Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hey guys! I saw a freshwater african butterfly fish at the lfs the other day!! Are these guys hard to breed? Thanks!
Butterfly fish!
- Thread starter Nu-Nu the eel
- Start date
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toddnbecka
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not too difficult to spawn, but nearly impossible to raise the fry. They have to have floating live food right in front of their tiny noses.
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Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
Haha oh interesting! I saw 2 of them and they were in differant tanks so they are agressive! Would they fight?
toddnbecka
Aquarium Advice Addict
They're schooling fish, live in groups of hundreds or more in the wild. Would be best to get a pair though, they're easy to sex by looking at the ventral fin. I can't remember which is which, but I think it's the male that has the fully webbed fin, the female's has less webbing/longer fin rays. They prefer little surface disturbance, floating plants are helpful, and the tank does need to be kept fully covered at all times. They are FW flying fish, and will jump out of the tank if the opportunity exists.
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Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
Wow thanks! Haha it would be really coolto try and breed these guys! U ever done it sucessfully?
OP
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Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
Could i breed them in a 10 gallon?
toddnbecka
Aquarium Advice Addict
I had a pair many years ago, fed them mostly wax worms. I found that the female was full of eggs after I put a small leporinus into the tank and it ate half her belly out.
toddnbecka
Aquarium Advice Addict
Could probably breed them in a 10, feeding the fry is the problem.
OP
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Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
Oh so it failed? :/ that sucks... Would mosquito larva word for food??
dont know about these guys,butany fish ive ever bred ahs had way too small fry to feed mosquito larvae. try lots of java moss,has lots of tiny living things in it.plus its a hiding place for fry
toddnbecka
Aquarium Advice Addict
According to Axelrod butterfly fish fry float under the surface for the few days or so, and will only snap up live food right in front of their noses. He suggested netting daphnia and allowing their shells to dry out for a few minutes so they'd float, but that doesn't seem too practical to me.
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Nu-Nu the eel
Aquarium Advice Addict
Were u abe to sucessfully breed ur butterfly fish??
