Data sheet leopard bushfish

German name:
Leopard bushfish

Scientific name:
Ctenopoma acutirostre

Origin:
West Africa (in the Congo river basins)

Size:
Body length 12 cm – max. 16 cm

Aquarium

Length:
Length from 100 cm width

Contents:
from 250 liters

water values

Temperature:
21°-26° C

pH:
6 – 7.5

GH:
3° – 15° dH

Behave

Area:
mid to high range

Lining:
Frozen food, live food (e.g. insect larvae, crabs, small fish), dried artemia

Behave:
shy, very peaceful, predatory, active at dusk, socializes with calmer but not too small fish, can become tame

Number:
best in pairs, but also 3 animals possible

Difficulty level:
Advanced Zaire at German Wikipedia, Leopard bushfish, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
Leopard bushfish Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 3.0 Author: Haplochromis

Leopard bushfish, Ctenopoma acutirostre, are native to West Africa. Relatively moderate temperatures prevail in the regions of origin in the middle and lower reaches of the Congo in Zaire. High temperatures can also prevail at times.

Leopard bushfish grow to at least 15 centimeters in length, with reports of leopard bushfish reaching 25 centimeters. They should be kept in a species tank. Although they are not very active and not overly aggressive, the aquarium must still be larger than 250 liters. Leopard bushfish become active at dusk. They are most active at night. After transfer, leopard bushfish are extremely shy for weeks, but that wears off.

They look like dead leaves. Males have fields of thorns on their bodies behind their eyes and gill covers. The thorns of the males are about 1 centimeter long and numerous. Females have short thorns at most. Females have small spots on their fins.

Coarse live food is necessary for feeding, especially forage fish. Fish up to the size of swordtails are eaten. Leopard bushfish lurk in the thicket of plants and attack their prey with lightning speed.

Bloodworms, small earthworms, insects and other seasonal live food can also be given. Fish fillet, frozen food that is not too small and freeze-dried food are also eaten.

Dry food is practically not eaten. In one case, orange tetra discus food was eaten after a long period of acclimatization.

Ctenopoma acutirostre Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 3.0 Author: Haplochromis

Breeding was successful for the first time in a Basel zoo in a very large aquarium. A breeding tank for a couple should have at least 100 liters of water. The tank needs diffused light and places to hide. A simulation of the rainy season may be necessary. It may be sufficient to change the husbandry conditions, e.g. by reducing conductivity, increasing and then decreasing temperature, improving feed supply after a fast, etc.

In Taiwan, the animals are apparently bred through stimulation with hormones.
Young animals grow very slowly. Four-year-old animals are only 10 to 12 centimeters tall. It can take several years for them to grow up.

Young leopard bush fish eat frozen food, e.g. B. Artemia and red mosquito larvae. But soon they will also eat small fish. 15 cm large animals eat other fish up to about the size of red tetras. Freshwater shrimps are also suitable as food, as well as bite-size chopped pollock fillet and shrimp from the supermarket.

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