Common Names: Buttikoferi Cichlid, Zebra Tilapia, Tiger Talapia
Scientific Name: Tilapia Buttikoferi
Family: Cichlidae
Maximum Size: 14 inches
Life expectancy: 10+ years
Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 – 82 °F
pH Range: 7.8 – 8.5
Water hardness: 10 – 15
Temperament: Aggressive
Origin: West Africa
Aquarium Setup:
If you use a dark gravel, the Buttikoferi Cichlid will be a darker color! You can try to use live plants, but they will eat almost any type of plant including Duckweed! Plastic plants are a better choice with heavily weighted bottoms.
Use small or medium sized gravel only, most Buttikoferi’s will pick up the gravels in their mouth and shoot them at the glass. Large size gravels could end in a cracked tank.
Diet:
The Buttikoferi needs a diet that contains both vegetables and meats. They will also thrive on live foods such as earthworms, mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and many different small insects. High quality tablets or flakes should also be included.
Tank Mates/Community:
Because of the aggressiveness of this Cichlid it’s recommended to keep it in a species tank with fish that are in similar size. They will pick on smaller fish if they’re present in the community.
It is recommended that if you’re going to have more than one Buttikoferi to have six or more. This can help prevent the strongest male from tormenting the other fish.
Many fish of this species won’t get along with any other fish you put in the tank. They will often even kill each other, especially once they reach about 6 inches in length.
Behavior:
While many have called these fish vicious killers, some people have had Buttikoferi’s that have been quite tame. They have been known to get along well with other fish such as Oscars.
Your fishes aggressiveness may differ from other people’s experiences. If you’d like to mix these with other species, keep a close watch on them to see how well they accept each other!
Color:
This beautiful Zebra patterned fish has a series of black and white stripes that cover it’s body in a vertical direction. The fins are mostly black, but you can see some faded striping on some of them.
Breeding:
Buttikoferi’s are open substrate spawners. A pair will form and then proceed to dig a large pit to spawn on the flat base below. The pair will alternate laying eggs and fertilizing them until the eggs are all ready.
The spawns are quite large, nature has compensated for most of the fry being eaten in the wild. They become even more aggressive during spawning and will often even fight between themselves.
Interesting Notes:
When Buttikoferi’s are real healthy their stripes are more yellow, whiter stripes means the fish is stressed or not getting the right foods!
There doesn’t seem to be a way to distinguish the males from the females in this species. They both have the same appearance, body shapes and colors.
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l have the same fish lt killed an oscar also its picking up gravel building a mountian why?
I have a baby buttikoferi with a baby oscar, 5 baby silver dollars, 1 baby rosy barb, and 2 half grown pictus cats. All in a 110 gallon. A quarter of the tank is hiding places, the other 3 quarters is open water. There was 2 rosy barbs but the buttikoferi nipped at her fins, we put her in a 10 gallon to recover with 2 bloodfin tetras and a black ghost knife. The knife nipped her to though, so we put her in a bucket to die peacfully. Will he get along with the others? The surviving male rosy stared down the buttikoferi. Also, the silver dollars adopted the buttikoferi, but the dominant silver dollar just hangs out with the pictus cats during the day while they are sleeping, and joins the school at night when the cats are active. The buttikoferi follows the oscar alot to sometimes. What is up? Thanks! =P
no i have a Oscar that is 16 inches and a buttikoferi that is 8 inches and he kicked the oscars butt plenty of times so i do not recomend any fish that is weak or cant diffend it self
an up to date thing is that the buttikoferi now lives in a 55 gallon after he attacked the oscar. there was a poisoning in the 110 gallon while all the fish still got along and the dominant silver dollar died along with the rosy barb and the pictus cats. the oscar lives with another oscar, 4 of the original silver dollars and 2 new ones, a pleco, and 1 new pictus cat. (sadly the other pictus cat who came along with him died to). back to the buttikoferi, we recently bought 6 african cichlids to live with him. he tries to eat them, but there to quick and we built small caves for them. there growing quickly. the only other thing in there is a pleco. will this be okay? i know you said not any fish weaker then it, but that is hard to find. even if some american cichlids are stronger (red devils, flowerhorns, ect.) they fight often. the only thing i could find that would get along with them are african cichlids. i think the 6 are kenyi.
I started a small, mixed, tank of randoms. It was a 20 gallon with convicts, fire-mouths and a beautiful Jack Dempsey. The Dempsey was king and left everyone alone, however, the #2 was an absolute bully. I decided to add a fish or two to mix things up. At the store, a very small (2 cm) striped black/yellow fish caught my eye. I had no knowledge of what he was (unmarked on the tank) and didn’t even care. He was so observant and interactive, I knew he would be cool. Once acclimated and released, he shot straight down to the bottom and ‘introduced’ himself to the others. He was no more than 2 cm and yet he was fearless. He bounced off every fish in the tank and instantly he overtook the #2 fish. About 1 month later(about 2″ now) he killed all but the Dempsey and a Fire-mouth. At this point I could no longer witness the death of my little buddies, so I split the tanks up and put him, solo, in a 30gal. At first I was bummed he killed all my fish, now he’s my prized fish! He is the most fascinating fish I ever hoped for. He has large driftwood and rocks for shelter. There is smaller gravel as a substrate, however he constantly moves it around to suit his comfort. He clears a crater out and dumps the gravel at the end of the tank in a mound. The things he builds are constantly shifting/changing. He is a very smart fish. He knows me versus my family/friends and others. When I work/clean in the tank he always cruises along and tries to ‘help’. Because of their desire to alter their tank I would recommend only rocks and wood, as even the thickest of plants will be torn up(ripped out by the trunks!) Companionship seems hit or miss. I would recommend keeping these as solo specimens. I’ve had mine a year now, and Chuck is about 10 inches. His color and scales are perfect and he has always been super-healthy (I lucked out). Healthy water is a must, as these guys are messy. I look forward to many years of interaction with this dude, as their average life span is about 7 or 8 years. I named him ‘Chuck’ (Norris) the 1st night I had him because of his fearlessness upon his introduction to the tank. This guy makes onions cry!!
Well i just got a pair of buttikoferi and they seem to be getting along very well, they are only about 2.5 inches in size so time will tell. I dont have a name for them yet but im very sure i will have a story or two within the next month or so. I LOVE CICHLIDS
WE love you Red my Red devil
Hey Chuck Morris< you may have figured by now but its probably melanachromis auratus