Spotted climbing perch (Ctenopoma acutirostre) questions

[whitetiger_CJ]

I am setting up a tank for the Ctenopoma acutirostre and it would help if I knew a little more about it. I have a store holding three of them for me, so I just have to set the tank up. What is the optimum ph for this fish? I have a water lily to shade the tank surface and I have created a dimmer for my light. the tank is 20 gal. and the perch are around one inch in size. any additional information on this fish would be beneficial.

 

[Fruitbat]

whitetiger_CJ.....

Here's a link to a profile I wrote on Ctenopoma acutirostre for Aquarium Advice. I hope it will answer some of your questions regarding this great fish.

Profile: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=28445

-Joe

 

[Menagerie]

[center:04426cec52] Welcome to AA, whitetiger_CJ!! [/center:04426cec52]

 

[kukerdan]

I have one of these fish, they are Very smart, and will slowly investigate every inch of your tank with their big beautiful eyes. They like to have some sort of cover/ cave. Mine loves to hide in a big indentation in a peice of driftwood i have, or hang out with the dwarf frog

 

[whitetiger_CJ]

thanks for the information and the welcome. I am ready to buy the fish, and start learning about this genre of fish.

 

[Fruitbat]

Any questions you might have....just ask away, whitetiger_CJ

I've got (as you can see from my signature) a number of different species of Bush Fish as well as a few other labyrinth fish. After Polypterids, they are my favorites.

-Joe

 

[whitetiger_CJ]

I do have a few questions, they are as follows. 1) in my 20gal tank I would like to have three of the spotted bush fish. is this ok? 2) what would be the ideal tankmates if any? 3) is it ok to feed them baby mollies? and finally 4) is gender an important factor in the fishes aggressiveness? Thank you for all the help fruitbat, this info will greatly improve the bushfish's lives.

 

[Fruitbat]

Glad to be of some help!

1) Three Ctenopoma acutirostre will be OK in a 20 gallon tank for the vast majority of their lives. There are reports that these fish can get up to 10 inches long but I've NEVER seen one even approach that size. They will eventually get to the 6 inch range though, but it will take a while.
2) I keep my Ct. acutirostre with some similarly sized Bush Fish of other species, some bichirs, and some African Butterfly Fish. They all get along splendidly. Most Bush Fish aren't aggressive (though they are predatory) and they don't do well with fish that are aggressive because they won't defend themselves.
3) It is OK to feed them baby mollies as long as you sure the little ones aren't carrying any kind of disease or parasites. I will caution you, however, not to make live fish a major part of their diet or you might find that they'll begin to refuse other types of food.
4) I've never noticed any real difference in aggressiveness between males and females, though it is REALLY difficult to tell the genders apart without taking the fish out of the water and examining them with a magnifying glass.

-Joe

 

[Toirtis]

Agreed with Joe....mine get livebearer fry only occasionally, and as a result take frozen foods with relish.

 

[kukerdan]

my eat sinking wafers, and sinking cichlids granuals, occasionally it will eat flakes