An African Butterflyfish is an extraordinary fish with dark bands on each fin and with a light brown, dark brown, or a greenish color. This fish lives up to 3-5 years, grows to about 3.9 inches (10 cm), and weighs up to 18 oz.

 

This tropical fish lives in freshwater rivers, lakes, and still bodies of water such as marshes within Nigeria, Cameroon, and Zaire. They prefer temperatures between 73-86* F (23C-30C). Luckily the fish is not on the IUCN Red List (endangered species).

 

There are 5 families in the order of Osteoglossiformes, with a total of 215 species of bony-tongued fish (as of 2001) worldwide. They are carnivore's, mainly eating live food.  They usually eat a minimum of two times a day, eating things such as neon tetras, guppies, flies, mosquito larvae, small spiders, small crickets, worms, bloodworms, and brine shrimp.

 

The Butterflyfish is not an active swimmer and can often be found waiting very patiently and completely motionless for any prey who just happens to fall into the water. If and when frightened or threatened, it will jump at the slightest approach. It can leap and glide distances of up to 3 ¼ feet (1 meter) or more. Comparing that distance to a flying fish's distance of 655 feet (200 meters) it would barely be 1/20 of that.

 

Author: Cameren C.

Published: 02/2009

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Bibliography:

http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=161901 ~http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/488.htm ~ANIMAL--2001 paperback edition from DK (Dorling Kindersley) & the Smithsonian Institution ISBN 0-7894-7764-5 (alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7566-1634-2