african butterfly fish

Question
A few weeks ago I bought 3 african butterfly fish, knowing nearly nothing about the species. Apparently, the pet store employee and I had that in common.. anyway, within a few days one of them was dead, with no visible cause minus the fins being eaten. Shortly after, one of my two remaining fish started sitting at the bottom of the tank, under the heater, and has not come out since. The other fish in the tank has become increasingly aggressive, especially when I go to the side of the tank where the one hiding on the bottom is. WHat is wrong with these guys? Is it sick or pregnant? And what do I do in either of those cases? I've never treated sick or pregnant fish before.

Answer
Hi Meghan;

The aggressive one is just doing what comes naturally. African Butterfly Fish can be territorial and may not tolerate others of their own kind unless they have a large tank to establish separate territory. Even in a large tank there should be lots of plants, especially floating ones, to give them a visual barrier from each other.

The more aggressive one will kill the weaker one if you don't separate them soon. They actually need about a 20 gallon size tank of space per fish. If you don't have another tank you could buy a divider to separate them.

Good luck...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins