african butterfly fish

[redwing191]

i bought a butterfly fish a few days ago. when i got it home (mid afternoon) i fed it one cricket which it ate pretty well. the following morning i tried to feed it another cricket but it didnt seem interested. that night once again nothing. how often do they normally eat?

[OrionGirl]

Small cricket or big cricket? I would offer mine the little tiny ones, and it would eat 2-3 then not eat for a few days. If I gave it one, it would take one every day. Predatory fish really don't need to be fed every day, and will be fine eating either a small meal each day, or a large one followed by a few days of rest.

Make sure the tank is very well covered! African butterflies are amazing jumpers. I really miss mine--have a tank that one might fit into, and will probably pick one up some time soon.

[redwing191]

i got the smallest ones i can find. the fish is just over 2 inches and the crickets are under 1/2. yeah i made sure i had every part of the tank covered.

[OrionGirl]

2 inches is pretty small for them. Mine were about 4-5 inches when I was feeding them crickets. I'd expect yours is just full for now, no worries.

Male/female?

[redwing191]

how do you differenciate between the two sexes? i thought he(she?) was small when i bought it too. im bad at estimating measurements so i tried to use a ruler so it would be bigger since it wasnt right up next to the glass and he was moving a bit so he's probably around 2 1/3- 2 1/2 inches.

[OrionGirl]

The male will have a straight pelvic fin, the females will curve. Most LFS have juveniles, so the size is okay--it will grow!