I Want A African Leaf Fish

[Dt524]

I saw a african leaf fish (spotted climbing perch) at my lfs and i want so bad. WHat should I need to know about taking care of them.
How big do the get?What do they eat? Will they eat my cardinal teras? What type of setup should I get with them?and has anyone had anyexperience on breeding them. Sorry about all the questions

Dt524

 

[andywg]

They are a heavily predatory, piscivorous fish. There is a species profile on this forum.

Two species appear on the guides:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=71306

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=58484

Basically they need a supply of live fish to eat. Weaning them onto dead foods is not easy at all. Not sure on breeding, but the cardinals will end up lunch.

Not a fish for tha beginner, and probably not for the intermediate without a steady supply of fish fry.

The good news is they do not require a huge tank as they are ambush predators.

 

[Dt524]

OO I want 1 I thought it would look goood in my planted tank give it a little hint of suspence. I dont really like guppies so i probably wont have the food to feed it.

 

[PinkPoodle]

They are a heavily predatory, piscivorous fish. There is a species profile on this forum.

Two species appear on the guides:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=71306

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=58484

Basically they need a supply of live fish to eat. Weaning them onto dead foods is not easy at all. Not sure on breeding, but the cardinals will end up lunch.

Not a fish for tha beginner, and probably not for the intermediate without a steady supply of fish fry.

The good news is they do not require a huge tank as they are ambush predators.

Just to be clear I'm talking about the Spotted Climbing Perch from Africa (Ctenopoma acutirostre) not the leaf fish from South America.

There is a link for more info: http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/cteno-ac.htm

I have a couple of them. I assume they are tank raised juveniles because even though they are large enough to eat the guppy fry I put in the tank, they seem to prefer frozen brine shrimp and freeze dried bloodworms. They are very shy and spend most of the daylight hours lurking under a piece of driftwood. Come to think of it they don't even bother the ghost shrimp in the tank...yet. They can get to be 16.5 cm and with their large mouths they will, in time, eat anything they can fit in. They are quite beautiful as they drift around in the evening hours looking like dried and curled leaves. The first day I got them I thought there was a crisis of some sort. I was sure they were in shock and dying! Then after freaking out for a while, I realised this is normal behavior. I would ask the lfs what they have been feeding them and take it from there. I will devote a 130 L tank to them when they are larger. Worth it I say if you have a penchant for the exotic.

 

[andywg]

whoops, missed the brackets there...

I have two spotted climbing perch (Ctenopoma acutirostre).

They are around the 3-4" mark now and have hefty appetites. I would not want to keep anything at all small with them and would say 3" as a minimum companion size. At just over an inch they were taking down 1" feeder shrimp.

Keeping more than one is open to debate, as with most Anabantinoids, though with my two having a 6x2x2 they generally are ok, though the odd bit of mock battle does break out. I would not want to try and fit them into a much smaller tank without plenty of cover to break line of site. I would say that 130L could end up too small for two. I have heard of others in the Ctenopoma genus having to be seperated in 4 foot tanks as they grow due to aggression.

I have seen max size anywhere from 6 to 8". I doubt they will get to 8", unless they have a long continual growth period after there inital juvenile spurt (which seems to mostly be over now).

Unsure on breeding I'm afraid.

 

[Fruitbat]

I've kept many Ctenopoma acutirostre over the years (I only have two right now) but I have a few observations that might come in handy:

1) C. acutirostre can be combative with others of their own species but most of the spats are 'mock' battles and usually no damage is done. As long as they have plenty of room and hiding places in the form of driftwood or plants they get along reasonably well.

2) Most Ctenopoma and Microctenopoma species are very greedy eaters and like all sorts of 'meaty' foods as long as they can get it in their mouth. Mine eat frozen krill, frozen bloodworms, frozen beef heart, Hikari Carnivore Pellets and flake food. They're certainly not above devouring any smaller tankmates.

3) The biggest C. acutirostre I've ever personally had was about 6 inches long and showed no signs of growing much larger. There are other, larger species occasionally available.

Currently I have Ctenopoma ocellatum, Ctenopoma weeksii, Ctenopoma acutirostre, Ctenopoma kingsleyae, Microctenopoma ansorgii and Microctenopoma fasciolatum in my collection. The only ones that are truly aggressive are the C. kingsleyae.

-Joe

 

[Dt524]

Thanks everybody for all the info, I am defenitaily getting some now!! Ill post some pics when i get them.

 

[PinkPoodle]

whoops, missed the brackets there...

I have two spotted climbing perch (Ctenopoma acutirostre).

They are around the 3-4" mark now and have hefty appetites. I would not want to keep anything at all small with them and would say 3" as a minimum companion size. At just over an inch they were taking down 1" feeder shrimp.

Keeping more than one is open to debate, as with most Anabantinoids, though with my two having a 6x2x2 they generally are ok, though the odd bit of mock battle does break out. I would not want to try and fit them into a much smaller tank without plenty of cover to break line of site. I would say that 130L could end up too small for two. I have heard of others in the Ctenopoma genus having to be seperated in 4 foot tanks as they grow due to aggression.

I have seen max size anywhere from 6 to 8". I doubt they will get to 8", unless they have a long continual growth period after there inital juvenile spurt (which seems to mostly be over now).

Unsure on breeding I'm afraid.

Hey, thanks for the info. I don't know anyone personally who has any Ctenopoma and here in Florida anything really exotic except fo saltwater fish is a rarity. Cool so if 130L isn't big enough I'll just have to get two tanks! Ah what the heck, I'll just save for a wet suit and get a tank I can live in. Room for everybody.LOL

 

[nmonks]

I'll just add my experience. I kept two spotted climbing perch, one lived eight years and the other was given away to another TFF aquarist after about ten years. So they are very long lived fish.

Mine ate almost exclusively bloodworms. While they also eat small fish in the wild, the bulk of their diet is mosquito larvae, I am told. My specimens were completely safe with Congo tetras and adult Nanaethiops unitaeniatus. Over the years I also kept them with a small bichir, various Synodontis catfish, and Microctenopoma fasciolatum/congicum.

Despite their predatory appearance they are shy, peaceful fish. They seem to like planted tanks best, and do not do well if overcrowded. Otherwise easy to look after, and certainly more unusual than a gourami!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Dt524]

Thanks everybody for all the advice and you have been a great help!!

 

[Dwarfs]

I agree with what all the other C. acutirostre owners have said, these are great fish I have 3 that are all reaching about 5" and IME, they do great with african oddballs (African brown knife, african butterfly fish, bichirs).