african butterflyfish

[slroo]

Has anyone on here ever kept an african butterfly fish? Saw one, went home to read about it, and some sites say they are generally peaceful but will eat smaller fish, others say they have killed ALL in the tank, bottom-dwellers included. They are so interesting looking, would like to have one, but not at the expense of the rest of my tank. Anyone with any input?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have kept them before in a 29 gal tank with African fry. AFAIK they didn't eat any of our fry, they pretty much just stayed at the top of the tank. Provide plenty of floating plants and feed them regularly. I have heard individuals say that they have had a snack of their smaller fish. Stick with larger community fish and you should be fine.

 

[Zagz]

Did you feed them crickets FF?

 

[toddnbecka]

I had a pair, many years ago, no problems w/aggression from the butterfly fish. Sadly, the female was partially eaten alive by a Leporinus fasciatus (which the aquarium encyclopedia I had stated was a vegetarian), a few tiny nibbles at a time. Her belly was full of eggs, which really made the matter worse, though after reading about the fry being nearly impossible to raise, it probably wasn't as much of a loss as I thought at the time. They are schooling fish in the wild, actually a FW flying fish, and WILL jump if given the chance, so keep the top completely covered. Any live flies, moths, etc. found around the house are appreciated. I fed mine live wax worms as the main diet; they float better than mealworms.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

LOL No Anne. I am too much of a baby for that. We fed wax worms, plankton, and something else. It's been about a year since we had to give them away.