African Butterfly fish ( Pantodon buchholzi )

[Magnum Man71 186]

my butterfly arrived ( large size, wild caught )… it has already set up shop in the stems of the emergent anubias… the jewels don’t seem to approved of the carnivorous fish patrolling the surface, but only looked it over for 5 minutes, then went back to their own neighborhood… it is difficult to photograph, in the shaded dark water tank, and reflecting off the sirface…

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

well being wild caught I was worried, but it’s eating some small floating pellets, after watching the cichlids eating them…

sellers picture, actually looks like mine, and looks like it was taken in my tank.

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

I’ve had these decades ago, their mouth is hard like a bird beak, they could snap a guppy in half with one bite… good thing my smallest tetra is like 3 times the size of a guppy in this tank…

so, this is a fish I wanted for quite a while… I think my tank is perfect for it, dark water, highly shaded by terrestrial plants, and emergent anubias… there is heavy flow on one end, but surface plants go across the middle of the tank, making the surface on the other side of those plants like glass… it’s a 24 inch deep tank, so none of the other fish are normally in it’s area, and even the smallest of the tetras are more than a mouth full… the tank is open topped, but is a top aquarium in the rack, built into a wall, so the sides go up 18 inches to the ceiling, and are filled with terrestrial plants… the high flow end on the other side of the surface plants is open for servicing the tank, but it’s not the type of area the butterfly will go into, and would require jumping over a full width hang on the side filter… I’m happy it’s eating processed foods… I could get into wingless fruit flys as a treat for several of my fish…

 

[Uberhoust16]

Always wanted one but never had a setup that was appropriate for them.

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

so, as a predator, this guy is a master of disguise… I looked for a half hour last night, and couldn’t find the fish… of course I assumed one of the jewels must have taken a nip, and cause the butterfly to make a leap, and it got tangled in the vines over the tank, and died… but this morning I saw it perfectly camouflaged in the roots at the top, right where I expected it would be in the tank…

 

[GaryE31 30]

The jewels are likely to continue nipping. That fish will be a target, and you'll have to be careful it doesn't launch itself.

I just read a detailed paper and an article on the jewel group, and the rumours of exsul being a mild one are false. It's a colour form of R. guttatus, and guttatus is the standard aggressive jewel cichlid. Honestly, I would prepare for mayhem as they mature.

 

[Tomsfish29 29]

One of my all time favorite fish.
Ever since my first fish tank and first fish book they have caught my attention.
I have kept them several times and done well with them even a couple times.
Getting them to eat is first hurdle.
After that they need a tank that they can comfortably live in.
Missing either of those leads to short term keeping.
It was hard for me to not be fascinated with this fish since it was the first fish listed in my then only fish book.
The picture of parents with younger always blew me away.
Here is the picture from my now new 1942 4th edition book~!

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

this one doesn’t appear to have any fin damage, like it has been seriously nipped at…

as far as the exsul‘s the dominant is a loner, but the other 3 freely swim among the assorted tetras… but seem most concerned with the other cichlids, although not to the point of mercilessly chasing them…

sorry, this is a hard tank to photograph, but this nicely colored one, spends nearly all it’s time in the cloud of tetras ( maybe to hide from the dominant ) but being a cichlid tank, it has a hierarchy, but not certain death to everyone like the south/ central American jewel that was sent here by mistake a couple years ago, that one had to be gifted back to the local pet store

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

can you see it??? ( clear as mud )

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

I think the jewels are forcing it to be nocturnal, after the main lights went off last night I saw it patrolling the open water, but after the main lights were on this morning, all 4 jewels were attracted to the butterfly, and forced it into the surface plants it was in yesterday, once it was not patrolling the water, the jewels went about their own business… the circulation in the tank, brings floating food to that corner, and the butterfly is eating, so if they get used to each other, it may work out.. but was pretty concerning when all 4 of the jewels acted together…

 

[GaryE31 30]

Welcome to jewel cichlid keeping. They are so beautiful. And so difficult to keep.

I would expect them to see the size of the Pantodon, and its mouth, and decide this weird thing is a threat to future babies. They're right. And since future babies are everything to jewels, you'd best have a plan b.

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

I have been worried about the butterfly, as it is getting harassed by the cichlids, however it seems to have found a really good hiding spot, as I can’t find it during the day…perhaps in the rootball from the peace lily. ( which is extensive in this tank ), as I’m not seeing it during day light hours, yet at 1st light, it always cruising the calm open water, and looks perfect, and incredible… it looked amazing this morning, I’m going to continue to feed floating pellets at bed time, after the main light has gone off to insure it’s getting plenty to eat… I haven’t really heard that it’s nocturnal, but seems it could be naturally, and seems to be, in this tank…

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

hiding behind a surface leaf , in a corner, this morning, until it disappears to it’s “bat cave” for the day…

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

I thought I read somewhere that they are rarely seen, when catching other fish, but going back through the posts in this thread, I’m not seeing anything ( I assumed it was @GaryE … maybe in another thread??? ) but by watching mine, I assume they disappear into the riparian vegetation, during the day, and likely come out at night to catch insects…

this tank has an enormous peace lily with roots that go fully to the bottom of it, the roots probably occupy 20 % of the tank, and the tank is 24 inches high… I saw it ( the butterfly ) the other day, head poking out of the thick roots, at mid tank level, mid day, and am seeing it at 1st light cruising the top waters, but shortly after the lights start coming on, and the dwarf cichlids wake up for the day, it moves back into the protection of the roots… this cycle has been going on for at least a week, the fish is likely eating undisturbed, in the dark, after the cichlids are no longer active, and any food left over, is then eaten in the morning, after the lights come back on, by the tetras, and cichlids… hoping this is an acceptable arrangement for all parties… it initially seems to be working…

 

[Magnum Man71 186]

this one was listed as “large” by the seller, it’s heavy bodied, and about 3 inches long, and looks completely untattered by it’s social interactions thus far… I’d give it live food, but I don’t have anything prepared, and even small feeder fish would likely not hang on the surface after dark… I think I’m going to try some frozen blood worms, but they typically sink pretty fast as well… small floating pellets has been what it’s been eating so far… maybe wingless fruit flys, but suspect live ones would crawl out of the water, into the vines above the tank, and just end up loose in the house…

thoughts for a specific food for the butterfly???