South American Leaf Fish

[kizno1]

Im setting up a 566L South american tank. The dimensions a 5'x2'x2'.
The stocking plan is
2 rotkeil sevs
2 festium cichlids
5 redhead tapajo geophagus
3 bns plus fry
1 black ghost knife fish
1 Aequidens latifrons or Aequidens metae
1 lima shovel nose or 4 pictus

I the leaf fish wouldnt work with the lima and probably the BGK but if i didnt get them would a group work?
Thanks

 

[nmonks]

You have absolutely no chance of keeping leaffish with midwater schooling fish or cichlids. The only possible tankmates would be species that feed exclusively from the substrate, ideally things like whiptails but possibly Corydoras.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kizno1]

You have absolutely no chance of keeping leaffish with midwater schooling fish or cichlids. The only possible tankmates would be species that feed exclusively from the substrate, ideally things like whiptails but possibly Corydoras.

Cheers, Neale

Fair enough. Thanks

 

[nmonks]

On the other hand, the Asian leaffish in the genus Pristolepis do rather well in community tanks. They're omnivorous and happily take flake. Their mouths aren't as big as the other leaffish, so while they will eat neons and the like, they're fine with medium-sized tankmates.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kizno1]

There nice. I would prefer to keep this tank as SA but ill defiantly have to think about them another time.

 

[kizno1]

Just out of interest what sort of things can you feed them? from what ive read there hard to get off live fish.

 

[nmonks]

Correct. Unless you have a constant supply of safe, thiaminase-free fish (e.g., livebearers you've bred and gut-loaded at home) don't bother with them. Earthworms and live mosquito larvae may work as substitutes, but don't bank on it. Ctenopoma acutirostre is a far nicer fish that looks similar but is easily weaned onto frozen foods and in some cases even takes flake and pellets.

Cheers, Neale

Just out of interest what sort of things can you feed them? from what ive read there hard to get off live fish.

 

[kizno1]

Correct. Unless you have a constant supply of safe, thiaminase-free fish (e.g., livebearers you've bred and gut-loaded at home) don't bother with them. Earthworms and live mosquito larvae may work as substitutes, but don't bank on it. Ctenopoma acutirostre is a far nicer fish that looks similar but is easily weaned onto frozen foods and in some cases even takes flake and pellets.

Cheers, Neale

Just out of interest what sort of things can you feed them? from what ive read there hard to get off live fish.

Ok cheers. Ill have a look into the Ctenopoma acutirostre. Whats the min tank size? And do they do best on there own or in pairs?
Thanks

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Ctenopoma acutirostre is a far nicer fish that looks similar but is easily weaned onto frozen foods and in some cases even takes flake and pellets.

My four 3cm SL youngsters (the fifth one simply vanished weeks ago) happily eat Prima Discus as their staple, with at least bi-weekly treats of frozen "tropical quintet." I'm just worried about what on earth I will do if they pair up and spawn, as they are supposed to be highly aggressive parents, putting my recent Lionhead parents antics to shame!

 

[nmonks]

Mine never showed the least interest in dried foods, just frozen.

So far as spawning go, I wouldn't worry about it. It isn't common, and I don't believe they guard their eggs. My pair showed no real aggression, and the species usually works extremely well in adequately large aquaria. I wouldn't keep a pair in much less than 150 litres, though they are very slow growing so juveniles might be kept in less for a fair while.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kizno1]

Mine never showed the least interest in dried foods, just frozen.

So far as spawning go, I wouldn't worry about it. It isn't common, and I don't believe they guard their eggs. My pair showed no real aggression, and the species usually works extremely well in adequately large aquaria. I wouldn't keep a pair in much less than 150 litres, though they are very slow growing so juveniles might be kept in less for a fair while.

Cheers, Neale

I think thats going to be a little to big at the moment. What would a group of Monocirrhus polyacanthus be ok in? since im selling my other tanks for the 150G i will have a 30,21 and 10G spare Which i could use for them and one for raising live foods.

 

[nmonks]

Forget about using little tanks to raise live food in. Seriously, you need huge tanks for that. Think about how many fry a female fancy guppy makes per month, let's say 20 on the outside, and that it takes 3-4 months for those fry to reach even a sellable size, let alone full size. A predator like a leaffish will chow down on 4-5 of them *per day*. Even if you don't feed them daily, and just every other day, you're still going to need around 800 guppies per year per leaffish. Unless you happen to be guppy breeder with a lot of unwanted fry to cull, this just isn't practical.

If you want to keep a predatory fish, choose something you can feed easily and safely. Ctenopoma are excellent alternatives, and if you hunt around, there are oddball species like Ctenopoma oxyrhynchus on the market. Pristolepis are also excellent, and if you don't mind maintaining brackish conditions, Neovespicula depressifrons is a lovely fish that becomes very tame and takes frozen foods readily.

There's a reason hardly anyone sells true leaffish, and that's because they do abysmally badly in aquaria. I can't stress that point too strongly.

Cheers, Neale

I think thats going to be a little to big at the moment. What would a group of Monocirrhus polyacanthus be ok in? since im selling my other tanks for the 150G i will have a 30,21 and 10G spare Which i could use for them and one for raising live foods.

 

[kizno1]

Forget about using little tanks to raise live food in. Seriously, you need huge tanks for that. Think about how many fry a female fancy guppy makes per month, let's say 20 on the outside, and that it takes 3-4 months for those fry to reach even a sellable size, let alone full size. A predator like a leaffish will chow down on 4-5 of them *per day*. Even if you don't feed them daily, and just every other day, you're still going to need around 800 guppies per year per leaffish. Unless you happen to be guppy breeder with a lot of unwanted fry to cull, this just isn't practical.

If you want to keep a predatory fish, choose something you can feed easily and safely. Ctenopoma are excellent alternatives, and if you hunt around, there are oddball species like Ctenopoma oxyrhynchus on the market. Pristolepis are also excellent, and if you don't mind maintaining brackish conditions, Neovespicula depressifrons is a lovely fish that becomes very tame and takes frozen foods readily.

There's a reason hardly anyone sells true leaffish, and that's because they do abysmally badly in aquaria. I can't stress that point too strongly.

Cheers, Neale

I think thats going to be a little to big at the moment. What would a group of Monocirrhus polyacanthus be ok in? since im selling my other tanks for the 150G i will have a 30,21 and 10G spare Which i could use for them and one for raising live foods.

Fair enough ill forget about them then. Cheers. The Neovespicula depressifrons look stunning ill have to read into them a bit more.
Thanks

 

[kizno1]

Ive been doing a bit of searching and Polycentropsis abbreviata seem to be a better option because from what ive read they can normally be weaned onto live a frozen bloodworm fairly easily.