Opinions On Keeping Jewel Cichlids With African Butterfly Fish?

[TooManyChoices]

Do you think that a jewel cichlid would have a go at the fin filaments on a butterfly? Things to consider are that the butterfly is always at the surface and the cichlid generally closer to the bottom. My tank has a really heavy layer of surface vegetation that the butterfly hides in. The jewel will be solo to prevent breeding behaviour. I'll get a small jewel to begin in the hope that it helps (please say it'll be fine )

Here's the tank

Also another important thing! I've seen them kept together in a practical fish keeping article!

 

[KevM]

I think it'll be fine. As I said in your other thread: they only tend to turn loopy once they've paired up, in my experience. I've heard tell of females laying eggs on their own and going nutso (but never seen it myself), which is something to watch out for, I suppose. I'd try it for myself and just replace the cichlid with something mellower, if the need arises.

 

[TooManyChoices]

Settled! Thanks for the info

 

[Wills]

I think it sounds horrendous, Jewels are absolute insane. Totally unpredictable and such nasty nasty fish, just search through any thread on here and read through the stories that develop on the forum you will not find any situations working out longer than a month.
 
With those long dangling fins of a Butterfly, its just asking for trouble.
 
If you do it have a backup plan.
 
Wills

 

[TooManyChoices]

It always seems that rose horror stories are related to breeding aggression or aggression towards another territorial fish?

 

[KevM]

That has been my experience. I've had some that were very shy when kept without a mate, actually. I should probably point out that I haven't kept many singles, though. It could workout based on the lack of competition at the bottom, the robust tank-mates you've selected in the tetras and the fact that the butterfly should always be well out of the way. The water level is a slight concern, though.

Of course, it all comes down to the personality of the fish but I'd say it's worth a shot. Just keep an eye out for trouble.

 

[TooManyChoices]

The water level looks a lot lower than it actually is. I think it's just the angle it was taken at. It's kept low so the butterfly can't jump out but now it's well and truly settled i could probably risk topping it up a bit, which will not only increase the water volume but also keep the butterfly further out of harms way.

I guess at the end of the day it's worth a shot, choices like this were what aquarists would've made in the past. These days however there's so much info on what to do and what not to do it kind of takes the discovery out of keeping fish. I might take a plunge and learn for myself

 

[a7xAda]

I'm going to speak from the experience of a friend who took in a Jewel and it wrecked everything in her tank. After 6 months she took it back to the store as it killed everything it came in contact with. My advice is to do a species tank if you want a Jewel as they are nasty little fish and can be hard core killers. Some people have kept them in communities with success, but not many. And the Jewel my friend had WAS the only Jewel in the tank. She had 2 Severums and 3 Vieja Bifaciatus. It killed the Viejas and almost killed the severums.

 

[TooManyChoices]

Was it a solo fish or pair? That sounds bleak indeed.

 

[a7xAda]

The jewel in my friends tank was a solo Jewel. There was no breeding aggression. It was also a female Jewel

 

[TooManyChoices]

Thanks for the input, I can only think that it would've been aggression towards fish that pose a threat to territory. Which being cichlids they obviously were. That's why I think something like the butterfly (which the congos took weeks to even notice) and the tetras aren't a threat either so there won't be cichlids fights over territory.

 

[a7xAda]

My best advice to you is if you plan on trying to see if the setup will work (which no-ones knows, we can only advice on whats possible) have a spare tank handy so you can remove a fish if need be.

What other fish are in the tank?

 

[TooManyChoices]

I have a tank than can be an emergency if necessary, and an tank separator tank thing.

Other tank mates are 1 butterfly fish and 8 yellowtail congo tetras.

 

[KevM]

Yeah, it will compete for territory with other cichlids. The fact that you have robust, fast-swimming tetras in the upper levels, and nothing to compete with in the lower third bodes well. Obviously you have to be prepared for a certain amount of aggression, and be prepared to remove the fish if you feel it's not going to workout. Which jewel are we talking about here? I've been referring to Hemichromis lifalili throughout. I've always found single males to be pretty placid and even shy when kept as a single.

 

[Paradise3]

Hang on... What size tank? It doesn't look more than 2-3ft from the pictures and I noticed no-one else has asked. I've also seen the aggression of a female Jewel kept with congo tetras... She ripped them all to shreds in a 4ft tank. It was literally her and the congo's in there and she shredded them. Males I have noticed seem to be a little calmer but sexing when they are young is hard.