Sunday, August 2, 2009

Are African Butterfly Cichlids aggressive?

The reason I ask is because I've gotten mixed reviews from people. I have two of them in my 55 gallon community tank, and they are great. They stay together all the time and don't bother any of the other fish, even when other fish get in their way at feeding.
Answers:
If you mean Anomalochromis thomasi these are relatively peaceful small cichlids that are ok in a large enough community tank providing there is enough cover for other fish to get out of line of sight. They are very similar to some of the central American dwarf cichlids in behaviour and get territorial when breeding but are not overtly aggressive.
Most African lake cichlids would massacre most community fish and people are often unaware of the more peaceful cousins.
In general, yes. If all of the fish came to the tank together they will get along better. I have had good luck mixing ciclids with other fish, but they are classified as aggressive. I bet if you added new, smaller fish now you would have trouble. Your ciclids leave the current fish alone because they are used to them.
The African butterfly fish is not a cichlid. I have kept cichlids for years and it is not in the cichlid family. The butterfly fish is just a top dwelling fish that preys on insects and things that fall into the water.

They are not agressive unless you are a bug that happens to fall onto the surface of the water. Then you are history. Sometimes they are picked on by agressive fish because they tend to stay immobile at the surface while waiting for prey to drop in on them.

I agree, they are great looking fish and always a conversation starter.

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