Live fish · WA only

African Butterflyfish (Pantodon buchholzi)

African Butterflyfish (Pantodon buchholzi), view 2

A surface ambush hunter with wing like fins, so keep a tight lid.

Care levelModerate

EasyModerateExpert

Water temperature23 to 30°C

18°C32°C

Adult size10cm

LivesTop

DietCarnivore

SuitsSpecies tankLidded tanks

African Butterflyfish

Pantodon buchholzi4.6(26)

Moderate careSemi-aggressive

$59.95each, incl. GST

Live fish delivery, WA only$35 Perth metro and Mandurah, $65 rest of WA. One fee covers your whole order, plants and dry goods included. Sent overnight on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to a street address (no PO Boxes).

Free pickup in KenwickOpen Tue to Sat, 12pm to 6pm

A surface ambush hunter with wing like fins, so keep a tight lid.

Care levelModerate

EasyModerateExpert

Water temperature23 to 30°C

18°C32°C

Adult size10cm

LivesTop

DietCarnivore

SuitsSpecies tankLidded tanks

Pairs well with this fish

Picked by our team to go with this.

About this fish

African Butterfly Fish is a unique surface-dwelling predator known for its wing-like fins, camouflage patterning, and fascinating ambush behaviour. Its unusual appearance and calm gliding movement make it a standout feature fish for larger planted aquariums.

Why you will love it

Distinctive wing-shaped fins and prehistoric appearance
Unique surface-dwelling behaviour
Excellent feature fish for planted aquariums
Calm, slow-moving personality
Approx size: 10–13 cm
Thrives in well-covered aquariums with floating plants

Care requirements

Care level: Moderate
Adult size: 10–13 cm
Temperature: 24 to 30 °C
pH: 6.0 to 7.5
Swimming level: Surface
Minimum group size: 1 (species tank or carefully selected tankmates)

Feeding:
Prefers floating foods including insects, pellets, frozen foods, and live foods. Will readily take crickets, mosquito larvae, and floating carnivore pellets.

Compatibility:
Best kept with peaceful mid and bottom-dwelling species too large to be eaten. Avoid aggressive fish and very small tankmates, as they may be viewed as food.

School of Scape quality:
We select healthy, active fish and recommend aquariums with calm surface flow, floating cover, and secure lids, as this species is known to jump.

How your fish arrive

Packed in oxygen filled bags inside an insulated box and sent overnight by air express on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Live arrival

8 hour live arrival guarantee. If a fish arrives dead or clearly stressed from transit, contact us within 8 hours of delivery with photos of the fish in the original sealed bag, and we will replace or refund it. Freight is not refundable, and someone needs to be home to accept the delivery. Remote far north WA (Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley) is sent at your own risk.

Read the full policy

Delivery and returns

Free delivery over $100 in WA and $150 elsewhere in Australia. Free pickup from our Kenwick store, Tue to Sat, 12pm to 6pm.

Returns policy

5 stars: 17 (65%)
4 stars: 8 (31%)
3 stars: 1 (4%)
2 stars: 0 (0%)
1 star: 0 (0%)

Lovely temperament

Peaceful and a great fit for my community setup. They get along with everything else in there.

Stunning fish

Wow. Just wow. These settled into my planted tank straight away and are constantly out and about. Packaging was spot on too.

All survived transit

Every single one made it through delivery to Melbourne in great shape. Carefully bagged and double boxed. Couldn't ask for more.

Good size and health

Decent size on arrival, no signs of stress and acclimated without any issues. Recommend to anyone.

Beautiful fish, fast post

Couldn't be happier. Packed well, posted quickly and arrived looking fantastic. They've become the centrepiece of my tank.

No complaints

Healthy fish, fair price, packed with care. Exactly what you want.

Impressed

Better than my local store by a mile. Quality you can see straight away.

Healthy, hardy and gorgeous.

Great little fish

Bright, active and curious. They explore the whole tank and are always interested in feeding time.

Schooling beautifully

Got a group of them and they shoal together constantly. Such a great look in my display tank.

Beautiful colouring

Settled in fast

Honestly impressed. Within two days they were schooling and showing off their best colours. The kids love watching them.

So vibrant

The colours pop under my LED lights. Genuinely some of the nicest specimens I've added to my tank.

Healthy and active

Arrived in great condition, all swimming happily within an hour of acclimating. Colours are even better than the photos. Really happy with the whole experience.

Very happy

Came packed beautifully with heat pack and plenty of oxygen. Acclimated over an hour and they're thriving. Highly recommend.

Real showstopper

This fish is the talking point of my tank now. Stunning in person and full of personality.

Colours came through

Were a little pale on arrival as expected from transit, but coloured up stunningly within a few days. So glad I bought these.

Top quality stock

You can really tell these are well looked after before shipping. No stress marks, no clamped fins, just healthy fish. This is my third order and the quality is consistent every time.

Quality stock

Clearly bred and raised properly. No deformities, great finnage and they ate flake straight away.

Bigger than expected

Pleasantly surprised at the size when they arrived. Strong, alert and eating within the day. Will definitely order from School of Scape again.

Good experience

Smooth ordering and the fish were healthy on arrival. Took a couple of days to come out of hiding but totally normal.

Thriving

A few weeks in now and they've grown and coloured up beautifully. Eating everything I offer and very active.

Happy customer

Arrived safe and sound interstate. The heat pack was a nice touch given the cold snap we've had.

Excellent service

Had a small concern about timing and the team responded quickly and sorted it out. Fish arrived perfect. Great customer service makes all the difference.

Very pleased

These are exactly what I was after for my aquascape. Active, colourful and clearly healthy. Acclimation was easy with no losses.

Perfect addition

Added these to my community tank and they fit right in. No aggression, great colour, and the delivery was quicker than I thought it would be living regionally.