Can anyone give me advice on a leaf fish

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Hobbiest

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
184
Location
Freeburg Il.
A friend of mine at work knows I keep fish and ask if I could rescue a leaf fish her father has, as he is ready to flush it.
I wouldn't want that to happen to any fish, but I have to look out for my own first and I don't know anything about these fish. I have searched the internet and most of the info I can't use because apparently there is conflicting names for these fish and I can't identify a fish I have never seen.
All I do know is she said it is a leaf fish and is about six inches long but is also kind of wide, she said it really does look like a leaf with spots, cannot keep with smaller fish and that they have had it for about a year.
I do have two skirted tetras and two glow tetras that I can rehome in one of my other tanks as I assume they would become dinner. I need to know if this fish would be compatible with mine. here is a list of what I have in my 65 gal if I remove tetras
3 adult angelfish about six inch
1 Giant Dino four inch
1 Brown knife about six inch
2 Pictus catfish 4 inch
If anyone has any advice thanks in advance I told the girl to give me a week to research first:thanks:
 
A friend of mine at work knows I keep fish and ask if I could rescue a leaf fish her father has, as he is ready to flush it.
I wouldn't want that to happen to any fish, but I have to look out for my own first and I don't know anything about these fish. I have searched the internet and most of the info I can't use because apparently there is conflicting names for these fish and I can't identify a fish I have never seen.
All I do know is she said it is a leaf fish and is about six inches long but is also kind of wide, she said it really does look like a leaf with spots, cannot keep with smaller fish and that they have had it for about a year.
I do have two skirted tetras and two glow tetras that I can rehome in one of my other tanks as I assume they would become dinner. I need to know if this fish would be compatible with mine. here is a list of what I have in my 65 gal if I remove tetras
3 adult angelfish about six inch
1 Giant Dino four inch
1 Brown knife about six inch
2 Pictus catfish 4 inch
If anyone has any advice thanks in advance I told the girl to give me a week to research first:thanks:

Leaf fish are Saltwater...could it possibly be a butterfly fish? Its coloring is like a leaf!

Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: African Butterflyfish
 
They're ambush predators, but even at 6" aren't any threat to skirt tetras. They prefer quiet water with plenty of cover. The giant danio may stress it out, being so active, and on a side note danio's are schooling fish, really should be kept in groups.
 
I've seen mentioned on the forum that they're hard to feed. Apparently require live food. Not sure if I'm right there
 
I'm doing this all from memory and I have to go now but I want to start you on the right path.


There are 2 species commonly called "leaf fish" in the FRESHWATER hobby. The first is the rarer one. It is the true Leaf fish, from South America. It is an expertly camouflaged, almost completely still and hard to see fish unless you know what you are looking for in a thickly planted, soft acidic peat infused aquarium. It literally has all the parts of a leaf mimicked on his body including the broken stem! It opens its GIGANTIC mouth and sucks in prey when they swim too close. It is a sensitive and most people find a difficult fish to keep.


The second more common leaf fish in the hobby is also called the Leopard Bush fish, African Leaf fish and a few other names. It has the same general shape but looks a lot more like a spotted gourami than the first one. It also likes harder water and is much more active. It can open it's mouth no more than maybe a third as wide as the true Leaf Fish but it also swallow gulps prey. It is also a lot easier to keep alive and healthy than the first species. Hope this brief post helps, I'm sure others can post pics of both species in this thread, once you see them telling them apart won't be a problem and you'll soon know which fish you have. Good luck!
 
I have no advise but here is a pic I took a while back at my lfs of the Africans. They were about 5 or 6"
attachment.php


attachment.php
 
I have both

If it's the South American version, your Angel will harass it to death and outcompete it for food. If it's the African version as pictured above, you'll be fine. Any fish that can fit in either of their mouth will be in their mouths.

If it's 6" then it's the African as the S.A. will max out at 4 or so


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
 
Leaf Fish Mouths

Here is a great visual warning for anyone who wants to put a leaf fish of either species into a community tank. Check out these mouths, they are built to powerfully vacuum up any fish that will fit inside of them, which especially in the South American species case are fish larger than you might possibly imagine! Both should not be housed with any fish less than half their size at the smallest.
 

Attachments

  • african.jpg
    african.jpg
    17.9 KB · Views: 544
  • southamerican.jpg
    southamerican.jpg
    18.4 KB · Views: 129
So, which is it? The 'african leaf fish' is actually an anabantid, related to gouramis. Known to be aggressive. SA leaf fish is just 4 inches, but it eats fish 3/4 it's size.
 
Wow thanks to all for your reply's. I'm not sure if I am wanting a predator in my tank but I also hate to hear someone is going to flush such an interesting fish.
They are having problems with it now but from everything I've heard about these fish, whichever it may be, they like heavily planted tanks where they can hide and for the most part calm tank mates. In the tank it is being housed in she said her father has no plants and is being housed with bala sharks, angelfish, clown loaches, red tail sharks and a few others in a 55 gal tank.
My tank is very heavily planted there is about eight large Amazon Sword plants along the entire back of it and the top is mostly shaded by ricci plus a few really large java ferns and some Drarf Sag I just planted in the front. I also have drift wood in the tank so hiding I don't see as a problem. It is really my fish I was concerned about, my breeding pair of Angelfish can be quite the aggressive couple when they spawn and my Knife fish hides most of the time so I did not know if another fish that hides would aggravate him plus my pictus catfish are four inches long but not very round at all.
The reason I only have one giant Dino is because when I bought them four years ago I bout six and did not know they were suicidal. I would come home from work and find them on the floor so I decided not to get anymore because I did not have a cover for my entire tank. The last remaining one has lasted I supposed because he did not have the rest to swim so fast with. I feel bad for him but do not like seeing my fish on the floor.
I have two other tanks but at the current time they are still housing fifteen angelfish juveniles that are about half grown already.:facepalm:
Ok for those of you familiar with this fish, knowing what I have, would it be a good or bad idea in your opinion? Thanks again for your replys:thanks:
 
The quick answer is never introduce an adult, similarly shaped fish to a tank with a breeding pair of cichlids, you're asking for trouble. Of course, that's only a general answer, but it will save most hobbyists a lot of grief in the long term.
 
I have had two leaf fish in my time as an aquarist, one of them very new and they have both been surprisingly peaceful and they both accepted flake foods after some reluctance at first. I personally love the fish but idk if it will be bullied by your angels


Sent from my iPod touch using Aquarium Advice
 
I don't think I am going to get it the girl said tonight that it has eaten small fish, although she showed me a pic and it is the calmer of the two types.
The father only wants to get rid of it because he wants cichlids in his tank. I tried to explain he can't have angels with more aggressive cichlids they have different PH requirements, environment requirements and they can actually hurt the angelfish but I don't think she was listening and by the stock in her dads tank I don't think he researches his fish before he gets them. :facepalm:
Thanks for all the reply's and for anyone interested I went to Petco last night and found homes for all fifteen angelfish juveniles that I had left, but before I made it home I had fifteen more fish:lol:. I now have my 65 gal semi -aggressive angelfish tank, a 20 gal community tank with glow fish and neon tetras and my 35 gal is now a cichlid tank.:cool:
 
Care and Feeding Video of South American Leaf Fish

Here is a great video by the California Academy of Sciences on the care and feeding of their captive born South American Leaf Fish colony. Unless you are willing to feed live and can provide the specific environment this species requires, don't torture yourself or the fish by trying to keep it, just visit the amazing collections of breeding Leaf Fish at beautiful aquariums like the Academy's.

 
The juveniles feed on live brine shrimp, the adults eat live gut-loaded fish. From what I hear the temps, water conditions, amount of plants and current have to be just right for them to go after food, even if it is live.
 
Back
Top Bottom