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What is the minimum tank size for an African butterfly fish and what are some good tank mates for it if any?

Well I have mine in a 30g atm. They are a awesome fish. Mine will take crickets out of my hand and will let me pet it. I am gonna let you know that they just float on the surface pretty much all the time. Get a floating plant for him to hide and sleep under. Any middle-bottom dwellers should be ok. I have mine with 2 RTBS atm. GL and hope you like your ABF.


Chris

They are not very active fish, IME, so you could probably keep one in a 20 gallon long tank. They pretty much just sit in one corner and lurk until you drop a couple crickets or other assorted insects in.

And despite what you may have read, they are not aggressive at all - just predatory (there is a big difference). They will not bother anything they know they cannot eat, just like any other predatory fish.

Don't keep them with aggressive fish (that will harass them), fast-moving fish (that will outcompete them for food), or fin-nippers (that will bite off their trailing filaments).

Like their cousins, the arowanas, they will usually only accept live foods (such as insects and small fish), but occasionally people manage to wean them onto frozen or dry foods.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

hmmm if they mainly stay on the top would a colony of shelldwellers at the bottom of the tank be alright? or is it too risky.

As far as compatibility goes, it would be fine, but there is a big problem... These two species have completely different needs in terms of water chemistry. Shellies, native to the Rift Lakes, need hard, alkaline water. The African Butterfly on the other hand comes from the soft, acidic waters of the rivers of tropical West Africa. The Shellies would not be able to live in the African Butterfly's water, and vice versa.

Some other cichlids that might work however are the small South American dwarf cichlids, or some peaceful riverine African cichlids (generally harder to come by).

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

would you reccomend that I keep more than 1 and if more how many.

Also, what would be a good floating plant for them.