leaf fish

[mostanks]

helloooooo all-last weekend i picked up 2 "leaf fish"
http/www.picturetrail.com/mosammy

i figured they'd be perfect for my 38g west african/riverine tank but i really don't know anything about them,has anyone ever kept these fish before?if so what can you tell me about them?i see they prefer blood worms but i don't feed that alot,will they accept dried foods?


thanks in advance for any help/info.




sam

 

[EddieW]

Hi Sam - I have been toying with the idea of getting one of those for a while, but I don't have any room.

Found this info about them:

Monocirrhus polyacanthus
Common Names: Amazon Leaf Fish, Leaf Fish
Family: Nandidae
Origin: Slow moving regions of the Amazon River around Peru, South America.
Main Ecosystem: River
Temperament: Predatory. Will stay completely still and act like a leaf, drifting around until a small fish comes close enough to be attacked. The Leaf Fish has a very large extendible mouth.
Diet: Carnivore
Care: Feed with live foods only. Small fish are the favourite food of the Leaf Fish. The tank should be heavily planted with large leaved plants.
pH: 5.0 - 6.0
Temperature: 22°C - 26°C (72°F - 79°F)
Hardness: 5.0°dH - 8.0°dH
Potential Size: 8cm (3.1")
Water Region: Middle
Activity: Diurnal
Breeding: Difficult. Use a higher temperature of 27°C and soft water. Large smooth flat rocks should be added for the Leaf Fish to spawn on. Remove the female after spawning.
Gender: Unable to be determined.
Comments: The Leaf Fish will often hover in a vertical position.


and some more

Common name: South American leaf fish
Scientific name: Monocirrhus polyacanthus
Size: 4" (10cm)
Origin: Amazon (Peru)
Tank setup: A well planted mature tank, with very slow water movement.
Compatibility: Predatory
Temperature: 22-25oC (72-77oF)
Water chemistry: Very soft and acidic (pH 6.-6.5). High quality essential.
Feeding: A carnivore, which is unlikely to accept anything other than live foods.
Sexing: The female is larger and deeper bodied.
Breeding: The male guards the eggs, which are laid on leaves or other flat surfaces. Eggs hatch after 4 days. The fry may be cannibalistic

Adult fish are mainly piscivorous, and hang motionless in the water waiting for prey. Frequent small water changes and high quality filtration are essential.


There is a nice article Leaf Fish -- The Ultimate Camoflage by Ken Nordby detailing his experiences with them.

I found it interesting to find out that they are in the same familiy (Nandidae) as my Badis.....

Cheers, Eddie

 

[mostanks]

interesting article eddie,1 thing bothers me though

Three months plus went by -- nothing. It was getting time to clean the tank

3 months and it almost time to clean the tank

he does say that they only eat live food,hmmmm...this could be a problem.

 

[impur]

Problem? I think it would be kewl to see this fish in action. Have never seen one at a lfs here though

 

[CFC]

I keep these and whoever "he" is (i didnt follow link) he is correct.Not only do they only eat live foods they will only eat large live foods,worms of all kinds are almost allways ignored,my leaf fish will only take live river shrimp (dont know what you call them in the US but they are about 2" long and see through,usually collected from estuarys and tidal rivers) and small fish such as guppies and danios.Brilliant fish to watch feed IMO,their mouths move so quickly that you dont actually see them grab the food,just the tail protuding from their mouths.They will eat fish that are almost the same size as themselves.

 

[mostanks]

so far i'm very pleased w/them and they seem to really like frozen food so i'll stick to that(i don't feed feeder fish)to risky IMO.
only problem is my ph is about 7.4 or 7.5 i hope this isn't to high for them,i try to keep it lower but after a few water changes it's back up. )

catfishcrazy-you got any pics of your's??

 

[CFC]

Cant get any pics at the moment, ive fitted reflectors to the lights in the tank their in and now all i get is bright shapes against a dark background,although there may be some pics of them that i posted a few months ago in the members pics forum.Im very suprised yours are taking frozen foods,mine wont even take live bloodworm,i dont like feeding live fish either,not because of the risk of infection (i buy the same danios and guppies that others are going to buy as pets,because i buy 20 at a time i get them for 50 pence each) but i find it a little unpleasant,but since a lot of my fish are piscivors i have to do it at least once a month,i just dump a bag in and leave them to it.
A ph of 7 should be ok but try not to let it get too high above that.
Did you get a male and female?The males have a pointy thing on their chin(excuse the crap description) and the females dont.

 

[mostanks]

pointy thing on their chin nothing wrong w/that description j/k
i'm not sure what sex they are but they sure are cool,i can't seem to get a good pic of them either
good thing they like the frozen food coz i havn't bought any live food in months.

 

[CFC]

Have you seen them yawn yet? Their mouths come out like something out of alien

 

[mostanks]

no,i havn't caught that yet i love these guys,wish i'd seen them before.

 

[CFC]

Yeh they are great little fish,its a real shame that more people dont seem to like them but i supose it takes certain kind of person to keep a small brown fish which tries its best to impersonate a leaf.I have a plan to set up a heavilly planted tank and stock it with leaf fish farrowellas (twig cats) and banjo cats and then see how many people think there is no fish in it.

 

[CFC]

Oops,it would seem we are talking about two different species of fish,i just had a look on your link (should have looked earlier ) ) and from the picture yours look like polycentrus punctatus and i keep monocirrhus polyacanthus,still quite similar but it explains why yours will eat frozen foods.

 

[mostanks]

now i have to see what your's look like any links to a pic???

 

[mostanks]

btw-that setup w/the farlowellas and banjo cats sounds pretty nice,if you decide to do it let me know how it comes along,i may want to do a similar setup.

 

[CFC]

Ive posted a couple of pictures in the members pictures section