Black banded leporinus

[wesa]

Would a fish say a foot long be able to live well in a 29 gallon aquarium? If the fish does get too big, would the pet store acept it?

Also, do these fish become agressive when large? I only know that it grows up to 12" and eats mostly lettuce with some flakes and a shrimp pellet.

 

[CFC]

IMO yes a 12" fish is too large for a 29g tank, the minimum size i would consider keeping a foot long fish in would be a 55g, some LFS will take in over grown fish and some may even give you a store credit for it if it is a fish they can easily sell, however do you really want to buy a fish and then have to take it back after a year or so?

Leporanis are aggressive from the start, i have 2 that terrorise the tank they are growing out in, they are fin nippers and will constantly harras tankmates that dont stand up for themselves. They are not strictly vegetarians and actually seem to preffer larvea foods such as bloodworms, mine also have a liking for malaysian trumpet snails which they dig up and suck from their shells.

 

[ryan]

I was interested in purchasing one of these fish, however, they grow very large reaching 12 inches at minimum and they are fin nippers and because of their size and speed they can cause some serious damage to a fish that can't defend itself. As CFC said although they like veg in their diet they prefer some more meaty foods like bloodworms. I would strongly advise you against purchasing one as they are not a slow growing fish and would outgrow the tank pretty fast and most other fish wouldn't be able to survive with them in that size tank. I would recommend a minimum 75 although they could live in a 55, but I think it is unfair to give this kind of space as they are large fish that like some space to move freely.