African Butterfly Cichlid Tank Mates

• Agassiz's Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Agassiz's Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Bearded Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Black Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Blood Red Tiger Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
• Bolivian Ram✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Brilliant Rasbora✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the middle of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Brilliant Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Burmese Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
• Butterfly Hillstream Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
• Clown Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Corydoras Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Corydoras Catfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Dwarf Chain Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Dwarf Chain Loach in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Elegant Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Elegant Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Keyhole Cichlid✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the middle of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Leopard Frog Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 25–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Molly✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the middle of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Peppered Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Peppered Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Porthole Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Rio Negro Checkerboard Cichlid✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Hard care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
• Spotfin Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Spotfin Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotted Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Spotted Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Sterbai Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Sterbai Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Thick-lipped Gourami✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the middle of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Zebra Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Hard care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 26–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
• Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Amazon Puffer⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Amazon Puffer are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add amazon puffer in a group to spread the pressure.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Amazon Puffer in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Badis⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Bamboo Shrimp⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Bamboo Shrimp are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add bamboo shrimp in a group to spread the pressure.
  • African Butterfly Cichlid may eat Bamboo Shrimp or pick off its shrimplets — a densely planted tank with moss gives them a fighting chance.
• Bandit Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Bandit Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Brichardi Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (6–7.5 vs 7.8–9); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Congo Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Expect African Butterfly Cichlid to harass Congo Tetra at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Congo Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Dwarf Gourami⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Glass Catfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Glass Catfish are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add glass catfish in a group to spread the pressure.
  • Keep Glass Catfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Gold Barb⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7.5 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Expect African Butterfly Cichlid to harass Gold Barb at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
  • Keep Gold Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Goldeneye Dwarf Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Goldeneye Dwarf Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Mexican Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Easy care · 18–25 °C (64–77 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Mexican Tetra can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Mexican Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Pantanal Corydoras⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Pantanal Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Scissortail Rasbora⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Scissortail Rasbora — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~90 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Scissortail Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Splashing Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Splashing Tetra — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Keep Splashing Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: African Butterfly Cichlid and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (250 vs 8 cm): Alligator Gar will treat African Butterfly Cichlid as food.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~3785 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Clown Knifefish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Clown Knifefish (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 8 cm African Butterfly Cichlid whole.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Fire Eel⛔ Not recommended
  Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Size gap is too large (100 vs 8 cm): Fire Eel will treat African Butterfly Cichlid as food.
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~380 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Koi⛔ Not recommended
  Peaceful · 90 cm · Medium care · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
  • Size gap is too large (90 vs 8 cm): Koi will treat African Butterfly Cichlid as food.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~3800 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Redtail Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 120 cm · Hard care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: African Butterfly Cichlid and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (120 vs 8 cm): Redtail Catfish will treat African Butterfly Cichlid as food.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~5700 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Spotted Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: African Butterfly Cichlid and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (90 vs 8 cm): Spotted Gar will treat African Butterfly Cichlid as food.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~600 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Wels Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 300 cm · Hard care · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: African Butterfly Cichlid and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Wels Catfish (300 cm) is big enough to swallow the 8 cm African Butterfly Cichlid whole.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~20000 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Wolf Cichlid⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 72 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • African Butterfly Cichlid and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • African Butterfly Cichlid is bite-sized to a 72 cm predatory wolf cichlid — it will be eaten.
  • Your 80 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.