African Butterfly fish

chunksofpoooo

chunksofpoooo

sloth loves chunk
Sep 16, 2004
346
0
0
Los Angeles, California
hey, ive already posted a similar question in the newbie forum, but what the hell

im looking for some basic advice for the african butterfly fish

im getting a 20G and one or two of them (big enough tank?)

any advice on anything would be nice
 
I would think you can go with 2. They are neat little guys. I had mine feeding from my hands. Make sure you have a good lid cause they will jump out. Put a cricket in there and whatch it disappear.
Avg size 10cm
feed flakes or freeze dried food. they are surface dwellers, so try to have floating plants. They Will eat smaller tank mate i.e. guppies or any thing that will fit into its mouth.
 
I'd avoid getting two. They are territorial and I do not believe a 20g has enough surface area. Unlike other fish, they only use the surface area of a tank. If the tank were 35 ft deep, it would do them absolutely no good.

They are AVID JUMPERS. You MUST have a SECURELY covered tank. No openings can be found. Use duct tape if you need to to close off gaps.

Get soem floating plants;live or fake. Don't have any other surface fish in the tank. Don't mix them with small fish (mmm yummy).

Feed them flakes if they'll eat them, along with other snacks. Mine gets fed frozen baby krill. Chop them in half first. They seem to love those. A big meal from time to time is greatly appreciated since they are predatory fish. Most dont' seem to have an appetite for a few days to a week after coming home. Don't be too alarmed at first. Ask your store what they have been feeding them. Some only feed live food (which makes it harder for you to get yours to eat "dead" food).

Keep the water clean. They hate surface current...Let's see what else. Mine is full grown at about 4"

Do a search on google or on here for Pantodon buchholzi.
http://www.myfishtank.net/freshwaterprofiles.php?profile=175
 
ive been reading up some on cycling (and by some i mean almost none), at any rate how long should i leave the tank set up before i can add the butterfly fish. I heard that using live plants helps alot with nitrate and ammonia levels. Im also presuming (living in LA) that i should use distilled water for my tank, as tap water has massive amounts of chlorine (tastes like crap).
thanks for any advice
 
Well you need to feed the tank ammonia inorder for it to cycle, and plants will actually slow down the cycling process. I wouldn't used distilled water because it lacks the trace elements and minerals many fish need, and deffinately that plants need. What I would do is get a 5gallon bucket, fill it up with water and let it sit for 24 hrs, then you should be alright to add it to your tank, and if you want to be on the cautious side, get a dechlorinator and add it to the water. Cycling takes time, 4 or more weeks. Bacterial colonies need to get established in your substrate and filter media which will break down the ammonia and nitrites in the water, if the bacteria isn't established the ammonia levels will continue to rise and kill the fish in the tank. There should be some good stickies in the newbie forum about cycling I'd suggest you read up on to get a more detailed description about the process.
 
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