food falls from the sky, and the butterfly…

[Magnum Man75 189]

so, my butterfly is struggling, it’s not at all getting nipped up, but observing the tank, they appear to be solitary critters, and I think what is happening, is all the residents, both cichlids and tetras, see the butterfly swimming on the surface, they look like they assume food is up on top, which causes a frenzy ( this is usually at 1st light ), and even the smallest of tetras are following it around. I think, looking for food… this may be my fault for feeding them, if they are crowding around the butterfly, in an attempt to distract the other fish from the butterfly… the butterfly is not getting damaged, physically, but it seems like it’s getting more social attention than it’s comfortable with… we’ll see if everything works out, and they all get used to each other, ( everything seems to settle out after the main light has been on for several hours ), or if relocation is required… so far the butterfly is not panic leaping, and is not getting tattered in anyway, just seems highly anoid about everyone following it around, and roams the tank, looking for a solitary spot…

 

[Back in the fold27]

Things should settle down once everyone gets used to each other but isn’t your Pantodon a slow moving fish ? He might be better off by himself or with a few other slow moving solitary fishes like a Leaf Fish .
Also , try some live foods out on him . I know he would certainly like my favorite live food , wingless fruit flies , but small crickets might be pretty choice for him too . Surface feeding fish are cool !

 

[GaryE35 33]

It's a high stress set up for a Pantodon, with some of those tankmates. Approaches from below are upsetting to a fish with their ways. He also has very tempting fins for many other fish who may want to sample them. That's noted in the linked article, but is also something that jumped out (no pun intended) when I first saw them. Those fins would look tasty to a lot of tetras.

Friends who have collected often in the region they come from have noted they've never seen them in the wild, even if they are common enough. They must gather in specific habitats, the way hatchet fish do in Amazonia.

Pantodon buchholzi (African Butterfly Fish)

The common name of this surface-dwelling species is derived from it's appearance when viewed from above, the large pectoral fins giving it the appearance of a butterfly. In reality, these fins serve a dual purpose. They help to camouflage the fish, making it look like a dead leaf floating on the...

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Magnum Man75 189]

this seems to be working… the butterfly retreats to a spot it found, or made in the thick peace lily roots, it’s very well hidden, ( I can’t find where it goes ) during the day, when the other fish are active, and comes out patrolling the top of the tank, at night, when the rest of the fish are not active… so I see it every morning at 1st light, until it retreats to it’s “bat cave”… I’ve been feeding 10 minutes or so, after the last lights go out, and this seems to be working the last couple weeks… I’m assuming they do similar in the wild…

the night watchman, all fin-age is unmolested… ( this picture taken as other tanks sunrise lights begin to come on, just before this tank… the butterfly goes back to the bat cave, shortly after the sunrise light comes on in this tank )

 

[Jennet54 112]

Glad this seems to be working for you.

 

[Magnum Man75 189]

parked in a corner, in some roots, at sunset

 

[Magnum Man75 189]

so it’s been a couple weeks, and over time everyone seems to have developed a routine… the butterfly cruises the surface of the full calm area at night, after the lights have gone down, to dark, and retreats to a spot it found or made in the thick peace lily roots, at 1st light the next day… the dwarf cichlids and tetras get fed in the evenings, and before I go to bed, as the lights have gone to completely off, I add a pinch of floating pellets… I got the chance to watch it eat some pellets the other night, and because of the heavy flow in the other half of the tank, the pellets move around quite a bit, and the butterfly attacks them, like they are live, not just casually eating them… approaching a month into this experiment, and it seems to be working… again the butterfly is still unmolested, as far as all it’s feathery fins… but is harder to get nice pictures of it, with it being fully nocturnal