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Hi all,

My LFS has just taken in some Amazon Leaf fish. Now, without buying them on impulse, can anyone tell me, if I keep them in a species tank, how many should I have, ie, are they schooling fish, and what size tank should they have.

TIA

Robbie

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.-Leaf Fish Profile at FishProfiles.com

Says can grow to 3.1"
Another site says

A well planted mature tank, with very slow water movement. Best kept in a species tank.Predatory, do not keep with small fishes.Temperature 22-25oC (72-77oF).
Adult fish are mainly piscivorous, and hang motionless in the water waiting for prey. Frequent small water changes and high quality filtration are essential.-the tropical tank.co

listen to meg the fish. leaf fish are really cool, but highly predatory- they do not seem to be agressive against eachother given the right tank setup. STILL water is a must, and floating cover is a plus. forget flake food- feeder fish is a must.

Thanks for the replies. I am well aware of the predatory nature of this fish and have another species of fish that is highly predatory and will only take live food which I can cater for, but what size tank would be suitable for a single specimen.

Cheers

Robbie

20 gallon plus would be fine, though a 15 is the bare minimum. They are very peaceful and almost shy to fish they can't eat.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 13-Dec-2004 01:09

You should raise your own feeders (if your not already doing so) so you know if they are healthy or not. I've heard plenty of horror stories with feeders fish (Example, since feeder fish are usually living in crowded tanks at the petstore, they have a very good change of carrying illness's)

Or better yet, you should not feed live foods.

By reading thier profile it sounds like they would prefer live food though.

They are ambuss predetor so they like live food the most cause its what they wait around for. Have tons of plants and put the leaf fish in then put a ton of guppy feeders like 5 and wait till they swin in the bunch of plants

20 gallon plus would be fine, though a 15 is the bare minimum

Actually for a species tank, since these fish stay small and are not very active, a 10 or even 8 gallon tank is suitable for one specimen.

They are one of my favorite fish, and they are easily tamed. It's awesome to have them take guppies right out of your fingers.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

"By reading thier profile it sounds like they would prefer live food though."

Judging from most of your responses, you always seem to have little to no experience with these fishes and instead rely on profiles to give you the low down. If fed properly, they shouldn't be able to tell the difference between prepared and live foods. Prepared foods will also give the fish more variety in it's diet and a broader spectrum of nutrition, aiding it in the long run.

Also, leafies can get larger than 3", as I've seen ones larger than the quoted size whilst at Sea World San Diego, though the ones in our LFS are only 2 ish in length. Remember also that they need a heavily decorated aquarium (they hover around quite a bit), and IMO need a larger tank than a ten, especially depth wise.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 13-Dec-2004 20:54