African Butterfly Fish
A few months ago I wrote to Mike Hellweg to consult about whether my Pantodons were actually a pair. Today (2025-11-07) I can say that they definitely are! Of course I still don’t know for certain which is which…
Probable male:
Probably female:
This pair has been in its own tank for about 8 months now: a 30″ x 18″ tank about half-filled with 8-10″ of water. I spent all summer feeding them mosquito larvae, glassworms, and the occasional cricket; they grew quite a bit and the (presumed) female got nice and round but I never saw any obvious spawning behavior.
A month ago a couple of things changed: it got too cold for mosquitos so I switched to dried food. I also grew suspicious of my tap water so switched all water changes to RO water. Today there were some very odd-looking fry in the tank with the pair.
They tend to hide in the meniscus next to the tank edge and amongst the riccia; once I started scooping out fry there turned out to be quite a few, maybe 15-20.
From above they look like normal (if very large) newly-hatched fish fry, but from the side they’re like nothing I’ve ever seen. Where the heck are their mouths?
These are rumored to be quite challenging to raise, which is likely true if they don’t have mouths! I’ve moved the fry into an 8″ box in a couple inches of water; I’ll probably lower the water level a bit tonight and see if I can get some brine shrimp into them; in the meantime they have a few moina and ostracods to eat if they see fit.
I’m excited to see the fry, but disappointed that I didn’t see the eggs or the spawning. As far as I know no one has properly documented spawning of this genus, so I don’t know if e.g. fertilization is internal or external and if their eggs float or sink (although I’m leaning ‘sink’ because surely I would’ve noticed them if they float).
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7 days later:
I have fry in three different containers: some in a german breeding ring, some in very shallow (1/2″) water in a box, and some in 2″ of water. Each day I’m feeding with bbs in the evening, and performing a 50% water change in the boxes. There’s also a healthy moina culture in both boxes, which I’m feeding occasionally with small squirts of Nannochloropsis algae. All three groups of fry are doing just fine, with no obvious losses.
They aren’t enthusiastic eaters. Normally I’d expect fry of this size to actively chase moina and brine shrimp and balloon up with food, but they’re committed to holding still and waiting for food to bump into them. That means I’m feeding them a whole lot (to increase the odds of bumping) which means a lot of big water changes. It’s kind of a pain.
The TFH article about raising Pantodon warns about cannibalism at this stage. I don’t really understand how that would work mechanically (the fry are all similar sizes and have small mouths) but I’m keeping an eye out. I’m also looking forward to them growing fins, which seem to only today be getting started.
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9 days after the fry first appeared, they’re starting to grow their pectoral fins
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At about 2 weeks, the young seem a bit more aware of their surroundings. I tried feeding them a few springtails; most were oblivious but a few noticed the movement.
The handful of fry that I left in with the parents are doing fine but not growing as quickly as the fry in the boxes. The tank with the adults has a fair number of moina which the adults can’t be bothered with, so I assume the young are getting the occasional moina meal or subsisting on invisible-to-me cyclops or micro organisms.
Last night I watched an adult physically bump one of the babies with its mouth and then move on without striking. The parents certainly aren’t caring for the fry but they also aren’t bothering them… so far.
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At 30 days, the fish are growing slowly but still doing well and starting to look a bit like their parents. I’ve started adding Hikari micro pellets to the tank but they aren’t showing much interest.
