last few days we have lost 3 tetras and cannot find a single one. It only happens when the lights are out for the night so maybe it is a night stalker. The only discrepancy I see with this is that the tetras go no where near the top and the butterfly fish goes no where near the bottom. But you never know so watch out.
joe - 2010-10-30 Yes.
spencer - 2010-11-15 Since neon and cardinal tetras are the same size and I saw a neon tetra being eaten up by a butterflyfish in my friend's house who uses fishes about 6cm and below as feeder fish, yeah. Butterflyfish would eat both cardinal and neon tetras.
Matt - 2006-03-28 I have kept African Butterflies for about 9 years. I had one for 6 before he passed away. Most of the shops in my area stopped carrying them. I found one & my wife brouht another from the same shop on the same day. We keep them in a 50 U.S. gallon community tank. They generally ignore the other fish. They love daddy long leg spiders and moths. We have recently started feeding them crickets from the pet store, react like sharks at the smell of blood. When they see a single prey item, they will slowly stalk until in position & then move very quickly. I have seen them get agressive with each other during feeding time, otherwise they stay at opposite ends of the tank. Be warned, you need a tight fitting lid or you will lose them.
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lindsey - 2010-07-03 Hi I was wondering if a gourami would do fine with the african butterfly fish? And would a 29 gallon tank be ok for them?
debbie - 2010-11-10 Well I have 4 african butterfly fish that were eating crickets and one day they all stopped and won't eat anything for 10 days now. Would you know what could be wrong?
Jennifer - 2009-12-16 are these fish poisoness or anything that could harm other big fish cause i had a 3 year old jack dempsy in the tank and the 2 day i had these fish my jack died and he had 4 little nip marks with fuzz on him and i just wanna know everything about thses little guys? please help thank you
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Jackie - 2010-02-22 They are not poisonous, however if the dempsy was floating, the butterfly could have taken nips of it. The fuzz sounds like it could be a fungus, or it could be tissue damage after the fish died.
yulian - 2010-03-08 no they are not poisonous try putting them in a tank with fish the same size
Amber - 2010-09-24 Hmm... I don't think they are poisonous, I have one myself and he is in a tank with my jack dempsey, 2 red tailed sharks, 3 sucker fish, and my cute lil guppy..and he just chills at the top, the other fish bump him from time to time but he shows no aggression..kind of a weird mixture I got going, but they seem to find their tank buddies and hang out with them..lol.
The Freshwater Butterflyfish has pectoral fins that are prettily patterned and look just like butterfly wings!
I have only a 10 gal tank for now cause all my fish are still really little, and I plan to get a big tank soon so they all have their own areas... but I have an african butterflyfish, 2 red tailed sharks, 2 mini sucker fish, one reg sucker, my cute lil guppy, and my fave, my jack dempsey.. it's funny to watch them because, my lil jack hangs out with the bigger of the two red tailed shark, the guppy hangs out and follows the smaller red tailed shark, and the rest just kinda do their own thing..but the weirdest thing cause my red tail and my jack never leave each others side..they swim side by side, and act like the big bosses together? Weird right? It's funny cause they are so little! Is that normal for the two species?
Check your red tail for lost scales, jacks are very territorial it my look like it's following each other but they're nipping off scales from each other I have a jack and he does the same and I almost lost my sunshine peacock.
your jack will probly kill everything in your tank when he gets a bit olderhe will probly just swallow them whole if he dont tear them apart first
I regret to inform you, that as this aquarium, and its inhabitants mature, and grow, you will experience quite a few problems.
1. You will need an aquarium the size of 55+ gallons to accommodate all of the fish's growing needs.
2. Your Guppy, as the other fish grow, will be attacked, or perhaps eaten by one of the fish in the aquarium.
3. The 'sucker fish' could also be attacked by either the Butterfly Fish, or the Jack Dempsey.
As for fish 'hanging out' beside each other, this is normal behavior.
Good luck with your aquarium, and fish!
I had a Jack Dempsey for years. He was my Favorite. You should move him into a very aggressive tank because he is or will become very aggressive. He will eat everything he can catch. He will get very large also. If you want to keep the butterfly, and the sharks move him. All so the if the suckers are Chinese Algae eaters. They are cool to but when they get big they to get aggressive and will suck the sides of the other fish and kill them. Do lots of reading on the fish you want to put together before you do. You could loose some nice fish. The sharks and guppies are in danger of becoming a meal of the others.
Odder matches have happened. The first time the Jack gets hungry you may see the 'cute lil guppy' end up as food. Jack's do get very aggressive as they age. That is good that you are planning on upgrading your tank! Go with a 55 gallon tank or larger.
Hi, I want to set up my 20 gallon fish tank with 3 senegal bichirs and 2 of these guys. What would be a good price for one and just to let you all know a 20 gallon is the biggest tank I can have. The bichirs aren't an option thanks to my brother.
20 gallons might be fine for two butterflies, but the bichirs are going to need something A LOT bigger than the tank you have once they reach their full size. The senegal bichir can grow to at least 16 inches in length if cared for properly. I only have one, but I'm transferring him to a 40 gallon breeder tank soon.
Butterfly fish aren't always the easiest fish to keep. Should have a well cycled tank and good water exchange.
Can one butterfly fish live in a thirty gallon also what are suitable tank mates are pictus okay? Also plz tell me the setup like: 1 abf 3 pictus
Minumum is ten gal
Can african butterfly fish stand salt in their water 0.03 salinity?
I have a butterfly fish that I recently got. And I was wondering why it wasn't eating much of the flake food. Now I know why, thanks.
I am glad. I take it you found out what they like to eat from the article in Animal World. Welcome and stay in touch.
Thanks for all the info. Just wondering if it is bad to have two in a 55gal,... or would they be ok.
yes it is okay
I have 2 in my 55 gal they're great together now I'm wondering can I have 3.
Hello, I have a 48" long community tank for the Butterflyfish. It shares the tank with 13 black neons, 2 black marbled angelfish (breeding pair), 3 dwarf otto's, 1 dwarf german ram, 1 golden algae eater, 1 siamese shark ( pangasius or something like that), 1 dwarf indian puffer, 1 black ghost knife fish and loads of shrimps including 3 large rock shrimps. And they are all a big happy family.
Your butterflys can"fly"your tank is a fair length, given the fact the butterfly fish can launch out of water to catch bugs, a longer would be a bunch better, keep the top covered, once they take off the height could reach about two feet, with a good run and maybe a eight foot glide, that is a long tank, i had mine in a fifty two inch long, two ft wide, over 150 gal, lost a couple before i got smart.
Would an African butterfly eat Cardinal or neon tetras?
My husband and I have our 55 gal. and one butterfly fish to share the great tank with 8 neons and several tropical fish. However, the last few days we have lost 3 tetras and cannot find a single one. It only happens when the lights are out for the night so maybe it is a night stalker. The only discrepancy I see with this is that the tetras go no where near the top and the butterfly fish goes no where near the bottom. But you never know so watch out.
Yes.
Since neon and cardinal tetras are the same size and I saw a neon tetra being eaten up by a butterflyfish in my friend's house who uses fishes about 6cm and below as feeder fish, yeah. Butterflyfish would eat both cardinal and neon tetras.
I have kept African Butterflies for about 9 years. I had one for 6 before he passed away. Most of the shops in my area stopped carrying them. I found one & my wife brouht another from the same shop on the same day. We keep them in a 50 U.S. gallon community tank. They generally ignore the other fish. They love daddy long leg spiders and moths. We have recently started feeding them crickets from the pet store, react like sharks at the smell of blood. When they see a single prey item, they will slowly stalk until in position & then move very quickly. I have seen them get agressive with each other during feeding time, otherwise they stay at opposite ends of the tank. Be warned, you need a tight fitting lid or you will lose them.
Hi I was wondering if a gourami would do fine with the african butterfly fish? And would a 29 gallon tank be ok for them?
Well I have 4 african butterfly fish that were eating crickets and one day they all stopped and won't eat anything for 10 days now. Would you know what could be wrong?
are these fish poisoness or anything that could harm other big fish cause i had a 3 year old jack dempsy in the tank and the 2 day i had these fish my jack died and he had 4 little nip marks with fuzz on him and i just wanna know everything about thses little guys? please help thank you
They are not poisonous, however if the dempsy was floating, the butterfly could have taken nips of it. The fuzz sounds like it could be a fungus, or it could be tissue damage after the fish died.
no they are not poisonous
try putting them in a tank with fish the same size
Hmm... I don't think they are poisonous, I have one myself and he is in a tank with my jack dempsey, 2 red tailed sharks, 3 sucker fish, and my cute lil guppy..and he just chills at the top, the other fish bump him from time to time but he shows no aggression..kind of a weird mixture I got going, but they seem to find their tank buddies and hang out with them..lol.