Leaf fish questions.

[fishhead0103666]

Hello, I have a few questions about leaf fish.
I got one a while back (if my math checks out it was at least 3 years ago?) and ever since then it’s been in the back of my mind to have a group of them in a tank. Never had the chance until now.
1. Had anyone ever kept a group of leaf fish before and if so how did it go?
2. Will they work in groups of around 6?
3. Could I put 6 in a 75 gallon? They’d be the only top dweller, the rest would be various bottom dwellers.
4. How would an adult (5 inches) react to another one being put into his tank? I see a 5 incher for sale online and am tempted to get it soon...
5. How long would it take to grow out a group of 2 inchers to 5 inches?
6. Would it be better to buy a group of youngins and move them in with my adult when they’re big enough or should I just add adults here and there as I find them?

Sorry about the volume of questions but I’m excited about this.

 

[kno4te]

1.Had a group of eight before. Long time ago. They got along fine from varying sizes 2.5-4inches. It went fine but passed away due to live feeders. Would do it again but would be a pure black water tank with qt fish.
2.group of 6 will be fine.
3.tank size is fine.
4.react fine with others leaves.
5.super slow growing
6. Add adults when able

 

[fishhead0103666]

Do you think 3 years would be about right for a leaf fish to go from 2 inches to 5 inches? If so it fits in the time profile I’ve came up with of when I got mine .

 

[kno4te]

Do you think 3 years would be about right for a leaf fish to go from 2 inches to 5 inches? If so it fits in the time profile I’ve came up with of when I got mine .

That’s could accurate and likely for fish that small. Think it’s slower than that though. Gotta keep them long enough to find out.

 

[fishhead0103666]

I talked to a petsmart employee a while back and asked when they stopped selling leaf fish. She said 3 years ago and I remember having my guy for about a year or so and they still had them so he could be 3 or 4 years old.

 

[twentyleagues]

Are we talking ctenopoma? Or polycentropsis, or polycentridae?
Any way I believe all can and will cohabitate. Ive personally had Amazonian leaf and cteno. But in both cases I've only had/have 1. In my personal experiance cteno grew fast up to about 3.5-4" . The Amazonian was full grown when I got it, and was harder to keep other fish with as their mouths are huge. He was actually really quite boring. The ctenos should be fine as long as they dont fit in each others mouth. If I was going to do a group of ctenos id go buy 5 babies and set up a grow out and feed them carnivore pellets daily till they were around 3 inches. Then move them together. Ive had mine around 3 years its almost 6", but really hasnt grown a ton in the last 1-1.5 years. Not very boring, very out going cichlid like. If its the true African leaf I have no idea as I havent kept it yet but really want one.

 

[fishhead0103666]

Yes I meant ctenopoma, how long do you reckon it would take for them to grow to 3 inches on that daily diet of carnivore pellets? To be honest I’m thinking about potentially making one like their normal habitat in the wild and see if they end up breeding.

 

[kno4te]

Ok...thought u were taking about monocirrhus polyacanthus.

 

[twentyleagues]

Yes I meant ctenopoma, how long do you reckon it would take for them to grow to 3 inches on that daily diet of carnivore pellets? To be honest I’m thinking about potentially making one like their normal habitat in the wild and see if they end up breeding.

Mine grew fast in the first year or so. I'd say about a year probably less.

 

[TheEelKing]

Do you think 3 years would be about right for a leaf fish to go from 2 inches to 5 inches? If so it fits in the time profile I’ve came up with of when I got mine .

Easily. I always keep these fish, though I've never tried in groups. When small, I feed my leaf fish sinking carinivore pellets which I break into three or four pieces. When they get larger, they eat small arowana floating sticks and whole sinking carnivore pellets. I never feed feeders, and I'm reluctant to vary their diet beyond this since I found out the hard way early on that they can easily get hooked onto other foods and have to be re-trained back on pellets.

While they are slow growers compared to something like a clown knife, if you feed them pellets 2-3 times a day, they will grow at a decent rate, in my experience. Though they won't hit 5" in their first year.