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African Butterfly Fish (Pantodon buchholzi)
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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7
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3788
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Tue October 24, 2006
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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86% of reviewers
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$7.49
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8.4
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Description:
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Compatibility: Semi Aggressive
Maximum Size: 6"
Minimum Tank Size: 29g or 20g long
Temperature: 72-85F
Diet: Carnivorous
Level of care: Medium to Difficult
General Notes:
The semi-aggressive African Butterfly fish is a very unique fish. It is a surface dweller that spends its time floating at the surface of the tank. It will only use the depth of the tank when frightened or threatened, otherwise, they do not swim throughout the tank, but rather float.
Because this fish only uses the surface of the tank, it is important to have a tank with a large surface area. The depth of the tank has no benefit for these fish. The reason a 29g is specified as a minimum tank size is that the dimensions provide adequate living space at the surface, though certainly, a very shallow, but wide and long tank will work well too.
It is not uncommon for this fish to stay in one place for the majority of the day. Butterfly fish will only eat from the surface of the tank, therefore they must be fed foods that float. An ideal diet would consist mainly of live foods such as crickets, moths, flies, daddy long leg spiders, grasshoppers, ants, and other insects. Live worms do not work well because they sink. Some Butterfly fish will accept flake food and frozen foods such as bloodworms and baby krill.
Because of their predatory nature, these fish should not be kept with small fish - they will be eaten. The Butterfly fish has an extremely large mouth that functions much like a trap door, therefore smaller fish are easily consumed.
The Butterfly fish is not tolerant of other surface fish and should never be kept with fish that use the top portion of the tank.
Butterflies are regarded as highly nervous fish; to help alleviate this, floating plants (live or fake) need to be provided for cover.
This fish is naturally an avid jumper, perhaps one of the fish MOST inclined to jumping. They have been known to glide 6 feet over the surface of the water in the wild! Their tank MUST be completely covered, or they will jump out.
These fish should not be kept with aggressive fish because their jaw muscles are very weak and they have several, long tentacle-like extensions on their body.
Thanks to FishGeek for the reflection picture!
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Author
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NoDeltaH2O
Super Fish
Registered: February 2005
Location: Portland
Posts: 1868
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Review Date: Wed May 11, 2005
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Would you recommend the profile? No |
Price you paid?: $7.99
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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lovely exotic fish to add
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Cons:
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PITA to take care of and keep fed
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I would not recommend this fish to the casual aquarist as its dietary requirements are so different from most all other common aquarium fish. I purchased one and tried to feed it frozen bloodworms and the occasional insect I would find in the house. I simply was not able to satisfy its dietary requirements and it died after only 1 or 2 months. These fish are caught wild and some transition to fish food better than others.
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Cutlass
Little Fish
Registered: May 2003
Location: Galloway, OH
Posts: 217
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Review Date: Wed May 11, 2005
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Would you recommend the profile? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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unique, doesn't take up much space, fun to feed
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Cons:
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eats a lot, dangerous with small tankmates
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This is a very cool fish. It spends all of its time at the top, so you'll have some freedom in choosing tankmates for the middle and bottom. BUT..there are a few precautions you need to take.
Don't put it in with fish that can fit inside its mouth. And the Butterfly Fish has a pretty big mouth. So Danio-sized tankmates probably won't last very long.
It doesn't have many options for defending itself against larger predators in a fish tank. I imagine in the wild, it can just skip away from danger when it needs to, but it can't do that in a tank. So don't put it in a tank with aggressive fish.
I alluded to this in the previous paragraph, but make sure the tank is fully covered. This fish is an excellent jumper, and I've heard mine slam against the lid a number of times. For most people, covering the tank seems like a no-brainer, but make sure you don't have any large gaps in the lid back where your filters, heaters, etc. hang off the tank.
It eats a lot, and it really doesn't seem to be thrilled with eating flake food as much as live or frozen food floating on the surface.
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f8fan
MFT Staff
Registered: November 2004
Location: Bangor, Maine
Posts: 1623
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Review Date: Mon August 8, 2005
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Would you recommend the profile? Yes |
Price you paid?: $6.99
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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unique looking
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Cons:
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kinda boring!
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I have had an african butterfly for over two years. It is extremely afraid of me and the tank top opening, however he voraciously eats flakes and bloodworms once the top is closed. I suspect he has eaten a couple of smaller danios that were put into the tank as well. I, for whatever reason, haven\'t had a problem with him jumping. He is always at the top of the tank, and hides inside my floating banana plants. That\'s about all he does. Just floats at the surface.
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Fruitbat
Medium Fish
Registered: January 2004
Location: Garland, TX
Posts: 330
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Review Date: Sat October 22, 2005
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Would you recommend the profile? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Accurate information
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Cons:
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none
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Nicely done! I've kept Pantodon buchholzi for many years and almost always include a couple in my African river tanks. They are fascinating fish, closely related to the Arowanas, and are generally peaceful with fish they cannot swallow or that don't try to share the surface of the tank with them.
Feeding is definitely the most significant problem with these fish. I've had some success lately using freeze-dried 'plankton' which floats for a considerable time. Any uneaten 'plankton' that sinks is quickly taken care of by the other fish in the aquarium.
Floating plants are much appreciated by African Butterfly Fish (I use Water Sprite) but it is important to remember to leave them some room at the surface that is not covered by plants so that they have swimming room.
-Joe
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fish outa wata
Medium Fish
Registered: December 2005
Location: st. louis area
Posts: 426
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Review Date: Wed December 21, 2005
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Would you recommend the profile? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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I have 2 butterfly fish in my 55 gal...they are great together and will eat any food, especially live bugs, that floats in front of them. I think that they may have eaten one of my little danios. No clue though because they are not that territorial. I have had them for 2 and 3 months respectively with no problems.
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Zman16
Large Fish
Registered: August 2005
Location: Pennsylvannia
Posts: 865
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Review Date: Wed February 1, 2006
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Would you recommend the profile? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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easy to feed, beautiful fish, fun to watch, and dosen't take up a lot of room.
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Cons:
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Can jump out of the tank ( if there isn't a good lid ), will eat smaller fish.
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These are really cool fish! It took me forever to find one but I did! Mine is active half the time, and really cool to feed! They'll eat a live cricket if u throw it in! That's pretty impressive for such a small fish.
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FishGeek
Super Fish
Registered: May 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 4222
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Review Date: Tue October 24, 2006
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Would you recommend the profile? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Unique and Fun
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Cons:
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Jumps
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I have seen my guy nibble at the bloodworms that I feed my other fish but usually they get chased away so they dont get very much. I feed 2 small crickets every couple of days. These fish are not confrontational and should not be kept with anything that picks on it. They dont do well with stress. And make sure that you have a tight fitting lid. Also a dim light and floating plants make these guys feel safe. (keep in mind the more safe he feels the more that you will see him)
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