Ctenopoma Acutirostre

[CAC]

Do you think a Ctenopoma acutirostre (African climbing perch or leopard bushfish) could live in a 32 UK Gallon tank with 2 pim pictus and 3 yellow labs???
id love to keep these species, but im scared that the rather "shy" bushfish may get bullied by the labs and pims...

can anyone help?
think it could work?
thanks in advance, Mikey

 

[nmonks]

I think they'd be fine with the pims (I kept mine with African catfish such as Chrysichthys ornatus without problems), but I suspect the yellow labs will hammer them. I've said it before and will say it again: climbing perch and cichlids don't mix. Climbing perch aren't adapted to deal with fighting or persistent aggression. They don't understand cichlid sign language, and in the confines of an aquarium, have nowhere to swim to. There may be exceptions. Ct. acutirostre would get along fine with angelfish, for example, maybe even discus. But I've seen them bullied by cichlids as small as kribs, Nanochromis transvestitus, and Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi.

You'd be much better simply upping the number of climbing perch. Ct. acutirostre quite likes to be in groups, provided each fish isn't overcrowded. They do get fairly big (15 cm is about average in aquaria) so while depth is irrelevant, the length of the tank may be a factor. If you want something colourful to go with them, then perhaps one of the peaceful to semi-aggressive anabantids might be a better bet. Macropodus concolor or Colisa labiosa, for example. Maybe even one of the large bettas, such as Betta macrostoma or Betta anabatoides. I wouldn't keep three-spot gouramis (blue/yellow gouramis) but moonlights and lace gouramis should be fine.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CAC]

Ok, ill take your advice.
i thought the labs may be abit to aggressive for a perch.

in my tank, how many do you think i could have?

Thanks alot

 

[nmonks]

It wouldn't be ideal, but I'd keep three or four, and see how things went. What you want is a pair. Sexing them is very difficult; supposedly, males have spines on the flanks that females lack, but this isn't easy to observe on live specimens. Four should be fine in a 30 gallon tank given that these are air-breathing fish, so they aren't as dependent on water quality as, say, large cichlids or barbs.

Plant the tank nicely (or use lots of rocks or flowerpots) to create the hiding spaces they like. Install a lot of floating plants. Anything you like, even duckweed. Hornwort would be ideal. Use a decent capacity filter, but don't overdo the water current. These fish _do not_ like strong water currents.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CAC]

Ok, so say i went for getting four, im presumeing thats fully stocked?
its just id love a pair of german or bovolian rams too...
could i have 3 Ctenopoma acutirostre and a pair of either of those rams, or would sticking to the ctenopomas be better?

Cheers neale

EDIT: oh and ive got some hornwort, i think...
its sort of green, with some red and its kinda got a bushy look with a big clump of it?
it floats when its not tied down.
ive got some for my betta tank, and im growing some now in my 8G

 

[nmonks]

I think Bolivian rams and Ct. acutirostre will be fine, but make sure the rams have some caves. Also watch the water quality. While Ctenopoma will live in little more than wet mud, the rams won't, so in a 30 gallon tank you're going to need a good filter and regular water changes.

Hornwort is meant to float. Planting it is a waste of time. Regardless, the fish will love it. You might also get one or two pieces of bogwood with Java fern on. These cost about 5-15 pounds depending on the size of the clump. They are excellent value and ideal for this type of fish. While there are cheaper plants, Java fern is far easier to care for and it will thrive under the shade produced by the hornwort. The fish will love it, too.

Using hornwort and Java fern means you need minimul substrate, just enough sand to cover the glass. This maximises the water volume in the tank. (Remember, a regular substrate takes up 10-15% of the water volume, which in your case means losing 3-4 gallons!)

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CAC]

Well ive got some bogwood already, and i could order some javafern from the internet, cos my LFS's wont stock it...

you think i could have 4 perches and a pair of rams?
or do ya mean 3 perches and a pair?

also why would haveing java fern mean i could have less substrate, out of interest?

Mikey.

 

[nmonks]

Number of perches depends on their size, naturally. In a 30 gallon, three or four should work, at least for a while. They are quite slow growing.

Java fern grows on wood and rocks, not in the substrate. So you "plant" Java fern by tying it onto things with black thread. No gravel or sand required! Same with Anubias and Java moss. If you plant them into the substrate, the roots will slowly rot, which leads to the plant disintegrating.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CAC]

Do you think i could have 4 and a pair of rams for a year or two?
cos i have friends who have community tanks, who im sure could have them if it got too crowded...

are they interesting fish?

id feed them frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp...wpuld that be ok?
is there anything else they like?

 

[nmonks]

Ct. acutirostre should get to be about 10 cm in 2 years. I haven't seen many specimens much bigger than that. They seem large because they are quite deep bodied, but most specimens are rather small.

Interesting is as interesting does. They aren't "fun" like puffers and they don't really seem to be all that smart. But they look nice, and they are active and (if happy) not too shy. They are certainly unusual, and if you want something cool, they'll do nicely. They are peaceful, so eventually they can be moved to another tank and combined with pretty much anything of similar size and temperament. You could keep them with bichirs, spiny eels, catfish, Congo tetras, and so on (though a 50 gallon or bigger tank would probably be desirable).

Frozen bloodworm is a fine staple, and they should take any small live foods as well. Brine shrimp is a nice treat, but it isn't very rich in nutrition.

I'd highly recommend reading a book on Ctenopoma. There are dozens of species, and they are all interesting fish. Once you learn about the behaviour and biology, you will appreciate these fish even more.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CAC]

Ct. acutirostre should get to be about 10 cm in 2 years. I haven't seen many specimens much bigger than that. They seem large because they are quite deep bodied, but most specimens are rather small.

Interesting is as interesting does. They aren't "fun" like puffers and they don't really seem to be all that smart. But they look nice, and they are active and (if happy) not too shy. They are certainly unusual, and if you want something cool, they'll do nicely. They are peaceful, so eventually they can be moved to another tank and combined with pretty much anything of similar size and temperament. You could keep them with bichirs, spiny eels, catfish, Congo tetras, and so on (though a 50 gallon or bigger tank would probably be desirable).

Frozen bloodworm is a fine staple, and they should take any small live foods as well. Brine shrimp is a nice treat, but it isn't very rich in nutrition.

I'd highly recommend reading a book on Ctenopoma. There are dozens of species, and they are all interesting fish. Once you learn about the behaviour and biology, you will appreciate these fish even more.

Cheers,

Neale

Yeah i might get one from the internet or something...
could be usefull...
id like to get some of the ansorgii (not sure if thats correct) but its more of a thinner cteno than the perches...
looks cool 8)

 

[sylvia]

I personaly wouldn't put 4 ctenopoma acutirostre in a 30 gallon with the catfish and rams as well. Whereas they don't grow too big and are quite peaceful, they are still territorial and, with a pair of rams breeding in there as well, it would be rather crowded. Keep in mind that all these fish preffer the lower levels of the tank. Also, I'd advise against keeping 3 unless you know what sex they are - you could end up with 2 forming a pair and bullying third - they don't usualy bother other fish (as long as they can't eat them) but they will interact (sometimes aggressively) with each other.

What I would do is get a pair of the ctenopomas, the pair of rams and your catfish and then maybe find something medium-sized that schools near the top of the tank. Maybe some kind of rainbowfish.

Also, don't count on your friends taking the fish in. Remember that ctenopomas are predatory and will eat small fish. Many won't take flake foods and need to be fed a diet of only live or frozen foods. If your friends have any small species, they can't take the ctenopomas on. Also, you don't know whether their tanks are fully stocked or what other plans they have. It's much better to start out with a plan that you know will work out - both for you and the fish - than to risk them not being in an adequate set-up and suffering as a result (don't forget that, if they are stressed and become susceptible to disease, the other fish in the tank are also at increased risk).

You could get a group (say of 4) and let them grow out and, as soon as a pair forms, return the 'extra' 2 to your LFS (like you might do with discus or angelfish) - but don't plan to offload them on friends.