Anyone here have experience with Ctenopomas? I've had one for about 5 years now, and I've heard they can live up to 10. I have a Leopard Ctenopoma (Ctenopoma acutirostre) housed with a pike cichlid. This species has shown less aggression than combtails or paradise fish, though they are more predatory. I was wondering if anyone here has dealt with other types of ctenopomas such as ansorgei, congicum, kingsleyi, oxrhynchus?

I have tried to post in this thread 3 times and for some reason I keep accidentaly going back or closing this window Hopefuly this time it'll work

I have kept leopards like you and also c. ansorgii and c. oxyrhynchum/weeksi from those you listed. C. congicum is a stunning fish as well but I never managed to find it. I've also kept the banded climbing perch c. fasciolatum and also c. nanum (also placed in the anabas genus sometimes). I'd like to try others but have difficulty getting my hands on the rarer species. I also don't realy have the space available at the moment and had to re-home (with a fish fanatic friend of mine) all my ctenopomas (and indeed many other fish) when we had to knock down and re-build a certain part of the house (don't ask). I ended up letting her keep them as she was getting into breeding them and so on. My favourite has to be fasciolatum though - mainly due to their character and manageable size. I'll probably get some more of those at some point. I've always found the bubblenesters easiest to breed but that's probably because I have more exeprience with gouramies (pearls in particular) which have similar behaviour. I agree that they are quite peaceful as all the ctenopomas I've kept have been a lot more placid than I would have expected if you over-look their tendency to irradicate a tank of any smaller fish I actualy kept most of them with large rainbowfish except the smaller ones which were fine with barbs, large tetras, rasboras etc. I also tried sharks and had success with a beautiful torpedo barb as well (didn't get on with the shark though). I kept c. nanum with various gouramies and spiketails and had no aggression from either towards each other (mind you the ctenopomas were always the smallest in the tank and none of the fish were allowed to breed in the community tank). I also found none of them were picky like some would have you believe though maybe the fact that they were all tank-raised played a part in this. BTW, I once tried keeping a 2" banded climbing perch with a 2.5" or so molly (temporarily) and it somehow managed to kill and eat it. I since decided adults should only go with fish that are at least 4" (hence rainbowfish) though I believe that particular fish was just a particularly greedy individual .

I currently have (in various tanks) Ctenopoma acutirostre, Ctenopoma kingsleyae, Ctenopoma ocellatum, Ctenopoma weeksii (formerly oxyrhynchum), Microctenopoma ansorgii and Microctenopoma fasciolatum. I've also got a few Combtails (Belontia hasselti and Belontia signata), Paradise Fish (Macropodus opercularis), an Asian Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus) and a number of Gouramis.

Like you, I've found the Bush Fish (Ctenopoma and Microctenopoma) to be (in general) less aggressive than the Combtails. There are, of course, exceptions. Ctenopoma kingsleyae, the largest of the Bush Fish, can be quite aggressive, especially to each other and I've noted that Ctenopoma acutirostre and Ctenopoma ocellatum males don't get along particulary well with each other, probably because of their similarity in shape. I keep the last two mentioned species in different tanks. Because of their diminutive size I keep my Microctenopoma ansorgii in their own heavily planted 10 gallon tank. The Ctenopoma ocellatum, Ctenopoma weeksii and Microctenopoma fasciolatum share an aquarium without any significant squabbling.

All of my Bush Fish seem to enjoy a tank with a heavily-planted area and some driftwood with a cave or two provided by rock structures. I always leave a large open-water area, especially for the Ctenopoma kingsleyae which are active swimmers. Regardless of genus or species I've found the Bush Fish to be hardy, easily cared for fish that will eat any 'meaty' foods including any smaller fish that they can swallow (and their mouths are surprisingly large).

I'm currently trying to acquire some Ctenopoma multispinis and/or Ctenopoma pellegrini to house in a 100 gallon tank with my Ctenopoma kingsleyae. I'm also on the prowl for Sandelia capensis (the OTHER African anabantid genus) but they're much harder to come by than the Bush Fish. The second Sandelia species, S. bainsii is CITES listed and is critically endangered so individuals are not available.

-Joe

I thought s. capensis was also listed as endangered? I guess not - in that case I'd like to get some of those in future as well...

I've never seen a climbing perch in my area. I know they're an asian species that can travel distances on land to get to new water. What else can you tell me about this fish, I've been thinking about making an Asian freshwater community tank, though the information i've read on them, and your experience, they don't seem too friendly. Any info on the climbing perch would be appreciated.

The climbing perch is not actualy a ctenopoma - it's anabas testudineus. They are very closely related though and are also predatory. They also are not Asain. They are African. If you want an Asian community, look into the multitude of gouramies and paradisefish. Considering they get to 10" regularly, they need a pretty big tank as well. IMO a species tank or a tank with larger but not realy aggressive fish is the way to go. They are territorial so need their space but are otherwise quite a shy fish and won't do well with extremely aggressive tankmates (like large new world cichlids). However, don't put it in with anything smaller either and make sure anything kept with them can still handle itself.

If, on the other hand, you were reffering to the banded climbing perch, these are much smaller (3.5") and their scientific name is microctenopoma fasciolatum. These aren't actualy very aggressive fish and quite outgoing IME. Still, nothing smaller will survive long with them but at least they are small enough for a semi-aggressive medium-sized community. Again, these are African fish.

Both species may end up commiting suicide if they don't have a tight-fitting lid but this is especialy a problem with a. testudineus so watch out. Both appreciate live foods and need clean water but are otherwise quite easy to keep.

Well....sylvia is partly right. Anabas testudineus is indeed the 'true' Climbing Perch but it is NOT an African fish. They are very much Asian and have a relatively extensive range on that continent. Unfortunately, the term 'Climbing Perch' is frequently applied to the members of the genera Ctenopoma and Microctenopoma which are strictly African fish. That is the problem with using common names.

She's also correct that they are 'jumpers' and definitely need a covered aquarium. I have found Anabas testudineus to be quite aggressive on occasion so I keep mine with other aggressive anabantoids like the Combtails I mentioned in my earlier post.

-Joe