My Leopard Ctenopoma

[krichardson]

I could be wrong Mike but your ctenopoma may not be an acutirostre but a different species....

 

[jeaninel]

I've had my ctenopoma for about 6 years he's about 6" now. My guys has been dark brown since he's been in my tank. I thought it was only because I have black sand an black background. Just curious was color substrate you guys are using?


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I have mine over natural colored gravel. They do lose their leopard spotted coloration as they get older. How big yours when you got him?

 

[mikec707]

I have mine over natural colored gravel. They do lose their leopard spotted coloration as they get older. How big yours when you got him?

Barely 3" when I got him.


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[jeaninel]

Yours might be ctenopoma kingsleyae. Google it and see if it looks like yours.

 

[mikec707]

Yours might be ctenopoma kingsleyae. Google it and see if it looks like yours.

No not a Kingsleyae. It's the same as yours. You can see spots in sun light or when the light hits him just right. He's just always been darker.


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[jeaninel]

Hmmm. In the pic I posted of when mine he was young he's about 2.5" there. Yours never looked that light when it was little?

 

[mikec707]

Hmmm. In the pic I posted of when mine he was young he's about 2.5" there. Yours never looked that light when it was little?

When I bought him it did but he got dark with in the first month. I was just curious if anyone has a adult that is still lighter.


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[ocellatus]

All my little ones are light with high contrast like the OP's last picture. Almost all the adult specimens I've seen have darkened base colour over time and thus lost the high contrast spotted look.

Mine are being kept over a light tan PFS substrate. It's an interesting question whether substrate influences their marking, as in Polypterus.

O